You have probably heard the expression, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. The cliché is so popular, there is even a 1992 movie called The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. The idea is that women rule the world. More specifically, mothers rule the world. After all, mothers are the first and arguably primary influence on the lives of small children. And that is the idea in the poem that first made this phrase popular. Here is the first of four verses:
“Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.”
–from The Hand that rocks the Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World by William Ross Wallace (1865).
We know this somehow. Instinctively. We know the power of women. We know the importance of women. You had a mother. You’ve seen how hard women work. You’ve seen the way they singlehandedly run the holidays. Every celebration in the world owes its life to women. From Thanksgiving through New Years, hardly anything happens apart from the herculean efforts of women. If a man hangs Christmas lights or decorates the tree, he might crow about it for days, while his wife continues to outdo him.
Women work. Women organize. Women schedule. Women plan. Women cook and bake and roast and chill and brew and pour. Women buy gifts, make gifts, wrap gifts, give gifts. They clean, organize, and beautify, throw the party and clean up afterwards.
What do they not do?
My mother was an operating-room nurse and was she ever capable. She could handle anything, including her sons. And many of her friends were equally impressive. In fact, I grew up in a church filled with extraordinary women.
And look at the women who run schools, who run businesses, who run massive corporations, who run nations. Did not Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher strike a blow for women when she led Great Britain from 1979 to 1990? And Queen Elizabeth occupied a difficult, nuanced role (not quite the monarchical dictator of generations past, but not quite a meaningless figurehead)—and she executed her duties with professionalism and wisdom for seventy years (!), from 1952 -2022. It is no stretch to suggest that few men could have endured the spotlight that long without doing something stupid.
Early in the period of the Judges God raised up Deborah, a prophet and judge. She would sit under “the palm tree of Deborah” and the people would “come to her for judgment” Judges 4:5. When God gave her a word for Barak, instructing him to gather men and go to battle against Israel’s enemies, Barak agreed to go, but only if Deborah would come with him. She agreed to come—but added one condition.
“I will go with thee, but the honor will not be yours. The Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman” Judges 4:9.
During the battle, Israel’s enemy, Sisera, sought shelter from the woman Jael. She gave him milk and a place to sleep. Then she pounded a tent stake through his temple and into the ground. Thus, the honor of conquering Sisera went to a brave and resourceful woman.
In response to this wonderful news, Deborah, the prophet and judge, took on another role. She composed a song and led the nation to worship God for what He had achieved through the woman, Jael. The song includes a portion dedicated to honoring Jael for bravely killing Sisera:
“Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
He asked for water, and she gave him milk;
in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
Her hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
she shattered and pierced his temple.
At her feet he sank,
he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell—dead” Judges 5:24-27.
Question: which is more common in the Bible, second-born sons that God promotes over their first-born brothers, or women who out-do and out-rank men?
I don’t know. There are an awful lot of both. So many of both. It is as though God wants to constantly remind His people: the second-born sons matter too. Never underestimate the second-born. And you know who else matters? Women. Never underestimate women.
Some of the Amazing Women of the Bible:
- Mary the mother of Jesus. When the angel told her she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and would give birth to the Messiah, she said, “behold the bondservant of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word” Luke 1:38. That is an amazing attitude of obedience and trust in God. How many of us—men or women—trust God that fully? How many of us do not?
- Esther. When she realized she had to risk death by approaching the king unbidden, she said, “If I perish, I perish” Esther 4:16. Again—do we have that kind of faith?
- Ruth. When Miriam sent her home, Ruth refused to desert her destitute mother-in-law. “Entreat me not to leave thee” Ruth 1:16. Her words of loyalty and faithfulness are quoted in weddings every single day.
- Hannah. When she could not conceive, she made a vow to God—and she fulfilled it, entrusting her beloved son Samuel to the high priest Eli, a sacrifice for which God rewarded her—not only by using Samuel greatly, but by giving her more children. Hannah knew God had answered her prayer. She was so convinced her son was a gift from God that she named him “Samuel,” a name whose Hebrew meaning suggests “God heard my prayer” 1 Samuel 1:20.
God used many other Biblical women in powerful ways, including: Eve, Mary Magdalene, Priscilla, Bathsheba, Leah, Rebekah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Abigail, Rahab, and more.
Proverbs 31, one of the Bible’s most popular passages about women, paints a picture of a strong woman with an entrepreneurial spirit:
“She works with eager hands … She gets up while it is still night … She sets about her work vigorously and her arms are strong for her tasks … Her lamp does not go out at night … She is clothed with strength and dignity. She can laugh at the future. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness … Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised” Proverbs 31:13-30.
God, give us a wise understanding of women. Bless your church with wisdom. May we embrace a Godly view of women. Enlighten us with Your word. May we love and welcome the women around us, honoring and cultivating their gifts, and providing opportunities for them to bear fruit for Your kingdom and store up treasure in heaven.
AΩ.
Household Words: 