 |  |
"submit" of the wife in such a context no less a parallel than that of the Church to Christ
(Eph. 5: 22-24). Mr. 100: H. Welch wrote:
"The idea of `submission' in Ephesians 5: is not one of a humiliating or servile
description, but of recognizing the Lordship of Christ, and so to be willing for the lowest
or the highest place, as He shall will" (Christ and the Church in Home and Business).
Whether it be the `rule' of Gen. 3: or the `submission' of Eph. 5:, one thing is quite
evident; that God desires both male and female to remember their respective places in
His wise economy.
Hence it is seen how that the judgment pronounced upon Eve was God-ordained place
in the man-woman relationship, expressed in the idea of "submission". The punishment
of Adam was intended to do as much for him also.
Unto Adam God said,
". . . . . cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of
thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee . . . . . In the sweat of thy
nostrils shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground . . . . ." (Gen. 3: 17-19).
Adam had failed to assert his headship over the woman, who in turn, together with
Adam, had failed to keep the animal creation in subjection (Gen. 1: 27, 28; 3: 1-7). He
now was to get a lesson from nature which would constantly remind him of his failure to
exercise his authority; the ground would everywhere exhibit signs of his fall, and he
would henceforth have to exert his strength to keep it in control ("the sweat of thy
nostrils"--3: 19). He would be kept in mind that he was the strong partner in God's
economy; the woman was "the weaker vessel" (I Pet. 3: 7); he was to be employed in
keeping `order' in an earth which now had every evidence of disorder. As such he could
surely not forget his proper calling of God at the "head" of God's "order" in the earth.
So were "male and female" taught, even in failure, their proper places in God's overall
design. But it seems not to have been long, before (through the line of Cain) every effort
began to be made to take the mind off the cursed ground and its lessons. Cities were built
where man could forget the severity of life, and amusements and pastimes devised to
concentrate his thought elsewhere (Gen. 4: 16-22). It is not without significance that the
building of the first city is in the context of leaving the Presence of the Lord (Gen. 4: 16,
17).
It is beyond the scope of these articles to consider how such things have developed
into the system which is so much a part of our everyday lives; civilization, with its
comforts and attractions which give no sense of the heritage of Eden. But whilst it is not
suggested for one moment that many of these things are intrinsically wrong, it would be
tragic, if in the life of any believer, they played such a major role in his experience as to
detract from the Lord and His intentions through "male and female".
The world of industry and business has been responsible to a great extent for blurring
the distinctions between the sexes. It is sad indeed to see this also happening even