OBJECTIONS – OLD TESTAMENT.

“God made all his creatures free;

Life itself is liberty;

God ordained no other bands

Than united hearts and hands.”

                     – James Montgomery.

     THE objections to the ordination of women maybe classed under two heads – Scriptural and natural.

     It is urged that the Bible represents the woman as inferior to the man, and subject to him; therefore she should not be permitted to occupy a position equal to his, either in church or in state. As proof of this, the fact that she was created last is presented.

     But, if this proves anything, it proves her superiority. For the work of creation proceeded in regular gradation from the lower to the higher.

     Matter is not eternal. Away back in the beginning, millions of millions of years before our earth was fitted up for the abode of man, God created the heaven and the earth.

     On the first of our six days of creation, light appeared. On the second, the atmosphere was formed. On the third day, the waters of the earth were gathered together, the dry land appeared, and our vegetable world was brought into existence.

     On the fourth day, light was concentrated around the sun, and it was made a luminous body, and the celestial luminaries were so arranged as to afford an accurate measurement of time, and to give distinction to the seasons.

     On the fifth day, fish, fowls and reptiles were created.

     On the sixth day, land animals were created –man last – the male first – the woman last of all.

     Mathew Henry, in his comment on this verse, says: “That Adam was first formed, then Eve (1 Tim.2:13), and she was made of the man and for the man (1Cor. 11:8, 9), all which is urged there as reasons for the humility, modesty, silence and submissiveness of that sex in general, and particularly the subjection and reverence which wives owe to their own husbands. Yet man being made last of the creatures, as the best and most excellent of all, Eve’s, being made after Adam, and out of him, puts an honor upon that sex, as the glory of the man. – 1 Cor. 11:7. If man is the head, she is the crown; a crown to her husband, the crown of the visible creation. The man was dust refined, but the woman was dust double refined, one remove further from the earth.”

     Woman was created, not as the servant of man, but as his companion, his equal. “And the Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” – Gen. 2:18.

     Dr. Adam Clarke, in his comment on this verse, says: “I will make him a help meet for him; ezer kenegedo, a help, a counterpart of himself, one formed from him, and a perfect resemblance of his person. If the word be rendered scrupulously literally, it signifies one like, or as himself, standing opposite to or before him. And this implies that the woman was to be a perfect resemblance of the man, possessing neither inferiority nor superiority, but being in all things like and equal to himself.”

     The dominion which God gave to man at the creation was a joint dominion. It was given to the woman equally as to the man.

     “And God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image

of God created he him; male and female created he them.” – Gen. 1:26, 27.

     Let THEM have dominion.

     It is, then, evident that God created woman a female man – nothing more – nothing less. She had all the rights and prerogatives of the man. The dominion given to him was given equally to her.

     Nothing was said of the subjection of woman before the fall. After that sad event, it was said to the woman, as a part of her punishment: “Thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.” –Gen. 3:16.

     On this verse Dr. Adam Clarke says, “And he shall rule over thee, though at their creation both were formed with equal rights, and the woman had probably as much right to rule as the man; but subjection to the will of her husband is one part of her curse; and so very capricious is this will often, that a sorer punishment no human being can well have, to be at all in a state of liberty, and under the protection of wise and equal laws.”

     But it was promised that “The seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head.” – Gen. 3:15. Christ was THE SEED OF THE WOMAN. Woman gave to the world man’s Redeemer. If she was first in the fall, she was first in the restoration. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. – Gal.3:13. The US includes woman.

     The Pharisees asked Christ: “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?”

     In his answer he did not appeal to existing laws, or long established customs. He based his answer on the state of things that existed before the fall. “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female?” – Matt. 19:4. Why this appeal to the beginning? IT WAS TO REENACT THE LAW ENACTED THEN. For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh. Thus Christ restored the primitive law. He said nothing about the subjection of woman– not one word.

     “But,” it is objected, “domestic society requires the wife to be subject to the husband.”

     This is a great mistake. If it did, Christ would doubtless have given directions accordingly.

     But it does not. The greatest domestic happiness always exists where husband and wife live together on terms of equality. Two men, having individual interests, united only by business ties, daily associate as partners for years, without either of them being in subjection to the other. They consider each other as equals; and treat each other as equals. Then, cannot a man and woman, united by conjugal love, the strongest tie that can unite two human beings, having the same interests, live together in the same manner?

     Christ came to repair the ruin wrought by the fall. In Him, and in Him only, is Paradise restored.

     The Gospel belongs to woman as much as to man.

     But, it is again objected that under the Aaronic priesthood men only were priests.

     This is true; but the priests were not the only or the chief religious teachers of the Jews. The prophets ranked in this respect above the priests.

     But women prophesied. Miriam, was a prophetess – Ex. 15:20. And God in speaking of the deliverance of his people from Egypt, classes her with Moses and Aaron. “And I sent before thee Moses, Aaron and Miriam.” – Micah 6:4. She was, then, one of the chosen leaders of his people sent by God. Does not this answer the question, Why did not God appoint a woman to be a leader, if it is ever right for a woman to lead? With Moses and Aaron God sent Miriam” before” His people – that is to lead them.

     Deborah was a prophetess and a judge. She performed all the duties that men did who judged Israel, even, to leading their armies to successful battle –Judges 4:4. Huldah was a prophetess (2 Ki. 22:14 and so was Noadiah. Nah. 6:14.

     Then we conclude that there is nothing in the creation of woman or in her condition under the law which proves that no woman should be ordained as a minister of the Gospel.