Walk, turning not to the left nor to the Right
When I help couples live out their gender in their love, I often advocate a balance of two great principles of gender. These two points go together. Holding them both before our hearts helps us to love each other well, especially when it is difficult. My wife and I recently argued and I myself was able to stay in there with her by keeping these two principles front and center, side by side.
It is fascinating how we see these two principles also placed side by side throughout the Bible.
How many Jews did Joseph summon to Egypt?
When Joseph was “sent ahead” to become ruler of Egypt at just the right time to save many lives (Genesis 50:20), he summoned his father, Jacob with his whole family to come down to Egypt and live. How many were in that family? The answer given is 70 or 75, depending on how you count (Genesis 46:5-27, Acts 7:14).
Commentators usually discuss how each of those tallies is reached, but often overlooked is how the count is one sided. Both numbers ignore the women (Genesis 46:26). If you count all the wives and sisters too, the total climbs to at least around 150! That makes a lot more people, which would be a more impressive number to quote. Why does the narrator forego making that point? Because the story is making a different point. Once again, we are get the Bible’s weltanschauung, in which men stand as representatives. As I have reviewed in a recent post and several previous times here, masculine representation in relationship is big.
This asymmetry or order stands out in the Bible’s numerous genealogies. The recording of all those men’s names provide a strong testimony to how we should see the men in our lives. One such place is Exodus 1, which begins by repeating the 70-man-representative number once again (Exodus 1:5), as it names the sons of Jacob.
The Balance of Exodus 1
You might read the first half of Exodus 1 thinking that men are the important ones. You might wonder what women have to do with the unfolding redemption described in the book. But you do not have to wonder for long. Exodus 1 ends with the Hebrew midwives as the heroes of the story (Exodus 1:15-22). These brazenly brave women created a culture of resistance, which made it plausible for Moses’ mother to resist also, allowing the covenant messiah, Moses, to live (Exodus 2). The one chapter shows how women are equally important to God’s work in the world. Gender-wise there is a message of equality laid flush with the asymmetry with which the chapter begins.
Equality and Asymmetry. Just as we see them side by side in the Bible, they need to be side by side in our lives. Hold them both to guide your intergendered relationships and you will know the intimacy and fruitfulness God has for us.