Participants: Arlita Winston, Kathy Matthews
Series Code: TAH
Program Code: TAH000125
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00:31 Welcome to "Thinking about Home."
00:32 I am Kathy Matthews, and we've been talking 00:34 about women in society. 00:37 And most specifically we are going to talk 00:39 about mothers in Israel again today. 00:42 I want to read a scripture to you out of proverbs 31:10, 00:46 and it's "A wife of noble character who can find? 00:50 She is worth far more than rubies." 00:55 If we were to meet the noble 00:57 Misses far above rubies, 00:59 the virtuous women of Proverbs 31, 01:02 would we be drawn to her or hate her. 01:05 Our guest again today is Arlita Winston 01:08 and I want to welcome her, 01:09 Arlita, thank you for being here. You are welcome. 01:12 What would we think of this woman? 01:13 Well, I don't know if you would love her or hate her. 01:16 She was obviously, she had it together. 01:18 She was a great woman. She was great wife. 01:21 She was a great mother. She was a great neighbor. 01:24 But one doesn't become virtuous by doing 01:27 all the things that are said in Proverbs 31. 01:30 One does those things because one is virtuous. 01:35 And I think that the key for that is found 01:38 in one of the verses of the very end of the chapter, 01:41 where talks about she was a woman who feared the Lord 01:44 Amen. That showed where her heart was. 01:48 And I think that when we are talking about women 01:51 in society who are going to have an effect on society, 01:55 on our society today. We have to start there. 01:58 Women who fear the Lord above everything else 02:02 they aren't afraid to be, to speak out the truth. 02:06 They aren't afraid with their children. 02:09 They aren't afraid in the groups that they are with, 02:13 but they stand up and accounted. 02:16 They set their face like a flint. 02:18 And they show that they fear the Lord 02:22 and that they hate evil. And this kind of woman 02:25 is obviously one that's going to be a noted woman 02:28 like this woman in Proverbs 31. 02:31 I think of one of my favorite women 02:35 in all of The Bible, I have a number of favorites, 02:38 but Esther is certainly one that I dearly love. 02:44 In her story here she is a young woman 02:46 when she is called into the court and queen Vashti 02:50 has been deposed because of insubordination to the king 02:56 and so a great beauty contest is held 02:59 and so you wonder what kind of story is this going to be. 03:03 Is this going to be about a woman who fears God? 03:07 You know, the word God is not does not even appear 03:10 in the entire book and yet you are left 03:13 with a very deep conviction that this woman feared God, 03:19 knew how to subordinate her own desires 03:24 and be submissive to her uncle, Mordecai! 03:28 Yes, and her mother and father had died 03:32 and she grew up in the house of her cousin Mordecai 03:36 and he was a man obviously of a note there even though 03:42 there whole nation, the nation of Israel 03:45 where prisoners there in Persia. 03:47 They were living there in Persia. 03:49 Yet he was well-reputed and it was an upstanding family, 03:54 so here we find Esther, she is brought into the palace 04:01 and immediately Eunuch, the man who is in-charge 04:06 of the women's ports, 04:10 Yes, I was thinking what's that called; 04:12 that area where all the women are? 04:14 Well, it's called the Harem. 04:16 I was going to say that and I thought well 04:19 was it that, it was. He was Eunuch who was in-charge 04:21 of the Harem, but Esther attracted him greatly 04:25 not because I don't think because of her beauty 04:28 in particular but for beauty of spirit. 04:31 And he gave her the choice place to stay. 04:36 He gave her the choice ointments. 04:40 He just singled her out for special, special favor 04:45 which is very interesting, but God is not what made 04:48 her attractive. It was because 04:50 she was already attractive. In spirit In spirit 04:54 that I think is why the king was so drawn to Esther. 05:00 And then of course, the plot thickens and you see 05:03 an another woman who is the wife of the 05:05 prime minister Haman and she is a rather a self-serving, 05:11 very strident woman and her name was Xerxes 05:17 and she nagged Haman on to positions of great apparent 05:21 no matter what the cost of lives, didn't matter to her. 05:24 Her husband needed to be next to the king 05:28 and so if cost Mordecai's life fine. 05:31 If he cost the whole nations lives, fine, 05:34 but she was determined to have power. 05:37 So lot of difference between the two of them, 05:39 wasn't there? Enormous, enormous difference. 05:42 The Mordecai at this point has hurt of the plot. 05:47 He tells Esther to go to the king. 05:52 Meanwhile the king has not had Esther in his apartments 05:56 for about 30 days. And Esther knows that if the king 06:01 has not invited her it could be of with her head Yes 06:07 So, she sent back to Mordecai. 06:10 She said, how can I do this? 06:11 I haven't been be then to the king in all these days. 06:15 And he says, don't think Esther that your life 06:21 will be spared. Don't think that you 06:24 can get away with this. He doesn't know yet 06:27 that you are Jew. 06:29 The whole nation may die and you may live, 06:33 but who knows but what God has brought you for such 06:37 a time as this, and you go to that king 06:42 and you tell him. Well, here is dear Esther, 06:47 Trying to make a decision, isn't she? 06:49 Not only that, but she has been submissive to Mordecai. 06:53 All of her growing appears. 06:54 He has been like a father to her. 06:57 He has told her what to do and she begins realizing 07:00 that's true. My whole nation is at risk here. 07:05 And she begins to identify with her people. Amen. 07:08 And she said, alright, but first I got to pray 07:14 and she asked all of her maidens to gathered 07:17 to together and she herself and she tells Mordecai says, 07:21 you go on fast and my maidens and I will fast over 07:25 for three days. She fasted during those days. 07:28 I believe she went through such a cleansing experience 07:32 knowing that it was life and death, 07:34 and if God had mercy, would he please give her a plan 07:38 and a plan God gave her, a marvelous plan 07:43 which she set out to do and of course, you know, 07:48 the story of how she invited Haman and the king 07:51 alone to the banquette table and of course Xerxes 07:56 was thrilled to death that Haman had been invited 08:00 to the dinner for the king and queen. 08:02 And Mordecai still not bowing down to her husband 08:06 though she says make the gallows in the back 08:09 we will just have him hung. 08:12 Well, in then of course, the second banquette 08:14 that Queen Esther invites them to she does exposed 08:19 the whole plot to the king. And the beauty of Esther 08:25 of laying down of being willing to lay down her life 08:29 where she says and if I perish, I perish, 08:34 And she identified totally with her people 08:37 and wasn't ashamed to let the king know who she was. 08:41 And then she trusted God to do what she couldn't do. 08:45 She asked the king if he could reverse the decree. 08:48 He said, I can't, its law of the Medes and Persians, 08:51 but I can give them permission to fight 08:54 for their lives and fight for their lives they did. 08:58 And to this very day the Jews celebrate Purim 09:03 in honor of that marvelous day when that woman Esther 09:09 had the courage to go and speak on behalf of her people 09:13 and God honor that. We did, we did. 09:17 And there is verse there in Proverbs 31:30, 09:20 if you don't mind If I read it. Please. 09:22 "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; 09:26 but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." 09:31 It reminds me how the story of Esther affected me 09:35 when I was in Shanghai and I was a girl only 12 09:38 and the communist were coming into the city 09:42 and we knew that there would be in that night, 09:45 and we had gathered all around in the living room 09:48 and the drapes were drawn and it was blocked out 09:52 and we knew we were listening to the radio 09:54 when I had my ear down to the radio to listen to a very 09:58 quietly and I was passing on what I heard 10:01 to the rest of the family. 10:02 We gathered all there round that radio 10:05 and then we were going to have our family prayers 10:07 before going to bed that night. 10:09 And I had been practicing for a part in the play 10:15 and I was Esther in a play that are young people 10:20 were doing, or we had a children's Bible study group 10:27 were doing, or we had a children's Bible study group 10:28 and one of the missionary mother's was leading it 10:31 and I got to be Esther in the play and I got to wear 10:34 the bridesmaid's dress in order to be the queen 10:38 and every day I was rehearsing 10:41 the lines of Esther, day in and day out 10:43 and it was wonderful because it took 10:45 our minds off, the Chinese communist coming in 10:49 and take over the city. And I was in another world. 10:51 I was in Persia and so that night as I was thinking 10:57 that may be we would die that night. 11:00 The lines kept coming over and over to me 11:04 perhaps we are here for such a time as this. 11:09 And so after we heard the news and passed 11:13 the word on to dad. He gathered us with the Bible 11:17 and I will never forget we went around a circle 11:21 and prayed, and all I could think of Esther's lines 11:28 perhaps you have come for such a time, is this? Perfect. 11:33 But I thought oh! My sister is going to just laugh 11:37 out loud because she has got a thing I can't get out of 11:40 that play and here this is serious business 11:43 we just might died tonight, and I felt so ashamed 11:47 about praying this prayer because 11:50 this is all like think off, and so the time came for me 11:53 and I just thought I just have to pray this and I 11:58 said, Lord we have come for such a time is this 12:03 and if we perish, we perish for Thee, 12:07 and it wasn't until many years later that I realized 12:12 that was the heart cry. The mother 12:16 and dad picked up and they were able to go to bed 12:20 that night, talking us all in saying Lord if we perish 12:25 we perish for Thee. And the Lord used you. 12:28 And the next morning we got up and dad said, 12:33 did any of you sleep? And we said, yes. 12:37 And he said, go look out the window. 12:40 We looked out the window and the whole place 12:43 had been shelled and there were bodies 12:47 laying everywhere, sand bags put opened and our home 12:54 had not been touched. And we had not; 12:57 we children had not heard a sound that entire night. 13:01 Mother and daddy had been up all night praying, 13:06 the entire night, but we had slept right through it 13:10 and then the Lord enabled us to move from there. 13:14 We were put under house arrest, 13:16 but we were kept save. 13:18 But Esther has always been a very special person 13:21 in my life, for many reasons but that strikes me 13:24 as one where her testimony to this day is helping women 13:31 to trust in God. Yes, she might have being impact 13:36 in your life even that play and her words, yes, it was, 13:39 Gods words, the words that God gave to her. 13:43 But have you thought of other women? 13:44 Have you known other women or Well, I've thought. 13:48 I had a big impact in society as women? 13:50 Yes, I think of Lydia she was of the city 13:54 of Fire of the Torah and she was a business woman, 13:58 a wonderful business woman providing purple material 14:03 in particular. Yeah, purple. 14:05 Yes, and it was too wealthy homes 14:08 and even to the royal household. 14:12 And this was a woman who knew the ways 14:16 of the marketplace and she knew of a certain man 14:20 who had come to speak down at the river, 14:23 and all the women were gathering to hear. 14:26 And she had heard of this man who had 14:29 once been persecuting the Church of which 14:32 she was part of. She was devoted woman who feared 14:37 God and yet she didn't know really about Jesus Christ. 14:44 And she gathered and she thought I've got to hear 14:47 what this man saying and Paul so stirred her heart 14:51 and stirred her whole family's heart 14:53 that they were converted and she constrained 14:58 Paul to stay with her, in her own home 15:02 and she constrained and so she opened up her home 15:04 with great hospitality as well as being a business woman 15:09 and my what story she must have heard from Paul. 15:12 This man who had persecuted the Church had that an equal 15:17 if not greater fervency in winning others to the Lord. 15:20 My what story she must have heard him tell. 15:23 I think so, and there is another scripture that 15:27 we can share on the women of Proverbs 31 here, 15:31 isn't there? Yes, and read that one. 15:33 Proverbs 31:18 to 27, Okay, alright 15:36 "She sees that her trading is profitable. 15:40 She watches over the affairs of her household 15:43 and does not eat the bread of idleness." 15:47 There is another woman now that 15:49 I am thinking Priscilla. 15:52 She was always linked with her husband Priscilla 15:54 and Aquila wherever you read about them 15:57 they were linked together and they were tent makers 16:00 just common ordinary tent makers whom Paul 16:04 found and he stayed with them. 16:07 And he must have had some wonderful times 16:10 talking over the scriptures and their hearts 16:13 also were stirred with the love for the Lord, 16:16 and I can imagine their sharing together, 16:18 and I can imagine Priscilla and Aquila 16:20 growing in the Lord as they would share with Paul 16:24 and one time Priscilla and Aquila traveled with Paul 16:29 from Corinth to Ephesus and then he traveled down 16:32 in left them at Ephesus and I imagine they had an impact 16:36 on the believers there because we read 16:39 about them listening to the great orator Apollos, 16:43 the Alexandrian Apollos and they noted that he, 16:47 as far as he went he gave the truth but it wasn't 16:51 the full truth. He was still stuck on teaching 16:55 on the Baptism of John. 16:58 He had fully understood about Jesus Christ, 17:02 about his death and resurrection. 17:04 And the new birth in that way. 17:07 And he was still preaching of repentance, 17:11 but not through Jesus Christ. 17:13 And so dear Priscilla and Aquila very humbly, 17:17 these humble tent makers, take them a side. 17:21 They invited him into their home and just more fully 17:26 explained the scriptures to him. 17:28 And here we have a woman working side by side 17:31 with her husband, both in their workplace, 17:36 but also in their spiritual outreach and then they 17:42 established a Church in their home. 17:44 They were there hospitable it sounds like. 17:46 Not only hospitable but she knew well the scriptures 17:49 and it's sounds to me like she was well versed 17:52 in the scriptures, and that she and her husband 17:54 were a real team which is a beautiful picture of how 17:59 I think God would have husbands and wife 18:02 worked together. Not the one you slurping over that, 18:05 and no Pricilla did not take over from Aquila 18:09 but she added too what he gave. 18:14 And had great influence on an orator 18:16 who went on to established many Churches. 18:21 It sounds like what my husband 18:25 and I would like to do. 18:26 We have a ministry called Tentmaker Ministries 18:28 and he got that from, oh did he, those scriptures, 18:32 yes and there is more scriptures that 18:35 we can share, isn't there? There is. 18:37 On that, it's proverbs 31:23 and 26 and it's 18:43 "Her husband is respected at the city gate 18:46 and faithful instruction in on her tongue." 18:49 And Arlita this reminds me of the story of Deborah. 18:54 Oh! it really does. She was a magnificent woman. 18:57 At a period of time of tremendous discouragement, 19:01 desolation, gloominess, Israel had been in captivity 19:06 really under King Jabin who lived in the 19:09 Northern city of Hazor. 19:11 And he had a dreadful, dreaded general names 19:16 Sisara, and they had nine hundred iron chariots 19:21 and so nobody was safe around there except 19:25 the people in the hill country where 19:27 the chariots couldn't get to and so 19:30 but you find that there was palm tree which was not 19:34 common right in that area. 19:36 And this palm trees sitting up on the hill where Deborah 19:41 would go and sit every day and she was a Prophetess 19:46 and a judge of the nation, and I often wondered 19:50 how she got to that place, I would like to know. 19:53 I think she was definitely married and her husband 19:57 gave her honor and obviously let her 20:03 have this place and had it was though 20:06 he gave it to her. And she sat in judgment to show 20:14 the people how to rule because everything 20:18 was just going to smothering the nation. 20:22 There was so much evil 20:24 and there was so much oppression, in fact, 20:26 we need to think of it, the children who lived 20:27 in that time really didn't know of anytime when they 20:32 won't under oppression, only the parents knew of a day 20:36 when there wasn't depression. 20:38 And there was such sadness and Deborah 20:41 would go every day and listen to the heart cries 20:44 of the men and the women and I can imagine her 20:47 going home everyday from the palm tree. 20:51 A mother in Israel in fact it calls her a mother 20:55 in Israel, yes, going home and crying out to God 21:00 for her people but you know it wasn't the nation 21:05 the King Jabin headed up. There was the problem. 21:12 It was the men in Israel that with the problem. 21:15 They were not leaders Within the Church 21:19 They were not leaders at all. They are an Israel. 21:22 And I imagine Deborah kept saying Lord 21:25 where is the man who can lead Israel so that 21:28 we can get out from under the suppression 21:31 and how is that I have to be here. 21:35 Where are the men and I think she was called by God 21:41 to faithfully do a duty at a time when men 21:46 were discouraged and couldn't rise up 21:49 and take their rightful place of leadership. 21:52 The God chose a woman who is able to do it 21:55 in a very discreet wise way because here what happens. 22:01 The Lord speaks to Deborah and said, Deborah 22:05 it's time the nation rises up I want you to call on a 22:11 man and his name is Barak. Barak, Barak; 22:20 God you are sure. He said, I am going to deliver 22:24 the nation of Israel out of Jabin's hand 22:27 and you go wake up Barak and tell him to get up 22:32 because I am going to deliver the nation, 22:35 so she says, rise up Barak, Gods given them 22:39 into our hands. He wants you to go. 22:41 He says, wait a minute Deborah I know 22:45 you are a good judge. I know you are a good Prophetess, 22:49 but not me, and she says, Barak, God has said, 22:55 you to go and lead them. 22:58 Well, I am not going to go unless you go with me. 23:02 And so she said, alright, I will go with you. 23:06 I will go, but you too trust God that's the one thing 23:12 you have to do is to trust the God to deliver 23:16 this nation. I will go with you Barak, 23:19 but the honor will go to another woman. 23:23 Now when you first read that story you think 23:25 of course, the woman is going to be Deborah 23:27 that the honor goes to, but no isn't. 23:30 What happened is Deborah goes along with Barak 23:36 and they go up to Mount Tabor and then you can 23:39 just picture from the Tel Megiddo here 23:45 and King Jabin over here and Mount Hazor over here. 23:50 And Israel going up that mountain 23:53 and then getting ready to come down into the plains 23:56 of Megiddo where incidentally that plain 24:00 is where more fighting has happened down to 24:03 the centuries, and is where the great final battle 24:07 will be fought. More blood has already been spilled 24:10 there than any other single place on earth 24:13 because that was the great cross roads of all the nations 24:17 coming across the plains so here come the children 24:21 of Israel down the mountain, down 24:24 to the river Kishon, just at the precise moment 24:30 the Barak gets down there with his troops 24:33 and Sisara with his nine hundred chariots 24:37 a pounding across the fields this way. 24:39 The precise moment God opens up the heavens 24:43 and it rains and it hails, and the river Kishon 24:48 overflows and of course the mud's starts turning up 24:52 the wheels of the iron chariots and you can 24:55 just pictured the horses eyes just bulging 24:58 and straining trying to drag these iron chariots 25:01 through these muddy fields and the hail, 25:05 the rain completing in and just the chariots start 25:10 piling up falling up one right after the other. 25:12 Well, Israel who you would have thought had Loss 25:18 because they were so small in comparison 25:20 to Jabin's forces. They win a tremendous victory 25:25 and Sisara the general though thinks he can get 25:30 away free and he slips out and runs 25:34 into the interior lands. Finally comes 25:42 to a little tent where Jael is standing. 25:47 Now Jael, you have to understand, 25:49 Jael her name means wild she-goat. Really! 25:54 That's what it means And it gives you a clue 25:57 as to the personality of this woman Jael, 26:01 and she stands there and she said, coming Sisara, 26:05 come and rest yourself and he comes 26:09 and she not only has laid down and rest 26:12 and he is exhausted from the battle. 26:14 She said I will give you milk as well 26:16 and then he falls a dead asleep. 26:19 She takes a tent pack and a hammer 26:22 and goes way up right through his temple 26:27 to the ground, and the forces are defeated. 26:33 And it's Jael that Deborah sings the praises up 26:38 and her song is magnificent. Yes, and isn't it 26:42 one of the oldest and most beautiful of Hebrew poetry. 26:45 Yes, and isn't begins like this; listen oh! 26:49 'you king and princess for I shall sing about the Lord, 26:52 the God of Israel and then ends with these words, 26:56 but may those who love the Lord shine is sun 26:59 when he goes forth and his might. 27:01 And there is a verse in proverbs that really 27:06 describes it says. Why don't you read that 27:08 the proverbs 31, 25, and 26. Okay, 27:11 "She is clothed with strength and dignity; 27:14 she can laugh at the days to come. 27:16 She speaks with wisdom." 27:19 I think Deborah is one of the outstanding women 27:21 in biblical history and one that we can emulate 27:27 because of her submission, 27:30 because of her relinquishment, 27:33 in many ways and because of her praises. 27:37 So we come full circle again, to woman 27:40 who have relinquish their rights 27:44 and yet who have accepted God's 27:46 calling in their life and who end up praising God Amen 27:50 Arlita, will you come back and join us again? 27:53 I hope so. I want to invite you back again 27:56 and I want to invite you too again. |
Revised 2014-12-17