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1 Timothy 2:9&10 - Men and women in prayer - Day 297

Good morning beloved,

If God wills we will live and be on our way home a week from today,  Some wise men have said that context matters.  The passage for today certainly proves that point.

Blessings,

Jeff

So what does the way women dress have to do with prayer?  This chapter is about all Christians (men and women) praying for all people.  So this is not a male chauvinist giving his opinion of women's fashions.  It really is a remarkable statement about complementary role of the sexes in prayer.  Many sceptics point to passages like this and accuse Christians of oppressing women.  But nothing could be further from the truth.

Context

Contrast between Church and pagan culture.

In Roman world, women were generally no better than slaves.  But Paul sees women as having a vital part in the spiritual discipline of prayer.  We know that this is the case because v8 looks at men's role and v9 at women's role.  If Paul thought that only men were to pray, he would not say anything about women.

Prayer in a pagan world is essentially trying to get the gods to provide health and wealth.  Prayer for the church is for an orderly society so that all might be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.  

Complement each other not equal.  V8 and V9 complement or complete each other.  They are dependent on the other, neither by itself fulfills v1-4.

Roman world was all about power in every relationship.  For men, holy hands without anger or quarreling would be a sign of weakness.  Not unlike our world, women were primarily objects of sexual conquest.  Only beautiful women had any influence over a man.  Style of dress to capitalize on this.


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