13 Wive in 13 Days...Wives of the Bible Series
Wife #7I love this wife.
She was bold.
She was strong and willing to go against family, friends, customs and traditions.
Yet, she submitted to her husband.
What? She submitted? Did she lose her mind?
Why would any woman willingly submit to their husband?
Hmmm, perhaps she knew something about submission that others didn't.
Who is this wife?
She is Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias.
In my book, she is one Godly woman to emulate!
The Submissive Wife
Let's get a few things straight, first. A submissive wife does not mean a silent wife. It does not mean you don't have an opinion of your own and you can't think for yourself. And a submissive wife doesn't mean you're a weak-minded woman either. That's quite the contrary, my friend!
A submissive wife is a wife filled with wisdom and self-control.
And where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from the Lord. Period. It doesn't come from how many books you've read, how many degrees you have, or what advice you've heard from Oprah or Dr. Phil.The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9:10
Elizabeth had wisdom. She was known as a righteous woman before God, walking in all the commands and ordinances. She was faithful to God. (Luke 1:6)
But first, what's the big deal about submission anyways?
Why do we keep hearing this message?Well, here's a few reasons:
- It's not in our nature to submit. Our spirit is always at war with our fleshly tendencies. So being reminded of this message is a good thing. Kinda like you telling your child to grab a coat because it's going to be cold outside. Your child is not thinking about the weather or he thinks he won't need a jacket, but you know he will. You know he'll be cold so you want to protect him. It's the same thing when wives are telling other wives to submit. We know a good thing when we see it.
- God tells us to submit. That was enough for me when I read the verse many moons ago. You see, I ran my life into the gutter before I came to Christ and when I acknowledged my need for a Savior, I surrendered my life to Him. I gave Him the reins, or the steering wheel of my life. I wanted Him to be the driver. I wanted to follow His lead because I believed He knew what was best for me and He wouldn't steer me wrong.
However....
I must say when I first read about the whole submission thing I totally thought God screwed up!
When the Lord said that the husband is the head of the home I was rather disgusted with that verse. Now mind you, I came out of a feminist lifestyle, I was a take charge kinda woman, my mother wore the pants in my family, I had no Christian women in my life when I came to Christ, and I was essentially walking the Narrow Path alone. So that verse really bothered me. Hence that was the main reason why I was not in a hurry to marry; I wasn't looking to submit to a man anytime soon.
But this is what I couldn't reconcile in my mind....
If the man was to be the leader of the home, then why did God give me such a strong personality? I really thought God should have made me a male; the leader. I so seriously thought this! My personality was more suited to be in charge. I wasn't a helper, (scoff), to anyone! How on earth do I follow someone? (If any of this describes you, sweet friend, I'll teach you how to follow in the last post of this series.)
I was, and still am, an outspoken, strong-willed, highly opinionated, type A personality. I'm a driver, well I was until I became chronically ill for 10 years, (that'll cause you to end up in the back seat real quick!) God has a way of tempering us, doesn't He?
When I came to Christ, I knew it was going to take an act of God for this woman to have a gentle and quite spirit (1 Peter 3:4). By the way, God does do miracles!
So I share all of this to tell you where I've come from and to show you how God has transformed me. He'll transform you as well if you want Him to.
Now back to Elisabeth, our wife of the day.
Remember the story of when her hubby, Zacharias, the High Priest went into the Temple to burn incense as was customary back in the day? Well, the angel, Gabriel showed up and told Zach that his woman, who was well past the age of childbearing, was indeed going to be pregnant.
Of course, like any normal human being, Zacharias couldn't possibly believe the angel. Goodness, could you blame him? Well, that didn't make Gabriel too happy so he told Zacharias that the Lord is going to close up his mouth until the babe was born.
But Gabriel left Zacharias with an implicit order. The child to be born will be the prophet of the Highest (Luke 1:76) and his name is to be called John. (Luke 1:13)
But Gabriel left Zacharias with an implicit order. The child to be born will be the prophet of the Highest (Luke 1:76) and his name is to be called John. (Luke 1:13)
So let's set the wifey-poo stage, shall we?
Elisabeth delivers a baby in her old age. They go to circumcise him on the 8th day as was the custom, and they name the baby.
When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zacharias, after his father. But Elizabeth said, "No! His name is John!" "What?" they exclaimed. "There is no one in all your family by that name." So they used gestures to ask the baby's father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone's surprise he wrote, "His name is John." Instantly Zacharias could speak again, and he began praising God. Luke 1:59-64 (NLT)
I wish I were standing in the room when this all came down. I could see Elizabeth telling everyone that they need to back up! Nothing and no one is going to keep her from obeying her God and her man. I love how adamant she was when she spoke to her family. And the nerve they had to discount what she had to say as they used gestures to speak with Zacharias! Perhaps the idea of throwing them out of her house crossed her mind at that point? I know it would've crossed my mind! The gal had tenacity and she was going to follow the Lord's command at all costs.
What To Do According to Elisabeth's life...
- She didn't allow her relatives and friends to influence her to go against her Lord and her husband. She was not easily swayed!
- She was one strong-minded woman not afraid to stand up for what was right, regardless of popular opinions, customs, and traditions.
- She submitted to the Lord and she submitted to her husband even when her man couldn't speak to her for 9 months. There's some one flesh unity going on in that marriage!
- She put her faith and trust in the Lord in spite of what others were saying.
I believe that God blessed Elisabeth's faithfulness and obedience tremendously. The Lord chose her to carry and raise up a son, John the Baptist. Jesus, the Savior of the World, deemed him as being the greatest prophet. That's pretty high accolades, don't you think?
"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist. Matthew 11:11
Challenge for Today
Want to know more about being a submissive wife? Stay tuned. In the last post of this series, I'll show you how to become submissive without losing your personality AND I'll show you how submission can strengthen your marriage.
Now how about you friend. Do you struggle with submission, or do I even need to ask this question? (lol)
Next up in this series, The Wife Who Didn't Nag, But Could Have
This is post #8 in the CMBA 1/2 Marathon Blogging Challenge to post everyday for 13 days in October.
Live a poured out life for Christ,
Now bloggers, it's time to link up your posts!
Did you enjoy reading The Alabaster Jar?
I'm looking for posts on any and all things related to being a wife, i.e. homemaking ideas, ways you minister to your husband, dating ideas, and/or hearing what the Lord is telling you about your most important earthly relationship!
Link back to this community, either by using the button below or a text link. Link to your actual “Marital Oneness Mondays” post, not just your general blog address--that way if readers come by later in the week, they can click your relevant post.
<a href="http://www.joleneengle.org" title="The Alabaster Jar"><img src="http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l599/joleneengle/maritalonenessmondaysjarpinkbuttoncopy.png" alt="The Alabaster Jar" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
I'm linking up with: Unveiled Wife
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your kind remarks bless me tremendously!