Misunderstood

Vicki Andree

Description

Misunderstood is the enlightening story of four Biblical women who have historically been maligned by Bible scholars. Commentaries and study notes throughout the ages have condemned them for one reason or another.

As you read these stories, I hope you will take some time to think about giving grace to others instead of judging. Judging is the easiest and most natural thing we do when things don't look right to us.

A Holy God above us sees all. I would rather err on the side of grace than judgment.

What if some women in the Bible weren't the evil souls portrayed by Biblical scholars throughout history? Suppose their stories were interpreted through a different lens?

In the past, most accounts of women have been portrayed by men. What if, like many women throughout history, these women were simply misunderstood?

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Sermons
• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 26 octobre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456625863
• Langue: English

Extrait

Misunderstood
 
 
Vicki Andree

Copyright 2015 Vicki Andree,
All rights reserved.
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2586-3
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
 
NIV: Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.
Dedication
Gina and Renee, daughters I love. Wives of my sons, mothers of my grandchildren, blessings to everyone.
Preface
Make no mistake about this: I love the Scriptures. For the better part of my life, I have turned to them for guidance and support. The Bible is God’s love letter to us. I believe every word of it is truth and that it was written by the Holy Spirit through the hands of chosen men and women. My sentiments about the Scriptures are reflected in the verses of Psalm 19, beginning with verse 7:
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
My intention in writing this book is not to rewrite Scripture but to encourage readers to reconsider the notes and commentaries written years ago by learned men.
Commentaries have made an enormous contribution to those of us who want to better understand the Bible. In many cases I agree completely with their remarks. However, in the case of judgments against women, opinions written by men from ages past leave me wondering if these men fully understood. Therefore, I must study beyond their opinions.
The men who wrote the commentaries were not eyewitnesses to Biblical events any more than we are. One should always question notes and commentaries. When the Holy Spirit prompts me to think more deeply about a Scripture, I must disregard the commentary. Preconceived notions and limited information in notes written by human beings who were influenced by their environment and culture must be tossed aside.
So let’s use our heads. Don’t accept someone else’s opinion when it makes no sense or when there is room for discussion. That’s what Bible study is about.
Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate what Bible scholars have provided to me and other Bible students, helping us understand the Word. However, if some of these commentaries had been written by women, they would most certainly tell a different story.
The simple reason is that God created men and women differently.
Excerpts from Dr. Michael Conner’s article “Understanding the Differences Between Men and Women” relate a few of those differences. 1 He writes:
For centuries, the differences between men and women were socially defined and distorted through a lens of sexism in which men assumed superiority over women and maintained it.....
The vision of equality between the sexes has narrowed the possibilities for discovery of what truly exists within a man and within a woman. The world is less interesting when everything is the same...
The physical differences between men and women provide functional advantages and have survival value. Men usually have greater upper body strength, build muscle easily, have thicker skin, bruise less easily and have a lower threshold of awareness of injuries to their extremities. Men are essentially built for physical confrontation and the use of force. Their joints are well suited for throwing objects. A man’s skull is almost always thicker and stronger than a woman’s. The stereotype that men are more “thick headed” than women is not far fetched. A man’s “thick headedness,” and other anatomical differences have been associated with a uniquely male attraction of high speed activities and reckless behavior that usually involve collisions with other males or automobiles. Men invented the game “chicken,” not women. Men, and a number of other males species of animal seem to charge and crash into each other a great deal in their spare time.
Women, on the other hand, have four times as many brain cells (neurons) connecting the right and left side of their brain. This latter finding provides physical evidence that supports the observation that men rely easily and more heavily on their left brain to solve one problem one step at a time. Women have more efficient access to both sides of their brain and therefore greater use of their right brain. Women can focus on more than one problem at one time and frequently prefer to solve problems through multiple activities at a time.
This is just a peek into the differences between men and women. But you get the idea. Many more differences exist, and if I tried to list all of them, I would need to write another book!
In a physical fight, the woman would most probably be the underdog. I’ve always been for the underdog, perhaps because I’m the oldest of four children. My job as the oldest child was to set an example, teach the others simple things about life, and protect them, though I must admit that when I was younger, I did not always exhibit the characteristics of a protector. Early on, I remember noticing a bassinette and thinking it was for my doll. When mother arrived with my new little sister, I was quite offended that she slept there.
I actually tried to get into the bassinette, but my three-and-a-half-year-old self wouldn’t quite fit. My motivation was that if I got into it, by rights of possession, it would be mine. The new baby couldn’t take it away from me. However, the new baby had Mother on her side, and I was banished from the bassinette.
I probably did as much or more of the things older siblings do to the new arrivals. However, defending my siblings as we grew up became instinctual. Without a second thought, I would jump to their defense.
At times I complained about my siblings, but if anyone else said anything demeaning about them, I made it clear that I would not tolerate such judgments. Relationships are complex, and family relationships seem to be the most complex of all.
In any case, as I mentioned before, I have always been for the underdog. I am happy to say that the LORD has given me opportunities to stand up for those who could not defend themselves. Occasionally, I paid a price for it. One time I lost my job for helping a coworker.
When I consider the women of the Bible, I often wonder how circumstances might have changed had someone stood up for them. I think of the culture of the day and how women who were treated as something less than objects or possessions.
Jesus changed all that when He said, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
Jesus made that statement back in the first century. Since God cannot lie, and Jesus is God, He just pronounced women equal to men. Every woman alive today would agree that His remark fell on deaf ears. Perhaps changes occurred within the Christian community, but overall, it was business as usual. The same goes with what He said about slavery and race.
A Victim of Circumstance
Have you ever wondered about the back story of an event recorded in the Bible? I have. I relate to the event much better when I consider what may have happened.
Join me as I take you on a journey in a woman’s life. We’re in the Middle East. A woman we’ll call Anna sits in a dusty street, clinging to a small bag containing all her belongings. How could this happen? Life has tossed her from one situation to another. She is worn out and despondent in every way. She has no life and feels numb, not knowing where to go or what to do. Her thin burlap dress sags around her shoulders. After all the years He has stood by her, she now believes God has abandoned her. She can’t count the number of times she had gone to the temple to pray lately—so many times—but now it seems God does not hear her prayers. Now she sits in the street, clinging to a small bag containing all her belongings. How could this happen? And here she recounts the last twenty years of her life.
“All I ever wanted was a home, a husband, and children,” she wails at a cloudy sky. “Why have You done this to me? God, You are punishing me for something, but I don’t know what it is. Who sinned? Was it me or my parents? Why is all this happening to me?”
Silence shouted back, and her shoulders dropped lower.
Just twenty years ago, she married the man her parents chose. Now, as she looked back, that was a prayer that God answered. She had prayed that her parents would choose a certain young man in the village. She was thankful they chose him, a young man with no previous wives. He was a good man, and she was excited at the prospect of being a wife.
She fell in love with him before the vows were made. Within a few months after the marriage, she was pregnant and beaming as she anticipated the birth. She was living her dream. She and her new husband just knew they would have a son, an heir, to carry on the family name.
When she went into labor, things went terribly wrong. The baby was born, but he never took a breath. He was a beautiful baby boy, just as they prayed. She asked herself, “Where is God in this?” She never received the peace she so de