The Second Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women Part 2

Hello readers! This is the final installment in a two part series on the question of female rulers. In this part we deal with common objections to the arguments we laid out in part one. We encourage you to read part one here.

Although more could be said, this four-part argument provides a solid foundation towards understanding the complementarian position. So how do the semi-complementarians respond?According to the semi-complementarian position the existence of historical and Old Testament figures is evidence that God is pleased by female civil magistrates. CBMW is typical when they say, “Rather, the Queen of Sheba is presented...in a positive light in her interaction with King Solomon. Queen Esther offers an even better example of a woman who appropriately exerted influence for the good of her people without holding the highest position of national authority...”¹² Yet, in almost all of the examples they list (including the two mentioned above) the women are not in fact civil rulers. The queen (although still influential) was not a civil magistrate or ruler. To use these examples of godly queens as proof for the legitimacy of female civil magistrates today is to fundamentally misunderstand the role of a queen. The analogy of Esther would apply to the wife of a political candidate today, and not to any candidate herself.

This leads us to the second common objection made by semi-complementarians: what about Deborah? This question is often the first and strongest objection people raise, and it is also the question that takes the most time to answer.¹³ There is first and foremost an important hermeneutical issue at stake here. As Einwechter says, “First, in regard to the account of Deborah, recognize that it would be unwise to cancel out the explicit biblical teaching on the headship of man, the clear statements of the law, the picture of the virtuous woman, and the lament over women ruling on the basis of what took place in Israel in one of the most confused periods in Israel's history.”¹⁴ Einwechter is alluding to the principle laid out in the Westminster Confession of Faith, “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly. ”¹⁵ This foundational principle, in essence, maintains that we must always allow the explicit (or clear) passages of Scripture to interpret or explain the implicit (or unclear) passages of Scripture. Indeed, this is the way that many orthodox theologians have interpreted Judges 4:1-5:31. John Calvin is an excellent example of this, “If any one bring forward, by way of objection, Deborah (Judges 4:4) and others of the same class, of whom we read that they were at one time appointed by the command of God to govern the people, the answer is easy. Extraordinary acts done by God do not overturn the ordinary rules of government, by which he intended that we should be bound.”¹⁶

This hermeneutical issue is important, but as we dig into the text of Judges 4 and 5 another question is raised; can we even consider Deborah to be the “judge” in the story? First we must understand how the Bible uses the term “judge” here. It is not referring to the legal judges that we have today, but is rather a reference to the military leaders (or “avenging deliverers”) that God raised up during this time. Yet Deborah is not the military leader in the story, Barak is. This view would seem to be supported by Hebrews 11:32, which lists Barak in the hall of faith instead of Deborah. As Einwechter says, “Would it not be more accurate to say that Barak was the true 'judge' here (cf. Hebrews 11:32 where Barak alone is mentioned), and that Deborah's role was that of a 'prophetess' who gave divine guidance to Israel?”¹⁷ In other words, Deborah only “judged” insofar as the people sought her out for advice due to her divine wisdom from God. This view becomes even more clear as we look at the Song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5. In verse 12, Deborah is called to “Awake and sing” while Barak is commanded to “Arise and lead.” Also, in verse 9 the songs says, “My heart goes out to

the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the LORD.” The Hebrew word here for “commander” is literally, “lawgiver, or leader” in other words, Israel had elders and leaders during this time. As Einwechter says, “There is no question that Deborah was a great and godly woman who had considerable influence in Israel. But in the light of the evidence it is highly questionable to build a doctrine of women rulers from the case of Deborah. Deborah's role in Israel was that of a 'prophetess,' but not that of a civil ruler or military leader.”¹⁸

As we look at the biblical headship of man laid out in the created order, the biblical qualifications for the office of civil magistrate, the biblical lament that “women rule over them” in Isaiah 3:12, and the picture of biblical womanhood laid out in Proverbs 31, it seems clear that God has been far from silent on the issue of women rulers. It seems that a consistent application of complementarianism, and a consistent application of Scripture, supports the idea that just as God has established complementarianism in the home and the church, so He has ordained it in the state as well. It is imperative that complementarians rally around the biblical teaching on this issue, as the semi-complementarian position simply does not have the internal strength or consistency to answer the objections of evangelical feminists and egalitarians. As Einwechter says,

“By arguing that the absence of a formal and express prohibition against female magistrates means that women can be magistrates, they [the semi-complementarians] have undermined the integrity of their argument for an all male eldership because there is no formal and express prohibition against female elders. By selectively and with insufficient explanation drawing from one or two obscure examples in the Old Testament, while dismissing or simply ignoring clear examples and precepts, they have modeled an improper approach to Scripture. By defending the propriety of a mother of young children ruling over the nation, they have undermined the doctrine of male headship and women as keepers at home.”¹⁹

This issue could not more significant to the modern church. In an age of gender confusion and role reversal, it is imperative that Christ's church stand strong on the biblical teaching for the family, the church, and the state.

12David Kotter, “Does Sarah Palin Present a Dilemma for Complementarians? Part I,” The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood blog, entry posted on September 3, 2008, http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/Does-Sarah-Palin-present-a-Dilemma-for-Complementarians-Part-1 (accessed December 8, 2009).

13For a full exegetical treatment of the story of Deborah, see William Einwechter's excellent article But What About Deborah? http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/so_what_about_deborah.aspx

14William Einwechter, “Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).

15Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith. (Public domain, 1652), under “Chapter One: of the Holy Scripture,” http://reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ (accessed December 8, 2009).

16John Calvin, Commentary on Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. (Public domain, 1551), under Chapter 2, part 4, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom43.iii.iv.iv.html (accessed December 8, 2009).

17William Einwechter, “Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/should_christians_support_a_wo.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).

18Ibid.

19William Einwechter, “Sarah Palin and the Complementarian Compromise,” Vision Forum Ministries, http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/ballot_box/sarah_palin_and_the_complement.aspx (accessed December 8, 2009).