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Rebecca Rakow Ministries, North Branch, MN (2026)

10/11/2026

DO WOMEN NATURALLY WANT TO CONTROL THEIR HUSBANDS? 🤔

I recently heard someone teaching that women have a known weakness. That we always want our own way and naturally want to rule over our husbands.

My first question was, where does Scripture actually say that?

Let's look at Genesis 3:16.

"Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (ESV)

Notice something.

It says the husband will rule over the wife. It does NOT explicitly say the wife will seek to rule over her husband.

So where does that teaching come from?

Some interpret the word "desire" as a woman's desire to control her husband. They connect it to Genesis 4:7, where sin desires to overcome Cain.

But that is an interpretation, and it is not the only one.

The same Hebrew word for desire appears in Song of Solomon 7:10, where it describes a man's desire for his beloved.

The word itself does not automatically mean control.

And here's something else we need to remember.

Genesis 3:16 comes AFTER sin enters the world. It describes consequences of the fall, not God's original instructions for marriage.

Go back to Genesis 1:26–28.

God gave BOTH male and female dominion over creation. He did not give either one dominion over the other.

Then look at Ephesians 5.

Verse 21 speaks of submitting to one another. Verse 25 tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.

Can women be controlling? Absolutely.

Can men be controlling? Absolutely.

But where does Scripture teach that wanting control is a weakness unique to women?

We need to be careful not to turn an interpretation into a biblical fact, especially when we're using it to define an entire group of people.

This isn't about defending women or criticizing men.

It's about reading Scripture carefully, in context, and allowing it to say what it actually says.

Are we teaching what Scripture says, or what we've been taught it means?

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

10/10/2026

And here's another one I stumbled upon. 👀

Sorry, this is a long one, but I believe it deserves a proper look through Scripture.

There are TWO statements in this image that I believe we need to examine together.

“Physical abuse is not a justifiable case for divorce because it's not in the Bible.”

And...

“She belongs to him. He owns her.”

First, let me be VERY clear.

I am NOT advocating for divorce or no-fault divorce. That is not the conversation I'm having here.

What I want to address is the mindset behind these statements, especially when they are taught together.

Because when we begin teaching that a husband OWNS his wife, we open the door to something incredibly dangerous.

If she is his property, does that mean he has the right to control her? Punish her? Hurt her? And who holds him accountable when he does?

Do you see the problem?

Ownership and covenant are NOT the same thing.

So let's look at what Scripture actually says.

📖 Genesis 1:26-28

God created BOTH male and female in His image and gave BOTH dominion over creation.

Not one over the other.

📖 Genesis 2:24

Marriage is described as two becoming ONE flesh.

Not one person becoming the property of another.

📖 Genesis 3:16

After the fall, God describes the husband ruling over his wife.

But notice something important.

This is a description of what would happen after sin entered the world. It is not a command telling husbands to rule over their wives.

📖 Ephesians 5:25, 28-29

Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.

They are told to nourish and cherish their wives as their own bodies.

Where does violence fit into that?

📖 Colossians 3:19

Husbands are commanded to love their wives and NOT be harsh with them.

📖 1 Peter 3:7

Husbands are instructed to honor their wives as fellow heirs of the grace of life.

And notice, Peter even warns that failing to treat their wives properly can hinder their prayers.

That sounds like accountability to me.

📖 Psalm 11:5

Scripture tells us that the Lord hates the one who loves violence.

Marriage does not suddenly make violence acceptable.

And here's another interesting passage.

📖 1 Corinthians 7:4

Paul speaks about authority over one another's bodies within marriage.

But that authority is MUTUAL.

The husband and wife are BOTH addressed.

This is not permission for either spouse to force, harm, or control the other.

Marriage is a covenant, not a transfer of ownership.

And Scripture takes that covenant seriously.

📖 Malachi 2:14

God confronts husbands who have dealt treacherously with their wives, calling marriage a covenant to which He Himself is a witness.

Think about that.

God does not overlook a husband's treatment of his wife simply because they are married.

And this is where I believe we need to be VERY careful with what we're teaching.

When ownership is presented as biblical authority, and physical abuse is minimized alongside it, what message are we sending?

That a husband can do whatever he wants because she belongs to him?

That marriage removes his accountability?

That a wife must accept violence because her husband has authority?

Where does Scripture teach ANY of that?

I believe in marriage. I believe in the importance of covenant. I believe husbands and wives have responsibilities toward one another.

But I also believe we have a responsibility to examine what is being taught in the name of God.

A husband is not above accountability, and a wife does not lose her God-given dignity when she gets married.

The same is true in reverse.

Neither spouse is given permission to mistreat the other.

We should be teaching husbands and wives to love, honor, serve, and care for one another, not presenting marriage as ownership by one person over another.

So here's my question:

Where does Scripture actually teach that a husband OWNS his wife, or that marriage gives him the right to harm her without consequences?

Because there is a HUGE difference between what Scripture says and what people have been taught to believe it says.

And that difference matters.

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

10/08/2026

Here’s another one I stumbled across.

It sounds scriptural.

But is it?

“A husband leads the direction of the home under Christ, while a wife actively and intentionally exercises her domestic authority.”

Here’s where we need to be careful.

Scripture gives instructions to husbands and wives, but it never divides the household into these two categories of authority. It doesn't say the husband controls the “direction of the home” while the wife has “domestic authority.”

In fact, the Bible doesn't give us the household gender-role chart we often assume it does.

Where does Scripture say cooking is the woman's job? Laundry? Cleaning? Staying home? And where does it say earning the income, fixing things, or making the major decisions belongs to the man?

It doesn't.

And here is something interesting that we rarely stop and examine:

1 Timothy 3:4–5 specifically tells a man to manage his own household well.

Does that mean he's supposed to do the laundry?

Of course that isn't Paul's point. 😂

But that's exactly the point.

We understand that “managing his household” doesn't automatically assign him every task within that household. So why do we take other passages about women and turn them into a detailed list of domestic duties Scripture never actually gives?

Even Proverbs 31 doesn't fit that box. She manages her household, buys property, conducts business, produces goods and sells them. And Lydia was a seller of purple cloth (Acts 16:14), another woman Scripture shows engaged in commerce.

There are certainly passages specifically addressing husbands, wives, mothers and fathers. There are biological realities such as pregnancy and childbirth that obviously belong to women.

But that's very different from saying God assigned everyday household tasks according to s*x.

So when someone says the husband has authority over the “direction” of the family while the wife has “domestic authority,” my question is simple:

Where does Scripture establish those categories?

We have to be careful not to take our cultural traditions, put biblical-sounding language around them, and then say, “This is God's design.”

Don't just ask, “Does this sound biblical?”

Ask, “Does Scripture actually teach this?”

Those are not always the same thing.

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

10/07/2026

Meet the Women of the Bible

Episode 16: Rachel

Who was she?

Rachel was the daughter of Laban, younger sister of Leah, wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Jacob loved Rachel and worked many years for her. (Genesis 29:6, 16-20, 28-30; 30:22-24; 35:16-18)

What role did she serve?

• Daughter of Laban. (Genesis 29:6)
• Younger sister of Leah. (Genesis 29:16, 26)
• Shepherdess who cared for her father’s sheep. (Genesis 29:6, 9)
• Wife of Jacob. (Genesis 29:28)
• Mother of Joseph and Benjamin. (Genesis 30:22-24; 35:16-18)

What authority did she hold?

Scripture does not record Rachel holding a specific position of authority or leadership.

What Scripture does record is Rachel acting and speaking for herself within her family.

• Rachel worked as a shepherdess, tending her father’s sheep. (Genesis 29:6, 9)
• Rachel gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. (Genesis 30:1-8)
• Rachel negotiated with Leah for some of Reuben’s mandrakes. (Genesis 30:14-16)
• When Jacob told Rachel and Leah what God had instructed him to do, they answered together and told him, “Whatever God has said to you, do it.” (Genesis 31:4-16)

What else do we learn about her?

• Scripture describes Rachel as beautiful of form and appearance. (Genesis 29:17)
• Rachel was tending Laban’s sheep when Jacob first met her at the well. (Genesis 29:6-12)
• Jacob kissed Rachel and wept when they met. (Genesis 29:11)
• Jacob loved Rachel and agreed to serve Laban seven years for her. Those years seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. (Genesis 29:18-20)
• Laban gave Leah to Jacob instead of Rachel on the wedding night. (Genesis 29:21-26)
• Jacob later married Rachel and loved her more than Leah. (Genesis 29:28-30)
• Rachel was unable to have children while Leah was bearing children. (Genesis 29:31; 30:1)
• Rachel envied Leah and told Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” Jacob became angry and told her that God had withheld children from her. (Genesis 30:1-2)
• Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob, and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. (Genesis 30:3-8)
• Rachel named Dan, saying God had judged her and heard her voice, and she named Naphtali after saying she had wrestled with her sister and prevailed. (Genesis 30:6-8)
• Rachel asked Leah for some of Reuben’s mandrakes. (Genesis 30:14-15)
• God remembered Rachel, listened to her, and opened her womb. (Genesis 30:22)
• Rachel gave birth to Joseph and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” She then asked the LORD to add another son to her. (Genesis 30:23-24)
• When Jacob prepared to leave Laban, Rachel and Leah said their father had treated them like strangers and had consumed the money paid for them. They told Jacob, “Whatever God has said to you, do it.” (Genesis 31:14-16)
• Rachel stole her father’s household idols when the family left. (Genesis 31:19)
• Laban searched for the idols, but Rachel hid them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. She told her father she could not rise before him because “the manner of women” was with her. Laban did not find the idols. (Genesis 31:33-35)
• Rachel later became pregnant again. (Genesis 35:16)
• She experienced severe labor while giving birth to her second son. (Genesis 35:16-17)
• As Rachel was dying, she named the baby Ben-Oni, but Jacob named him Benjamin. (Genesis 35:18)
• Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. Jacob set a pillar over her grave. (Genesis 35:19-20)
• Years later, Jacob remembered Rachel’s death when speaking to Joseph. (Genesis 48:7)

What does Scripture NOT explicitly tell us?

As you read Rachel’s story, notice what the text does not explicitly say.

• It does not tell us whether Rachel knew beforehand that Laban planned to give Leah to Jacob first.
• It does not tell us how long Rachel was unable to have children before Joseph was born.
• It does not say the mandrakes caused Rachel to conceive. Scripture says God remembered Rachel, listened to her, and opened her womb. (Genesis 30:22)
• It does not explicitly tell us why Rachel stole Laban’s household idols. (Genesis 31:19)
• It does not tell us what Rachel intended to do with the idols.
• It does not tell us that Jacob knew Rachel had stolen them. In fact, when Laban accused him, Jacob said that anyone found with the gods should not live. Scripture explains that Jacob did not know Rachel had stolen them. (Genesis 31:32)
• It does not tell us Rachel’s exact age when she died.

Scripture records Rachel’s beauty and Jacob’s deep love for her, but it also records her infertility, envy, family conflict, deception, motherhood, and death without hiding the difficult parts of her story.

What does Scripture explicitly tell us?

Scripture identifies Rachel as Laban’s daughter, Leah’s younger sister, Jacob’s wife, a shepherdess, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

Jacob loved Rachel and served Laban seven years to marry her. After Laban gave him Leah instead, Jacob also married Rachel and continued serving Laban.

For a time Rachel could not have children. She struggled deeply with this and envied her sister. Then Scripture says:

“Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.” (Genesis 30:22)

She gave birth to Joseph and later became pregnant with Benjamin.

Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin and was buried on the way to Bethlehem. Years later, Jacob still specifically remembered her death when speaking to their son Joseph. (Genesis 48:7)

The goal of this series is to introduce you to the women God included in Scripture and let the Bible speak for itself.

Now it’s your turn. Take a few minutes to read her story for yourself.

What stands out to you? What did you learn? What did you never notice before?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Meet the Women of the Bible.

One woman at a time.

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

10/07/2026

Meet the Women of the Bible

Episode 17: Bilhah & Zilpah

Who were they?

Bilhah and Zilpah were women in Jacob’s household. Laban gave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel and Zilpah to his daughter Leah. Both women were later given to Jacob as wives and became mothers of four of his twelve sons. (Genesis 29:24, 29; 30:3-13; 35:25-26)

Bilhah was the mother of Dan and Naphtali. Zilpah was the mother of Gad and Asher.

Their sons’ descendants became four of the tribes of Israel.

What role did they serve?

Bilhah

• Maidservant of Rachel, given to her by Laban. (Genesis 29:29)
• Wife of Jacob. (Genesis 30:4)
• Mother of Dan and Naphtali. (Genesis 30:5-8; 35:25)

Zilpah

• Maidservant of Leah, given to her by Laban. (Genesis 29:24)
• Wife of Jacob. (Genesis 30:9)
• Mother of Gad and Asher. (Genesis 30:10-13; 35:26)

Together, Bilhah and Zilpah were the mothers of four of Jacob’s twelve sons, whose descendants became four of the tribes of Israel.

What authority did they hold?

Scripture does not record Bilhah or Zilpah holding a specific position of authority or leadership.

It also records very few words or decisions directly attributed to either woman.

What Scripture does clearly record is their place within Jacob’s family. Their sons are named alongside Jacob’s other sons and are included in the family from which the tribes of Israel descended. (Genesis 35:22-26)

What else do we learn about them?

Bilhah

• Laban gave Bilhah to Rachel when Rachel became Jacob’s wife. (Genesis 29:28-29)
• When Rachel was unable to have children, she gave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife so that Bilhah could bear children. (Genesis 30:1-4)
• Bilhah conceived and gave birth to Dan. (Genesis 30:5-6)
• Bilhah conceived again and gave birth to Naphtali. (Genesis 30:7-8)
• Rachel named both of Bilhah’s sons. (Genesis 30:6, 8)
• Later, Scripture records that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it. (Genesis 35:22)
• Jacob later referred to Reuben’s actions involving Bilhah when speaking about Reuben before his death. (Genesis 49:3-4)
• Bilhah is named again when Scripture records Jacob’s family who went to Egypt. (Genesis 46:23-25)

Zilpah

• Laban gave Zilpah to Leah when Leah became Jacob’s wife. (Genesis 29:23-24)
• When Leah stopped bearing children, she gave Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. (Genesis 30:9)
• Zilpah gave birth to Gad. (Genesis 30:10-11)
• Zilpah later gave birth to Asher. (Genesis 30:12-13)
• Leah named both of Zilpah’s sons. (Genesis 30:11, 13)
• Zilpah is named again when Scripture records Jacob’s family who went to Egypt. (Genesis 46:16-18)

Their sons

• Dan and Naphtali, the sons of Bilhah, are included among Jacob’s twelve sons. (Genesis 35:25)
• Gad and Asher, the sons of Zilpah, are included among Jacob’s twelve sons. (Genesis 35:26)
• When Jacob later spoke concerning his sons before his death, Dan, Gad, Asher, and Naphtali were each included. (Genesis 49:16-21, 28)
• Their descendants continued as tribes within the nation of Israel.

What does Scripture NOT explicitly tell us?

As you read their stories, notice what the text does not explicitly say.

• It does not tell us how Bilhah or Zilpah became Laban’s maidservants.
• It does not tell us whether either woman had a choice when Laban gave them to his daughters.
• It does not tell us whether Bilhah or Zilpah had a choice when Rachel and Leah gave them to Jacob as wives.
• It does not record either woman’s feelings about these arrangements.
• It does not record Bilhah or Zilpah naming their own sons. Scripture records Rachel naming Bilhah’s sons and Leah naming Zilpah’s sons. (Genesis 30:6, 8, 11, 13)
• It does not tell us what kind of relationship Bilhah and Zilpah had with their sons.
• It does not tell us how Bilhah experienced or understood what happened with Reuben. Genesis simply records that Reuben “went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine.” (Genesis 35:22)
• It records very little about Zilpah’s life beyond her place in the family and the sons she bore.
• It does not record the deaths of Bilhah or Zilpah.

The Bible gives us very little of these women’s own voices. We know much more about decisions other people made concerning them than we know about what Bilhah and Zilpah themselves thought or wanted.

What does Scripture explicitly tell us?

Scripture identifies Bilhah and Zilpah as women Laban gave to his daughters Rachel and Leah. Rachel later gave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and Leah later gave Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

Bilhah gave birth to Dan and Naphtali.

Zilpah gave birth to Gad and Asher.

Scripture gives us very little of Bilhah’s and Zilpah’s own words, thoughts, or choices. Yet it repeatedly preserves their names and identifies them as the mothers of these sons. (Genesis 30:3-13; 35:25-26; 46:16-18, 23-25)

Their four sons are included among Jacob’s twelve sons, and their descendants became four of the tribes of Israel.

Their stories occupy relatively little space in Genesis, but their place in the family of Israel is clearly recorded.

The goal of this series is to introduce you to the women God included in Scripture and let the Bible speak for itself.

Now it’s your turn. Take a few minutes to read their story for yourself.

What stands out to you? What did you learn? What did you never notice before?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Meet the Women of the Bible.

One woman at a time.

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

10/07/2026

What if we started asking better questions about women in ministry?

Not questions designed to prove what we already believe.

Questions that make us wrestle with ALL of Scripture.

If 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 means women are to remain silent, why does Paul also acknowledge women praying and prophesying in 1 Corinthians 11:5?

How do BOTH passages fit together?

If 1 Timothy 2:11–12 means a woman cannot teach or exercise authority over a man, how do we understand that alongside Deborah, whom Scripture says judged Israel and to whom the Israelites came to have their disputes decided? Judges 4:4–5

How do BOTH passages fit together?

If Titus 2:3–5 is understood to mean women are only supposed to teach other women, how do we understand Priscilla, who along with Aquila explained “the way of God more accurately” to Apollos? Acts 18:24–26

How do BOTH passages fit together?

If 1 Timothy 2:12 is understood to mean a woman cannot speak God’s truth with authority to men, how do we understand Huldah? King Josiah sent his officials to inquire of the Lord through her, and she delivered God’s message back to the king. 2 Kings 22:11–20; 2 Chronicles 34:19–28

How do BOTH passages fit together?

If 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 means women are to remain silent and not publicly proclaim God’s message, how do we understand Anna? Scripture calls her a prophetess and says she spoke about Jesus to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36–38

How do BOTH passages fit together?

If 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 means women’s voices are to be silent, how do we understand Philip’s four daughters, whom Scripture specifically says prophesied? Acts 21:8–9

And how do we understand Peter’s declaration at Pentecost:

“Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.” Acts 2:17–18; Joel 2:28–29

How do ALL of these passages fit together?

If passages such as 1 Timothy 2:11–12 are understood to exclude women from ministry involving men, how do we understand Phoebe, whom Paul calls a diakonos of the church at Cenchreae and asks the Roman believers to receive and assist? Romans 16:1–2

How do BOTH passages fit together?

If women are not supposed to labor alongside men in spreading and advancing the Gospel, how do we understand Euodia and Syntyche, whom Paul says “contended at my side in the cause of the gospel”? Philippians 4:2–3

How does that fit into our understanding of women’s ministry?

And if passages restricting women’s authority are understood to mean women could not hold significant leadership within the early church, how do we understand Junia and Paul’s description of her in Romans 16:7?

How does THAT fit into our theology?

And here’s my point:

I’m not asking anyone to ignore the verses that appear restrictive.

I’m asking why we would read those verses and then ignore everything on the other side.

And I don’t want to do the reverse either.

I don’t want to point to Deborah, Priscilla, Huldah, Anna, Phoebe, Junia, Philip’s daughters, Euodia and Syntyche and pretend 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 aren’t there.

They’re ALL there.

So the question isn’t:

Which verses support what I already believe?

The question is:

What interpretation allows ALL of these passages to be true at the same time?

THAT is the question I want us asking.

Because if I’m wrong...

I want Scripture to correct me.

If my theology is built incorrectly, I want Scripture to tear it down.

If I’ve misunderstood something, I want to be humble enough to admit it.

But I expect the SAME thing from the person telling women they cannot preach.

Don’t build your entire theology on one or two passages while ignoring everything else.

And I won’t either.

Let’s put ALL of Scripture on the table.

Let’s open the whole Bible.

Let’s wrestle with ALL of it.

The difficult passages.

AND the women God clearly used.

The context.

The Greek.

The early church.

ALL. OF. IT.

Maybe the question isn’t simply:

“Can women preach?”

Maybe the better question is:

“Does my interpretation account for ALL of Scripture, or only the passages that support what I already believe?”

Stay humble.

Stay teachable.

Stay in the Word.

And Sister...

use the voice He gave you.

Preach it, Sister!

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

10/06/2026

Maybe the question isn’t, “When did women start preaching?”

Maybe the better question is:

“When did we start believing the Bible says they shouldn’t?”

Because women have been preaching a whole lot longer than you might think.

If women preaching is supposedly a result of modern feminism, how do we explain the women who were doing it hundreds, and even thousands, of years before modern feminism existed?

Let’s go back.

FIRST CENTURY

We don’t even have to leave the Bible.

Peter quotes Joel in Acts 2:
“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”

Acts 21:9 tells us Philip had four daughters who prophesied.

And in 1 Corinthians 11:5, Paul talks about women praying and prophesying. Whatever you believe about other passages concerning women, this passage clearly acknowledges women speaking prophetically.

And then there’s Mary Magdalene.

After the resurrection, Jesus tells her to go to His brothers and tell them what happened. She goes and announces:
“I have seen the Lord.”

Women publicly proclaiming Christ didn’t begin centuries later.

They’re right there at the beginning.

And these are only a few examples...
But here’s an important piece of history we often miss.

In the earliest centuries of Christianity, preaching and teaching were not yet tied to an ordained priestly office in exactly the way they would be later.

Early Christianity included apostles, prophets, teachers and other ministers proclaiming and teaching the faith.

As Christianity developed, church offices and authority became increasingly structured and formalized.

That distinction matters.

We can’t take our modern picture of a pastor standing behind a pulpit and simply place it over the first-century church.

SECOND CENTURY

Historical writings outside the Bible show women continuing to serve as prophets, teachers and leaders within early Christian movements.

Not every one of those movements was later considered orthodox, so we shouldn’t pretend they all represented the theology of the wider church.

But historically, their existence matters.

Women publicly speaking, teaching and exercising spiritual influence were already present in early Christianity.

BY THE 500s

Women had not disappeared from Christian leadership.

Women such as Radegund of Poitiers, a sixth-century abbess, exercised significant spiritual and pastoral leadership.

Women in monastic communities taught, discipled, led communities and helped spread Christianity.

THEN SOMETHING IMPORTANT BEGAN TO CHANGE.

Over the centuries, the church became increasingly institutionalized.

By the central Middle Ages, formal preaching was increasingly being defined as something belonging to authorized clergy.

The understanding of ordination itself was also becoming more narrowly defined.

By the 12th and 13th centuries, ordination was increasingly associated with specific clerical orders from which women were excluded.

And as women were excluded from ordination, they were increasingly excluded from formal preaching.

But here’s another important detail:
This wasn’t initially just about women.

Laymen could also be prohibited from preaching without authorization.

The issue was increasingly about who had the church’s authority to preach.

So the history isn’t as simple as:
Women never preached, and then modern feminism convinced them they could.

Not even close.

The historical development is much more complicated.

Early Christian proclamation involved apostles, prophets, teachers and others.

Church authority became increasingly institutionalized.

Formal preaching became increasingly connected to ordained clergy.

And as women were excluded from ordination, they were also increasingly excluded from formal preaching.

Yet women continued to preach.

During the Middle Ages, historical records document women publicly exhorting, teaching and proclaiming their faith, sometimes despite restrictions against them doing so.

Women such as Rose of Viterbo, Angela of Foligno and Catherine of Siena became known for publicly speaking about faith and calling people to repentance and devotion.

And there’s another fascinating piece of this history.

In the 12th century, the Waldensian movement emphasized the responsibility of ordinary Christians to proclaim the Gospel. Women participated too, and their preaching became part of the controversy with church authorities.

Think about where we are on the timeline.

We still haven’t reached modern feminism.

We haven’t even reached the Reformation.

THEN WE GET TO THE 1600s.

Women weren’t suddenly discovering preaching.

Some Christians were now openly defending women’s right to do it.

Women preached publicly in the early Quaker movement. Elizabeth Hooton, born around 1600, became one of its earliest women preachers.

And in 1666, Margaret Fell published Women’s Speaking Justified, making a biblical case for women’s public ministry and pointing all the way back to the women who proclaimed Christ’s resurrection.

And we haven’t even reached the 1700s, 1800s or 1900s yet.

So no, women proclaiming the Gospel didn’t suddenly appear with the women’s liberation movement.

You can absolutely have a theological discussion about what Scripture permits women to do in the church.

But we should at least begin that conversation
with the actual biblical and historical record.

And we should be careful not to look at the first-century church through the lens of a medieval or modern pulpit and assume church structure has always looked exactly the same.

History doesn’t tell us that women suddenly started preaching.

It tells us something far more interesting:
Women were already speaking, prophesying, teaching and proclaiming the Gospel.

The restrictions came later.

And THAT is a history worth knowing.

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

10/05/2026

I stumbled across this this morning, and yes, I’m going to keep addressing biblical inaccuracies when I see them. Especially when they are being used to define the roles of women.

We need to talk about the words SUBMIT and OBEY, because they are increasingly being treated as though they mean the same thing.

They don’t.

When Paul addresses wives in Ephesians, he uses the Greek word hypotassō, translated submit or be subject.

But then something VERY interesting happens.

Just a few verses later, Paul addresses children and tells them to OBEY their parents. That is a different Greek word: hypakouō.

And then he uses hypakouō again when telling slaves to OBEY their masters.

Paul had a word for “obey.”

He used it.

He did not use it when instructing wives.

We see the same distinction in Colossians 3:

Wives → submit
Children → obey
Slaves → obey

That matters.

So when teaching like this begins talking about the “commands of submission AND obedience” for wives, we have moved beyond what the text actually says.

And ironically, one of the graphics even says:

“What do you mean I have to obey him? I thought that was just for the children!”

Well...that distinction is actually IN THE TEXT.

We absolutely need to have conversations about what biblical submission means. But we cannot redefine submission as obedience and then teach women that God commanded something Scripture does not actually command.

Words matter.

Context matters.

And when we're teaching Scripture, accuracy matters.

🦋 Rebecca Rakow

Rebecca Rakow Ministries

10/11/2026

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