You Can Sure Tell It's the End Times! ".....And Women Shall Rule Over Them."

Because I can just smell some in the Church of God ministry and Wannabe's  chomping at the bit to write about our living in the last days because of all the WOMEN being elected to office or about to give the Trumpster a run for his money should he choose or be available to run for President in 2020, I thought I would offer the current actual historical context and theological perspective on one of the Churches of God Greatest Hits against women.

Isaiah 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

https://margmowczko.com/isaiah-3_12-women-leaders/

For the Complete Article

The context of Isaiah 3:12 

Isaiah chapter 3 is an oracle of judgement. It foretells the demise of Jerusalem and Judah as a consequence of Judah’s rebellion against God. This rebellion was brought about by the vices and mismanagement of its civil and religious leaders. At the beginning of Isaiah chapter 3 we read that God is about to remove the capable and gifted people from Judah, including, or especially, the ruling classes of Jerusalem. (This is exactly what happened in the early sixth century when the Babylonians invaded Judah and began deporting their best and brightest.)

An English translation of the Septuagint’s version of Isaiah 3:1 reads: “Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water” (Isa. 3:1). In the following two verses, God lists what kind of mighty men and women will be removed: “the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counsellor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter” (Isa. 3:2-3 NIV).

Israel had previously benefited from the wise counsel, leadership, and heroic actions of certain men and women, but there would come a time when only the poorest, weakest, and least skilled would be left in Judah. Anarchy and extortion would follow as irresponsible leaders gain control.[1] These leaders are described as children and as untrained in Isaiah 3:4. (This idea of children as leaders comes up again in our text Isaiah 3:12.) In Isaiah 3:5-7, God outlines some ways people will be cheated and oppressed by their leaders. These ideas may also be behind Isaiah 3:12.

So what does Isaiah 3:12 mean?

Ok...couldn't resist. This one is mine but I believe I can detect a certain Diehl tendency to stand her ground and stir pots in the future. 

There seems to be three ways of understanding God’s words in Isaiah 3:12.

1. Isaiah 3:12 should be interpreted literally.

Some believe that the meaning of Isaiah 3:12a, as it is in the Hebrew text, should be taken literally despite the poetic nature of this verse. If so, Judah will be ruled by young and inexperienced men. This might refer to Ahaz, who was a weak and wicked king. In the year 732 BC, Ahaz began his sixteen-year rule at the age of 20 (2 Kings 16:2 cf. Eccl. 10:16). Or it may refer to later leaders.

According to the literal interpretation, Judah will also be ruled by women, perhaps the queen mother (cf. 2 Kings 11:1-16) and other prominent women in the royal court. These may be the “haughty women of Zion” denounced in Isaiah 3:16-25. The descriptions of these haughty women show that they are wealthy and, therefore, influential.

2. Isaiah 3:12 should be interpreted metaphorically.

A second possible interpretation of Isaiah 3:12, favoured by many scholars, is that metaphors are used in this verse. In this interpretation “children” and “women” are used as metaphors which signify that the leaders will be childish (i.e. inexperienced, capricious, or foolish) and effeminate (i.e. cowardly and ineffective) (cf. Isa. 3:4). In a note in the Geneva Bible (1599), Theodore Beza describes these leaders as “manifest tokens of [God’s] wrath, because they would be fools and effeminate.”[2]

As now, it was an insult in ancient times to call a grown man a “child”. To call a man a “woman” was also, unfortunately, a common insult. One example of this insult is given by the historian Herodotus where he records Xerxes, king of Persia, as saying: “My men have become women, and my women men.” (Histories 8.88.3) Interestingly, both Vashti and Esther risked their lives by standing up for their principles and defying the king’s request and ruling (Esth. 1:12; 4:16 cf. 5:2). But Xerxes’ words here are about his own men who floundered, and about Queen Artemisia I of Caria. Xerxes had a tremendous regard for Artemisia who was his ally, and who had personally and valiantly led her navy in the battle at Salamis (480 BC). Thus Xerxes refers to her as a “man”. The Greek word for courage, andreia, which is used for both valiant men and women in Greek literature and in the Bible, comes from the Greek word for “man” (e.g., Prov. 12:4; 31:10; cf. 1 Cor. 16:13).

In Isaiah 3:12a, it is not clear who, specifically, the inept leaders of Judah are, or will be. But they are certainly being belittled and disparaged in this interpretation of the text.

3. Isaiah 3:12 originally did not contain the word for “women.”

A third possible interpretation, which is favoured by some scholars, is that the word for “women” was not originally part of Isaiah 3:12, the original word being “creditors”. (There is also some doubt about the word “children” in 3:12.) The Hebrew word for women in Isaiah 3:12 is nashim (נשים). With identical consonants, but different vowel points, the word can be noshim (נשים), which means “creditors”. The Aramaic Targum of Isaiah 3:12 has nosim (“creditors”). Accordingly, the New English Bible (NEB) translates the pertinent phrase as “the usurers lord it over them”.[3]

The Septuagint was translated from Hebrew to Greek centuries before the Masoretes added their system of vowel points to the Hebrew text. The Septuagint’s version of Isaiah 3:12a (translated into English) reads: “O my people, your extractors strip you, and extortioners rule over you.” The idea of being extorted by creditors fits with the overall context of Isaiah chapter 3, especially verses 5-7, but so does the idea of inappropriate men and women being leaders. Whatever the original word may have been, it is clear that God was saying that Judah would be led, or bullied, by incompetent leaders.

Here are two English translations of Isaiah which favour different sources.

My people—children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you,
and confuse the course of your paths. (NRSV)

Oppressors treat my people cruelly;
creditors rule over them.
My people’s leaders mislead them;
they give you confusing directions. (NET)[4]

Does the Bible show that women leaders are a bad thing?

God’s judgement for Judah’s rebellion, caused by bad leaders, was that Judah would be oppressed by even worse leaders. Some people, however, highlight that having female leaders was part of God’s judgement. They argue that having a woman as a leader is an abhorrent aberration from God’s ideal and norm of male leadership of the community of his people. Is this really the case?

The events in the Old Testament mostly occurred at a time when patriarchy was the pervasive social dynamic, and men ruled women (cf. Gen 3:16b). Nevertheless, some women were leaders of towns: civil leaders (e.g., Sheerah); and some women were prophets: religious leaders (e.g., Miriam). These women held respected and recognized leadership positions in society, and they were not regarded as odd.

Deborah was a judge and a prophet, two of the roles listed in Isaiah 3:1-2ff.

Many men in the Old Testament took advice and directions from women, and they did not see it as either a humiliating affront or as a punishment.
~ Two Israelite spies followed the directions Rahab gave them, to the letter, and they escaped from being caught by the king of Jericho’s men (Josh. 2:16, 22).
~ Barak, an army general, took directions from, and depended on, Deborah (Judg. 4:6, 8).
~ David heeded and praised the advice and prophetic words diplomatically and courageously given by Abigail (1 Sam. 25:23-31).
~ Joab, David’s general, agreed to the negotiations offered by the Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah on behalf of her town (2 Sam. 20:15-22).
~ Solomon bowed to his mother Bathsheba and gave her a throne at his right hand, making her a powerful woman, albeit not as powerful as Solomon (1 Kings 2:19).
~ King Lemuel respected the oracles taught to him by his mother, and recorded them. Her words still instruct (Prov. 31:1-9).
~ King Josiah sought out the advice and carried out the instructions of the prophetess Huldah (2 Kings 22:8-20; 23:1-25; 2 Chron. 34:19-33).
~ Mordecai, and others, carried out all the instructions of his niece Esther, Xerxes’ queen (Esth. 4:17 NIV).

The Old Testament women mentioned here, and others, were used by God and respected by men.

Being advised or taught or led by godly women is not an act of God’s judgement or punishment. Rather, it is the leadership given by fools and wimps, or corrupt avaricious creditors, that constitutes God’s judgement against Judah given in Isaiah 3:12 (cf. Isa. 3:14-16).

A Little Help From Friends

On Leaving the Cult

Leaving a cult is exactly like this...

It is not easy to leave a Cult. 

I am telling you this by personal experience. When your entire worldview changes, your entire way of looking at life changes, it is a process that literally takes months, years - and decades. No human likes anything related to change. Especially - yes, especially when it involves the core fundamental beliefs of your entire being of soul. In fact, leaving the mindset of a spiritually (and sometimes, physically) dangerous cult can be the hardest and most difficult thing you may ever be faced with a decision to do. But I will tell you, many many years after the initial process, it was the best thing I ever could have done - and I could only do it with the help of Jesus. 

I remember very well the very first moments when I began to realize that what I was being told was wrong. At first, every single cellular part of me absolutely rebelled. But it was not a "logic" based rebellion. Because logic was telling me that something was amiss throughout the entire Armstrong experience. The "rebellion" was fear-based. And it was that all-encompassing fear that was resisting the gate to freedom that was right in front of me. 

I will tell you everything that I feared in those initial days. 

First, I feared that I was "breaking" every command that I had believed that God had given me through the teachings of the Church, and that I had committed to through Baptism and through countless periods of dual Bible-Armstrong studies. I had grown up in the full brunt of the Armstrong Lifestyle. Honestly, I knew nothing different then the do's and the dont's of our interpretation of Mosaic Law. And the interpretation that my family absorbed and practiced was on the extreme conservative, fundamental end of the scale. In fact, my entire childhood in the Armstrong environment was firstly, fear based, secondly, command based, and thirdly, isolationist-based. My entire life during those periods could be based on this one sentence: "Obey, or God will Strike." And by the word Obey, I mean "Do NOT mess up". By the word "God", you could replace that with "The Minister". And it was "The Minister" who ruled our family and our family's every decision. Freewill was not existent in our family in the Armstrong hierarchy. There was plenty of reason due to personal family circumstances why I should be in fear of God or The Minister. So, the Church Doctrines were not, in my mind, debated or even considered to be anything but the highest order of Obedience - our Prime Directive, if you will. For years and years, this is all I knew - and any alternative was satanic, devilish, demonic, and destined to doom me to destruction for all eternity as judged by The Minister. 

Second, the only environment I ever knew - due to many circumstances - was the Church. My exposure to the outside world, for many reasons, was severely limited. The only culture I ever knew - was the Church. And Church families - and all the problems associated with Church Families. My entire environment was rooted and cemented in fear. So when I began to open the Bible and to read it for what it said - it could not have been a more polarizing emotional experience. 

First, I could not dispute what was being plainly taught by  the writings of Paul to the Galatians, Collosians, Ephesians, Philippians and Corinthians churches. Now I know that in the audience here, there are many opinions concerning Paul, and I've heard them all, so try to set aside those for a second. The point I am making is simple: For the first time, when I read these scriptures *without the bias* of Armstrong's interpretations, the points made were shockingly clear. ANd pointedly clear. I read them over and over again, and had no choice but to conclude three words: Herbert Was Wrong. 

But how could Herbert have been so wrong? How could he have been so in error? What else did I not know? Eagerly, I began to, for the first time, begin to investigate the secrets of the Church that were exposed by certain individuals who were "in the know". And this was the most shocking revelation of all physical revelations that one could encounter. How could it be that these things could have happened? And if they DID indeed happen - is there evidence to prove they happened? 

I quickly found out there were VOLUMES of evidence that proved that what was alleged was not a fabricated attempt to defame. The evidence fit exactly with what was alleged. And slowly, I began to piece together a puzzle that never fit in any way before. Things made sense. The disconnects began to finally form a very ugly picture. 

I saw the undeniable evidence that Herbert was wrong in his speculations. I saw the undeniable evidence of fear-based financial fraud. I saw the undeniable evidence of ministerial abuse. I never could, before delving into these things, understand how Herbert, with a rage-ful and angry temperament and explosive personality could be the messenger of a God of Love. This did not make sense! I never could understand the haughty arrogance of ministers that made you afraid of them. Or how snooty and pompous they were. I didn't face these questions because I reasoned that "God's in Charge, He will take care of it." I was in total denial of the questions that I knew I had but never wanted to face because deep inside, there was the idea that maybe, just maybe, I was wrong! But I couldn't be wrong! I was chosen! Called! Special! One of the infinitesimal few who God picked! I was going to be a King! a Leader! Why, if I'm wrong, then what am I? Who am I? So better to shove it to the back, I'd think. 

Yet, in time, the realities could not be ignored. I began to realize how intensely we focused on the physical and completely ignored the spiritual. I began to see how much we not only rejected Jesus' teachings, but despised them. I began to see how Herbert had jumbled up the Bible and threw out any ability of understanding context, because he threw EVERYTHING out and based everything on HIS understanding, and rejecting everything else that wasn't how HE saw it. And it wasn't long before I clearly had my answer right in front of me: We were wrong. "I'm out." 

Gulp!!!!! 

Let me tell you, my absolute fear and panic was extreme the very first time I understood my allegiance was not in obligation to obeying the Old Testament ceremonial and regulatory laws of worship and festivals. When I realized that my salvation is not dependent on food or drink, and that Jesus is my atonement and has made atonement for me and rejected the notion that keeping Atonement had any affect at all on my salvation, I decided not to observe Atonement any longer, and that was the hardest thing I had ever done. Same with Unleavened Bread. I knew this was true, because I can remember that though I was physically following the letter of the law, my spirit was getting more and more spiritually prideful and corrupt. The "better" I kept the letter of the Law, the more prideful my spirit was getting. This happened with every Holy Day and every Sabbath - that haughty arrogance that comes with believing you are right and everyone else is wrong. That you are earning your salvation by obedience to the Law (YES, we believed that, no matter how many times we said that wasn't the case.) That God is going to judge you not on your love to God and Man and following the words of Jesus, but that you ate a piece of food at 7:45 and not 7:48, or had a hidden piece of leaven in the heating register all that time and you didn't know it, and you broke Unleavened Bread because of your negligence. Or the constant wonder if you accidentally broke the Sabbath by doing too much of one thing, or not enough of the other. Or wondering how all that work on the Sabbath was actually okay, because you'd be breaking the Sabbath if you did the same thing at home and not for a Church Potluck. Or seeing a Sabbath Command in the Bible that the minister just skipped over because "it doesn't apply to us" when the minister issues another command that was NOT in the Bible that DID apply. It did not make sense, and I knew it, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it right, and then it hit me that that was the point. It was about Jesus - so He, and not my observance to ceremony and ritual - was to be my emphasis from that point on, not worrying about days and seasons and years. And again. 

Gulp!!!

The initial fears were unfounded. I was not struck by lightning. God's love did not fade. Yes, changing your entire life was, and is, hard. But spiritually? It was the very best thing that ever happened to me - I began to understand the Rest that happens when you surrender to Jesus, whom all of those ceremonies and rituals pointed to in the first place. There is no rest when you are living in fear. There is no rest when your focus is on the physical. The only rest is in the Spirit - and that is only because of what Jesus did for us and how we can now have access to the Throne of Grace and the Father through what Jesus did for all of us. No longer was there that feeling of haughty, arrogant pride because I was doing everything so much better than those evil pagans on the outside. No longer was there that special feeling of superiority. Though many challenges were to come - the lesson was learned. The lesson was the lesson of learning the meaning and the lessons of love. And no observance of any physical ritual will ever give you that Rest that can only happen by thinking, and acting in the love of Jesus in your everyday life. 

No, it's not easy to leave a cult. I'm still going through the process of deprogramming - decades later. But if there's one thing that I have now, that I did not have then, while in the cult? It's the fact that I can say, resolutely, that I'm at peace. And I can say that I know Jesus loves, and that the Father cares, and that God has not left me like I had feared. In fact, I can say to you that God has made himself more known to me now than I EVER thought I knew him while in the den of lies that was the cult. 

One word, however. You cannot do it alone. But there's good news in a song we all know and love. The four words of that song? 

You'll Never Walk Alone. 

God said he will NEVER leave you, never forsake you.  And you will NEVER walk alone. He's there for you now, He'll be there for you there, He'll be there for you anywhere. We even sang those words in the song we sang "Lord you have searched and have encamped my paths, you oh eternal God know all my ways, If up to heaven Lord, you are there, if down to hell you would soon find me there", or something like that, I'm not looking it up right now. But you know the words, and I'm sure you get the point. And the point is: Jesus will always be your firm foundation, so long as you trust in Him. Life has its challenges in or out of the cult, of this you can be sure. But Jesus isn't going anywhere - He's there. Of that you can be absolutely sure.

submitted by SHT