I get to write about my life again! This is great.
This Christmas was amazing. I was praying about leadership, and God answered me. The next morning God opened my Bible at Hezekiah. I read about the evil Mannaseh and then godly Josiah. I drank my coffee, and turned the page. The title of an insert caught my eye: "Female Prophets" [1]. Here is what it says:
Remember my post titled, "The Dispatching and Disbanding of Deborah"? I wrote it a few years ago. I believed until now that women lead in the absence of men. This means that if I have been given a calling by God, it's because somebody had not reached the potential their job required or was absent from their job.
I used to believe that if I have authority, it's borrowed; on loan. It is a stewardship and the real deal belongs to someone else. My ministry is to be "returned to owner" as soon as a worthy candidate becomes available. I was actually okay with stewarding authority, because I really don't need to be a leader. I don't feel like it's something I HAVE to do or be. I prefer others to lead.
But here is the corrective truth in black and white. Godly men who wrote my Bible's footnote have interpreted God's Word in this passage, saying that women lead regardless of the circumstances based on their gifting - period. A woman's leadership is without reference to the capacity and availability of men. I also read the passage for myself and agree.
This makes much more sense - because I knew that God gives authority directly to believers, which takes us to PART 2.
[1] Radmacher, Earl D. (2007) NKJV Study Bible, Second Edition. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
This Christmas was amazing. I was praying about leadership, and God answered me. The next morning God opened my Bible at Hezekiah. I read about the evil Mannaseh and then godly Josiah. I drank my coffee, and turned the page. The title of an insert caught my eye: "Female Prophets" [1]. Here is what it says:
Huldah played a significant part in the history of Israel, although she appeared only once on the stage of the nation's history, during a time of religious defection.Well - this is very different!
In Jerusalem, King Josiah of Judah initiated renewed interest in the Book of the Law, and Huldah participated in the subsequent spiritual revival. She was the wife of Shallum, who was 'keeper of the wardrobe' (possibly either royal robes and attire or priestly garments and vestments.) They lived in the Second Quarter, a newer section of Jerusalem which developed as a westward or northern expansion of the old city (perhaps somewhat like a modern-day suburb).
Huldah, not Jeremiah or Zephaniah (both of whom were active as prophets during this time), was consulted when the king instructed the priests to "inquire of the LORD" as to the meaning of the Book of the Law, a scroll that had been found during the work of restoration and cleaning in the temple. It was significant that with the number of prophets living in Jerusalem at that time, the priest Hilkiah and the rest of the king's advisors turned to a woman for a word from God. This nullifies the reasoning some use to suggest that God only uses women for ministry when no men are available. Obviously, whether in a private audience or in the presence of the congregation, God used Huldah to bear testimony and deliver a message from Him to the high priest and to the king (22:14-20).
The tradition of female prophets is mentioned only sporadically in the Old Testament, but Huldah is not the only one highlighted. She is in good company with Miriam and Deborah (Ex. 15:20, Judg. 4:4); however, another female, Noadiah (Neh. 6:14) was a false prophet who worked against the people of God.
The regard for Huldah's own integrity and authority as a woman of God made her validation of the recently discovered Book of the Law all that was required for immediate action on the part of the king. Her message was not her own, but from the Lord. The fact that the phrase, 'Thus says the LORD,' is repeated four times in her short prophecy emphasizes that Huldah understood her responsibility and opportunity to be a channel through whom God delivered His word (22:15-17, 19).
All of the reforms set forth by King Josiah were based on the word of God as given to a woman. Huldah was apparently so well known as a woman of God and so highly trusted with regard to her understanding of God's Law that for a time her nation's whole religious consciousness and practice were re-ignited in faithfulness to God. Huldah, a deeply devout woman, made her God-given spiritual gifts available to God, and she was obedient and faithful to deliver the Word from God to her people.
Remember my post titled, "The Dispatching and Disbanding of Deborah"? I wrote it a few years ago. I believed until now that women lead in the absence of men. This means that if I have been given a calling by God, it's because somebody had not reached the potential their job required or was absent from their job.
I used to believe that if I have authority, it's borrowed; on loan. It is a stewardship and the real deal belongs to someone else. My ministry is to be "returned to owner" as soon as a worthy candidate becomes available. I was actually okay with stewarding authority, because I really don't need to be a leader. I don't feel like it's something I HAVE to do or be. I prefer others to lead.
But here is the corrective truth in black and white. Godly men who wrote my Bible's footnote have interpreted God's Word in this passage, saying that women lead regardless of the circumstances based on their gifting - period. A woman's leadership is without reference to the capacity and availability of men. I also read the passage for myself and agree.
This makes much more sense - because I knew that God gives authority directly to believers, which takes us to PART 2.
[1] Radmacher, Earl D. (2007) NKJV Study Bible, Second Edition. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
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