2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. 6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover hishead, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. 10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. 12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comesthrough woman; but all things are from God.
13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her[a] for a covering. 16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nordo the churches of God.
In the Old Testament, there are examples of women covering their head. Rebekah covered her head with a veil when meeting Isaac for marriage (Gen. 24:65). Also, the priests were to uncover a woman's head during an offering if a man thinks his wife has been unfaithful (Num. 5:18). These are the only mentioning's I could find were women had their heads covered.
I assumed by the reading in 1 Corinthians it was customary for woman to wear head coverings if their hair was shorn (cut) or shaven, and it dishonors her head to be shorn or shaven (vs 6). Verse 15 states if a woman has long hair that is her covering. This covering, her hair or an alternative covering, was to be a symbol of authority, because of she came from man and was created for the man. This was the tradition of some.
I would like to draw your attention to verse 16:
16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nordo the churches of God.
When I read this verse it all just came together for me. I think Paul is telling the Corinthians that If one wants to wear a head covering thats fine their not sinning, and if they don't want to thats fine too. If one wants to make a big deal and argue over it, I just want to let you know there is no custom, and it's not something the churches of God practice.
In conclusion, in my opinion I do not feel it necessary to wear a covering. I do think that if another comes to the conclusion that it is and they are sinning if they do not wear it then wear it. Romans 14:23, talking about those that still feel it is wrong to eat the "unclean" meat, if you do these things without faith it is sin. So if you are wearing or not wearing a cover just because of other peoples thoughts you are doing these tings without faith, and in turn are in sin. so do what you think is necessary in your service to God.
I would like to stress again I do not mean to offend anyone. If you have any thoughts on the subject please share them.
I completely agree with your reasoning, and your conclusion! =) Just out of curiosity, what do you think about women with short hair? Personally, I still hold with your conclusion ... but I have heard people say that because vs. 15 says "if a woman has long hair..." it may be appropriate for a woman with short hair to wear a covering.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I still think your conclusion holds - hair is hair :). But wanted to see what you thought...
I go to verse 16 were it states that "we (whoever the we is Paul is talking about) have no customs, nor do the churches of God" I really think that is saying head coverings are not necessary for any one and it is not something God requires anyone to do.
ReplyDeleteA thought crossed my mind as I was studying it. Did the head coverings come in after Christ came? It use to be the law of Moses and the children of Israel (or the jews) now it is the new law of Christ and it was to be spred through the whole world. Now everyone is Gods chosen people so there were different worshiping "traditions" brought in when they worshiped there gods/idols.
Just a thought that came to mind.
I have not found anywhere in the Bible where it states a length equals long and all other lengths equal too short when hair is mentioned. I try and judge the length of my hair in comparison to my husband's length. If he has hair to his collar, I have hair passed my shoulders. If one were to look at the back of us, they should be able to tell who is the man and who is the woman. (I think that also includes how we dress.)Our culture in the past had men with short trimmed hair and women with hair much longer than that. Our culture through the 60's and 70's rebelled against that style and both men and women grew their hair out and let it hang unruly. However, even then and today, most men have their hair short and trimmed, but the women are all over the hair length spectrum.
ReplyDeleteI think that long hair on a woman in today's society is considered long passed the shoulders and anything reaching or below the waist is considered extremely long. If you Google images of short, medium, long and extremely long, I THINK you will see what one considers long is not long to another. Sigh.
One of the verses above, "15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her[a] for a covering" makes me want to interpret this as, "I am going to have hair long enough that does not make anyone question if my hair is medium or maybe long..."
With that being said, I choose to do what my husband wants me to do with my hair and thankfully his desire agrees with verse 15. He enjoys seeing me with long hair (with still another 3 inches or so to go)and "Wow, do I EVER feel feminine with my hair flowing down my back!" It also helps keep me in check where my husband is concerned when I find myself about to usurp his authority. I feel feminine, I act feminine, I let the men do the dirty work. (Side note~I also like wearing dresses and skirts [with an apron if I'm at home] to add to my femininity I strive for everyday.)
I'm not sure if my random thoughts here made sense to you and I could probably read more in the Scriptures to help better clarify my thoughts, but here you have it. I hope it is comprehensible. =0)(I must stop rereading and adding to what I've written above or I will be here for hours!)