1 Tim 2 · Song 3

Devotion 1 of 2: 1 Tim 2

1) No, I don’t think modern women are disobeying Paul’s rules. Paul was writing about clothing so Christian women would fit into the culture of that day, be proper and not cause stumbling. In advanced countries, if we followed his rules for braided hair, or not wearing gold or pearls or costly clothes (which might cost 20,000-50,000 yen!), then we would probably cause people to stumble over the church’s poor fashion taste. So I believe we should understand Paul’s rules as: Wear clothes that give a good testimony of Christ, and not as rules that prohibit moderate wearing of gold, pearls, and costly clothes.

2) No, I don’t think so. Once more, Paul is instructing according to the culture of his day, which didn’t allow women to speak in certain types of public meetings. So that’s why he instructed that women should be silent and shouldn’t teach men, etc. But today, if we followed those rules, the church would be a stumbling stone because it would go against modern culture! Almost no church follows Paul’s rules of keeping women silent in church because they allow women to lead prayer, read Scripture, testify, and make announcements, etc.! But some churches don’t allow women pastors because of Paul’s rule about not allowing women to teach men.

Devotion 2 of 2: Song 3

I will share just a simple thought from this chapter. In v.1, the Shulamite sought for Solomon, but couldn’t find him, so she rose up and searched for him (v.2) until she finally found him (v.4). That’s how we should be with Jesus! If we don’t feel his presence, we should seek him until we find him! I think one of the best ways of seeking for Jesus is confessing his words from the Bible and believing them!