Women in Combat

All these, being men of war who could draw up in battle formation, came to Hebron with a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel.  – 1 Chronicles 12:38 A group of young men and one woman ran toward me along the trail. My first thought was how their pace was much faster than mine. Of course, I was probably 40 years older! My second thought was how the young lady must be fast to keep up with the men. I started thinking (you have a lot of time to think while running!) about how runners are separated into men’s and women’s groups at the Olympics and other races. They don’t compete with the opposite sex. Generally, men are faster than women. How does this difference in physical ability play out in the military? Should women serve in combat? Of course, there will be women who are stronger than some men and physically more qualified. But is there more? What about their emotional makeup? Why didn’t God require Jewish women to fight, as the passage above affirms? God created men to protect women. Adam was created to protect Eve. He failed, and the rest is our sad history. Men are uniquely gifted to protect women physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Men and women are equally valuable before God, but they are very different—uniquely special. Until men and women understand this design, there will be confusion, endangerment, and discord. When we understand, we will complement one another.  Men, let’s man up and lead and protect women with sacrificial love and servants’ hearts!