This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
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2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man1 Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
[1] 2:5
(ESV)
1 Timothy 2 constitutes one of the most controversial chapters in all Scripture. Why? First, many accuse Paul of revealing his true stripes of misogyny and unabashed chauvinism in his injunction against female pastors as outlined in this chapter. Second, many church bodies, including our own Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, understand Paul's words here to be transcultural. That is, his instruction relates not only to the first century, but also to our twenty-first century. Thus, in the LCMS, we do not ordain women as pastors.
Because of the debate and dispute surrounding this chapter, I have decided to post a brief theological study that I wrote a while back due in large part to the many questions that I perennially receive on this particular passage of Scripture. This study represents my humble, and most probably feeble, attempt to explain Paul's words in a way that affirms his integrity and, more importantly, the integrity of God's Word. I offer it below in the hope that it might be of some value to you as you struggle with these difficult words from 1 Timothy 2 in your "Word for Today" reading. Remember, even when a text is controversial, it is well worth our time and attention. For the words of Scripture are the very words of God. Thus, they speak to our minds, our souls, our hearts, and our lives and transform us into precious new creations in Christ.
With that, here is the study:
In 1 Timothy 2:11-15, Paul writes to a young pastor named Timothy:
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
There are several things in this passage that are worth noting.
First, the context of this passage is important. Paul begins this chapter by explaining the inclusive nature of the gospel:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time. (1 Timothy 2:1-6)
If you note, Paul consistently talks about how the gospel is for "all people." Thus, it is not because women are somehow lesser heirs to the gospel that they are not permitted to be pastors. No, God gives his gospel to all because his deepest desire is that all be saved.
Second, a couple of words are worth noting in 1 Timothy 2:11-15. First is the word "learn" in verse 11. When we read the words of this verse, the first word that usually jumps out to us is "submission." But for Paul's readers, to have learning women would have represented a radical departure from the cultural mores of his time. In general, women were not permitted to learn theology. Rabbi Eliezer, a prominent teacher in the first and second centuries, wrote, "He who teaches her daughter Torah teaches her obscenity." That is, women were not to be taught Scripture because they were not intellectually astute enough to handle it. Conversely, Paul, encourages women to learn God's Word, but says they also ought to learn politely. In other words, they ought to be quiet during the sermon and submissive to the clear teachings of God's Word (as we all are to be). The second key word is the word "teach" in verse 12. The context of this word refers to the preaching of the Word of God in a worship service, not to any and every kind of teaching. That is why there is prayer and the raising of hands going on in verse 8. This is worship! Thus, women are precluded from being pastors who preach, not Sunday school teachers or even participants in a worship service in other ways, such as in the reading of Scripture or in the singing of songs.
Third, it is important to note that when Paul makes a distinction between men and women and what they do in a worship service, he is in no way saying that one person is better than another. As Paul has already noted at the beginning of this chapter, we are all precious and valued in God's sight. Paul is saying, however, that God, in his wisdom, has chosen to give some people some roles and other people other roles in worship and in life in general. Indeed, God has been doing this ever since creation. Paul says in verse 13 that Adam and Eve themselves were different from their very creation. One was made from dust, the other from a rib. Does this make one better than the other? No. It just makes them different. Sadly, even in sin men and women proved to be different (verse 14). Eve was conned by Satan, Adam was led to sin by Eve. Thus, differences abound. Yet, in spite of sin, each person still has a special role to play in God's Kingdom. Paul says that the special role of pastor is to be given to some men who are appropriately trained for the job (see 1 Timothy 3:1-7). That does not mean that women do not have a special role to play, however. Paul concludes chapter 2 with these words: "But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety." I have done quite a bit of study on this passage in Greek, and my best translation would differ from the NIV, quoted here. I, along with many others, translate this passage: "But women will be saved through the child born." In other words, women are saved by the One who is born of a woman only, Jesus Christ. It is here that Paul commends women for their special and unique role in salvation history. When God wanted to save humanity, he chose a woman, not a man, to bear his Son. Indeed, a man had nothing to do with it, for Jesus was born of a virgin. This birth was first foretold to Eve by God in Genesis 3:15 when God says to Satan: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." God says that he will send a Savior who will crush the head of Satan. But notice, this Savior will be only the offspring of Eve, not of Adam. Thus, we find here the first foreshadowing of a virgin birth. Women, then, from Eve on, have a special connection to the Savior. For God chose a woman to bear his Savior Son, Jesus Christ. That is a role unique and specific to women just as being a pastor is a role unique and specific to some men.
Finally, the upshot of all of this is that God chooses different people for different tasks. God chose Abraham to be the father of Israel. He chose Moses to lead his people out of slavery Egypt. He chose Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land. He chose Deborah as a judge over Israel. He chose Esther to save the Jews from an evil plot aimed at their extinction. He chose twelve disciples to follow his Son Jesus and an apostle named Paul to spread the gospel to the Gentiles. God is constantly choosing certain people for certain tasks. Does this mean that he loves some people more than others or thinks more of some people than he does of others? No, of course not. But God, in his infinite wisdom, always seems to know the right person or people for the right job. Thus, God has chosen some men to be pastors in his church and a woman to bear his Son. Praise God for the unique roles we all have to play in his Kingdom.
11:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.”
6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”
9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.
14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”
18 The LORD made it known to me and I knew;
then you showed me their deeds.
19 But I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
I did not know it was against me
they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more.”
20 But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests the heart and the mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
(ESV)
God commanded Jeremiah to repeat the terms of the covenant that He made with His chosen people Israel and warn them of the curses that would come upon them for refusing to obey God's commands. "Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God." God's people deliberately broke the covenant He made with them and consequently, the curses that God carefully laid out for them in Deuteronomy 28 were now going to come upon them. "And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known." (Deuteronomy 28:63-64) Just as God was true to His promise to give Israel the Promised Land and make them a great nation, so now He would be true to His threat to bring ruin upon them and scatter them among the nations because they broke His covenant. Though the false gods of Israel were as numerous as the cities of Judah or the streets of Jerusalem, their idols would be of no help to them. Once again, God commanded Jeremiah not pray for Israel, for the only true God who could be of any help to them would not listen. Although the people brought "sacrificial flesh" to offer at the temple, they continued to set up altars to the Baals and make offerings to them, and as a result their sacrifices at the temple could not avert their doom. The LORD warned Jeremiah that because of his preaching against their sin, he had become like a sacrificial lamb that the people of his own hometown of Anathoth were ready to slaughter. Jeremiah committed his cause to the LORD and asked God to take vengeance on them because of their wicked schemes.
66:1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
4 All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on1 my tongue.2
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
(ESV)