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Sharing my Daily Devotion
"And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me." — Gen 31:35
This morning I woke before dawn and, sitting down with a cup of coffee at the kitchen table to commence my quiet time, felt the Lord draw me to this verse. On the surface it may seem to be shallow, and I must confess that at first I didn't see anything special about it either. So I wrote it down on a slip of paper and carried it around with me throughout the day. Whenever I had a quiet moment I would take it out, meditate upon it, and pray for understanding. And now at the end of the day, the Lord has rewarded my diligence by making clear to me three key points.
But first let me explain what this passage actually means. The phrase "the custom of women is upon me" may seem a little obscure. When I referred to the Nefarious Infidel's Version, I found the crass translation: "I’m having my period" — another excellent reason to use only the KJV; it is far more tactful — and this gives you the gist of the meaning. So the scenario we have here is that Rachel has just stolen her father Laban's household gods. Laban pursued Rachel and caught up with her, accusing her husband Jacob of stealing the gods. Jacob denies the accusation and Laban searches the tents in Jacob's camp to see whether he can find his gods. When he enters Rachel's tent, she is sitting on the gods to hide them, and that's when she says, "Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me." She doesn't want to stand up lest Laban find his gods.
The first thing that struck me is that this passage implicitly forbids the use of tampons and sanitary pads and other mod cons.
Second, women must show respect to their fathers, even when they have reached adulthood as Rachel had, and rise in respect and address them as "my lord."
Finally, women have been using the excuse of "women's troubles" to get themselves out of commitments and cover up sin for over four thousand years. And even today men still fall for it, for they are too embarrassed to challenge a woman on the issue.
So how do we apply this in our daily lives? Well if you are woman, stop using tampons, and if you are parent, make sure your daughter doesn't use them. Fathers, demand respect from your daughters. Don't let them fall into the habit of addressing you by familiar titles such as "Dad" or "Father."
And women, have you ever lied about having your period just to get your way or go home early from work or hide some sin? If so, you must repent immediately and resolve never to do it again.
Men, never be afraid to gainsay a woman who claims to be having "women's troubles". Had Laban done so, he would have got his household gods back. You never have to believe a woman when she uses the menstrual excuse. The Bible says so. Tell her to suck it up.
And I find that rather liberating.
This morning I woke before dawn and, sitting down with a cup of coffee at the kitchen table to commence my quiet time, felt the Lord draw me to this verse. On the surface it may seem to be shallow, and I must confess that at first I didn't see anything special about it either. So I wrote it down on a slip of paper and carried it around with me throughout the day. Whenever I had a quiet moment I would take it out, meditate upon it, and pray for understanding. And now at the end of the day, the Lord has rewarded my diligence by making clear to me three key points.
But first let me explain what this passage actually means. The phrase "the custom of women is upon me" may seem a little obscure. When I referred to the Nefarious Infidel's Version, I found the crass translation: "I’m having my period" — another excellent reason to use only the KJV; it is far more tactful — and this gives you the gist of the meaning. So the scenario we have here is that Rachel has just stolen her father Laban's household gods. Laban pursued Rachel and caught up with her, accusing her husband Jacob of stealing the gods. Jacob denies the accusation and Laban searches the tents in Jacob's camp to see whether he can find his gods. When he enters Rachel's tent, she is sitting on the gods to hide them, and that's when she says, "Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me." She doesn't want to stand up lest Laban find his gods.
The first thing that struck me is that this passage implicitly forbids the use of tampons and sanitary pads and other mod cons.
Second, women must show respect to their fathers, even when they have reached adulthood as Rachel had, and rise in respect and address them as "my lord."
Finally, women have been using the excuse of "women's troubles" to get themselves out of commitments and cover up sin for over four thousand years. And even today men still fall for it, for they are too embarrassed to challenge a woman on the issue.
So how do we apply this in our daily lives? Well if you are woman, stop using tampons, and if you are parent, make sure your daughter doesn't use them. Fathers, demand respect from your daughters. Don't let them fall into the habit of addressing you by familiar titles such as "Dad" or "Father."
And women, have you ever lied about having your period just to get your way or go home early from work or hide some sin? If so, you must repent immediately and resolve never to do it again.
Men, never be afraid to gainsay a woman who claims to be having "women's troubles". Had Laban done so, he would have got his household gods back. You never have to believe a woman when she uses the menstrual excuse. The Bible says so. Tell her to suck it up.
And I find that rather liberating.
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