No doubt the greatest privilege that a women ever had was that of being the mother of Jesus. There were other women spoken well of in the Old Testament such as Rahab, Deborah and Hannah. It would also appear that the wife of Manoah had a better judgement than her husband (Judges 13). In the New Testament Paul commends a number of sisters in Romans 16. They are not overlooked. Then we have Aquilla and Priscilla mentioned six times in the New Testament. In three cases Aquilla (the husband) is put first and in the other three Priscilla (his wife) is put first. The point is that they were together in the Lord's work as it is said: they "staked their own neck". Note: neck rather than necks. It would be well if this were the case with every husband and wife. The husband should do his part and the the wife do hers, that is, they should complement each other. This would make for harmony. When one is trying to take over the part of the other friction is likely to result, and ultimately if the fault is not rectified it could well lead to what is effectively divorce.

September 2001