When Men Step Aside and Women Step Ahead: A Biblical Reflection
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I reflect on Jeremiah’s account of Israel’s idolatry, especially worship of the “Queen of Heaven,” noting how whole families participated. Drawing parallels to today, I warn that modern Christians similarly drift into false practices when men are passive and women exceed biblical roles, disrupting God’s intended balance.
I finished reading through Isaiah, and the next Old Testament passage in my daily Bible is Jeremiah. Another tough book. But as with all books of the Bible, another good one.
The situation is that the Jews were enduring siege and famine because they were, according to the word of God through Jeremiah the prophet, burning sacrifices and worshiping other gods.
The men said “we will not listen to you”, Jeremiah, because when they did burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven, things were going great. It was only when they stopped sacrificing to other gods then they found themselves under the sword and under famine.
Matthew Henry says of their breathtaking arrogance and stupidity,
We have here the people’s obstinate refusal to submit to the power of the word of God in the mouth of Jeremiah. We have scarcely such an instance of downright daring contradiction to God himself as this, or such an avowed rebellion of the carnal mind.
Who exactly was sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven? Everybody. It was a family affair.
“They plead that, though the women were most forward and active in their idolatries, yet they did it with the consent and approbation of their husbands; the women were busy to make cakes for meat-offerings to the queen of heaven and to prepare and pour out the drink-offerings, v. 19.”
It wasn’t just the women. It was both husbands and wives. How can we know that the husbands were complicit in this idolatry of worship to ‘The Queen of Heaven’? That the entire family was involved? Jeremiah 7:18 says-
The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to provoke Me to anger. (Jeremiah 7:18)
Matthew Henry commentary continues, “We find that the women had been more guilty of idolatry and superstition than the men, not because the men stuck closer to the true God and the true religion than the women, but, I fear, because they were generally atheists, and were for no God and no religion at all, and therefore could easily allow their wives to be of a false religion, and to worship false gods.” end M.Henry commentary.
It’s that way today. The women slowly, incrementally drift off to other Christian-ish sounding concepts, follow false teachers, and perform practices from other religions that are labeled with a Christian overlay, such as contemplative prayer, ‘Christian’ yoga, wellness ideologies, New Age stuff. This happens partly because the husband is a functional atheist, his passivity contributes to the wife’s problem.
It IS sad that a husband and wife devolve to do evil rather than the highest good for heaven and to glorify God. When both marital partners are enticed by their flesh, the world, or each other, it is a devolving situation. It began in the garden with Eve succumbing to temptation and then enticing passive, ‘whatever’ Adam “who was with her.” (Genesis 3:6).
There is a discussion on social media right now about weak men and the women taking charge either at the limit of proper biblical boundaries or beyond them. It is good to have these discussions (if you can sort through the trolls and intentionally incendiary posts). People are pointing to women with big platforms or huge influence as the root cause of the downward spiral of this nation and/or the church. But ever since the man and the woman transgressed in the Garden, the problem has always been when both abdicate their roles.
It’s still hard, but a bit easier if only one of a spouse does. Abigail was married to Nabal, a brute of a husband, which was widely known and understood. Yet in humility and intelligence with wisdom (1 Samuel 25:3) she persuaded David to leave off his dangerous path. She didn’t leave off her proper worship and behavior just because Nabal was a “worthless man” (1 Samuel 25:17).
Esther was married to an immature, impulsive king, but she managed to do the same with Xerxes. Immature deceiver Jacob was married to two women but had eyes only for Rachel. But Leah loved Jacob and did her best to withstand the hatred and petulance of her sister Rachel. In the end it was Leah, not Rachel, who bore Judah through the line the Saviour came.
Stay godly, women. Stay behind the boundaries of God-ordained roles in the home and in church. If your husband leads well, great. But even if he doesn’t.
Some have said on twitter/X that it’s women who have been ‘accelerating the gas pedal to the destruction of our nation’ because, feminism. No and yes. Since the roles are complementary, and since the marital couple are ‘one flesh,’ doesn’t it stand to reason that when one goes astray, quite often the other does too? Each in their own way. Women would not usurp if the men didn’t step out of the way. Nature abhors a vacuum. When men aren’t strong, women will take the lead.
God made the women the helper suitable for the man. The two are complementary. Man being alone is not good, and women need to help. When both operate within their God-ordained roles, the balance is kept. When they don’t, that’s when things get out of hand. (Genesis 3:16b).
Let’s finish with a good scripture passage:
Ephesians 5:22-33, Marriage like Christ and the Church
22Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30because we are parts of His body. 31FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.
