What does the Bible mean in the Apostle Paul's letter to young Timothy when he says, Let
the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but
to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve." (I Timothy 2:11-12).
At first
glance, it's puzzling, because as I've mentioned at at earlier time, women are mentioned by name in about 200 places
in the Bible. A woman judge is even mentioned back in the Old Testament. Many helped Jesus when He was here on earth, and
today we wonder how churches would continue without the ladies.
Well, here's my take
on it. And remember, when I'm giving my own opinion, I remind that it's not spelled out in so many words in the Bible,
so take it for what it's worth.
Although Paul was one of the greatest workers for Christ,
writing about two-thirds of the New Testament, he was human. And in his time here on earth, women weren't even counted.
See that where Jesus fed the 5,000, and then the 4,000. And farther back, see it in the Exodus, where 600 thousand, PLUS women
and children, were in that group that left Egypt in 1462 BC.
For that reason, it was a normal
thing for the women to be expected to keep silent. Remember, they were allowed little education, and we see nothing about
things like good manners taught to them, and so they might have been whispering to each other, asking questions about what
was meant by the speaker, and may well have become bored or sleepy. These things considered, it's easy to see why Paul
might have wanted them to back off, as he spoke about the relation of the portion of the Bible they had at that time, as it
related to Christ's New Way.
But outside of those meetings, women were playing a large
role in helping Jesus, and that help continues today. I repeat...where would YOUR church be without women teachers, and even
seeing that the church is clean. And a few years ago when our church had a man pianist and I was at the organ, I heard a comment
on how unusual it was that men were providing the music accompaniment during the service.
There's a saying about the women, that "they've come a long way." How true that is, and may it ever be!
