Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
Peter’s instruction is not fancy or flowery. He is speaking to men in a concise and straightforward manner. Husbands must lead their homes. And they must lead God’s way. Failure here ends in a broken family…and a trail of broken hearts.
I love the fact that Peter uses Sarah as an inspired example of biblical submission. Read her story in Genesis 11-23. She was not a wallflower who waited on Abraham to call the shots. She was an opinionated woman, who devised an ill-conceived family plan (Genesis 16:1-2), mistreated the accomplice (Genesis 16:6), laughed at God (Genesis 18:12), and finally ordered Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael by sending them off to wander in the desert (Genesis 21:9-10). Sarah destroys the world’s twisted picture of submission!
The trap of outward appearance, whether wearing too much or too little to draw attention, has been an issue since Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a woman (Job 31:1). In our passage today, the apostle Peter weighs in. Peter is not writing against hairstyles, jewelry, or fashionable clothes. Instead, he is writing against the temptation to spend more time primping the fleshly “outward” look than prepping the spiritual inward character.
The believer’s life should be attractive and inviting to those who don’t know Jesus. This also applies to every believer’s marriage relationship. Today’s passage is directed toward wives, and Peter’s words are misunderstood by many. Let’s work to understand how Scripture addresses the role of the wife in her marriage.
A wandering sheep is a meal ready to be eaten. Separated from the flock, a straying sheep is vulnerable to the attack of wild animals. They also risk falling, rolling over on their backs, and as a result, incapable of getting up. Straying sheep are in danger of getting lost and staying lost until they meet their demise. Apart from Jesus, we are all “straying like sheep”—lost in sin, vulnerable to the Enemy, and caught in spiritual darkness. But that all changes with Jesus!