Cultural View of Women During the Early Church Period vs. Our View Today
Cultural View we are looking at is from Dorcas / Tabitha who is found in Acts 9:36-42. The one thing we can learn from Dorcas / Tabitha is we as women should stick together and support each other. Women have a purpose and significance in the creation of the LORD God.
The Scriptures give us only glimpses of the life of Dorcas / Tabitha in Acts 9: 36-42. Tabitha is the Aramaic name, and Dorcas was the Greek name and both are given to her. This tells us that the Christian community in Joppa was a mixture of Aramaic speaking Jews and the Hellenized Jews who spoke Greek. Since both names were used in the Book of Acts then then it is logical to assume that she was well established by both the Aramaic Jews and the Hellenized Jews. Dorcas/ Tabitha appears to have had a long time ministry with the Joppa Christian community because she was “abounding with deeds of kindness and charity” throughout her community. When Peter later raised her from the dead, many townspeople believed in Christ (Acts 9:36-42).
Women in the first century were under male-control. Women did not have the same rights as men. Their main job was to serve the men in their life; if that was the father, brother or husband. A woman’s main function was to run the home and raise the children and her main focus was to be in the home. Widows had little or no place in the community unless they were supported by their children. A main source for information about the lives of first-century Jews is the historian Flavius Josephus, author of The Antiquities of the Jews, an account of a century of Jewish revolts against Rome. (Brand, Draper, England. 2003. p 949).
Home life was different than anything we do today. There were no automatic washing machines, or electric dishwashers, vacuums; in fact there was no electric anything. Things that would take us a few minutes to accomplish was a day long activity for the early women of the Bible. Yet women still found time to be together and give glory to the LORD Jesus Christ. Women worked together and enjoyed each other’s company.
Today we see far too many women turning against women. The one thing we can learn from Dorcas / Tabitha is we as women should stick together and support each other. Every one of us comes into contact within our communities who are in need of some kind. Maybe it’s with child care, domestic violence, alcohol or drugs addiction, or maybe there are those who just need to be befriended. Maybe it is a neighbor who just needs to be heard or a friend who is tired. Could it be someone needs to know how to cook, how to do a budget, how to calm a colicky baby. It could be a fellow woman just needs a Kleenex to dry her eyes. Where does your gift and expertise lie?
Dorcas / Tabitha sewed for the widows of her days. She found her gift given to her and used her compassion to minister to women in need. We need to do the same thing. Through faith we need to respond to those areas of our lives where we are led to help. It is our works for the LORD that testify who we are. I believe there is an elementary need in our community for us to show courtesy to one another. Women need to help women.
It used to be that mothers taught their daughters how to be wives and mothers, how to cook and clean how to care for their personal needs. Mothers use to encourage their daughters to be all that they can be. Today there are too many mothers competing with their daughters. They are not being the good examples that they need to be. The worldly do not teach their daughters in the ways of Christ but in the ways of the world. Unfortunately Christian mothers are also teaching their daughter how to be women of the world and less women of Christ.
Titus 2:1-15 gives us a starting point by only speaking things that are sound teachings or principles. Older women should become holiness not false accusers, not given too much wine, and teachers of good things. They should teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. Women are to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good obedient to their own husbands that the word of God be not spoken evil of. It is the grace of the LORD God that brings salvation to all of us. We should deny the ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly, in this world today. We should be looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. It was Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purified us to be a people selected by the LORD God unto Himself.
Men have always been thought of as having the physical strength, logical thinking and often can see things in only black and white. Women are more likely to be the nurturers, add emotional depth and can see the gray areas in life. It is a fact that men and women can share similar qualities such as physical strength, logical thinking, nurtures, creativity and the ability to teach. We learned in the Genesis that the LORD God created both men and women and equally we are loved by the LORD God. Men and women are created for different purposes and have different thinking patterns; women were meant to be an essential part of humanity. It is also import for women to understand we have purpose and significance in the creation of the LORD God. It is good to remember always that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13).
Reference:
Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England et al. (2003) Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
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MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Cultural View of Women During the Early Church Period vs. Our View Today:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Oct 2014.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1452 ,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2014, October) “Cultural View of Women During the Early Church Period vs. Our View Today:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1452 ,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2014) “Cultural View of Women During the Early Church Period vs. Our View Today:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (October), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1452 , (accessed).
