Headship Part 2, Long hair

Now just a few more things here, judging yourselves in verse 13. Is it seemly that a woman praying to God uncovered, doth not even nature? I read this word nature, I take it to mean that the natural instinct, uncorrupted or if it were truly expressed naturally, even in society for the most part, not always, but most of the time, has something that innately tells us that there should be that distinction. That normally a man with long hair is sort of a strange kind of character in me.

He's really taking a place that shouldn't be his. He's expressing a kind of a character that is not appropriate to manhood. Which is doesn't nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it is a shame under him? A number of times he used the word shame.

Chapter 14 he uses the word shame again. So it's something that is embarrassing. There's something that's disgraceful.

But he says if a woman has long hair it is a glory to her, the very opposite of a shame. I want to point out in this section because typically the question comes up, especially in younger believers, sometimes in older ones as well. Long, how long is long? Does that mean down to your shoulders? Does it mean down to the middle of your back? Does it mean down to your knees? Or does it mean whatever it is it means? Well if you look it up in Mr. Thayer's, Dr. Thayer's lexicon, or if you look it up in Dr. Weiss' word studies, or if you look it up in other places you'll find that actually long is not an adjective.

That may shock you. Long looks like an adjective but it's not an adjective. It's a verb.

So that really a better translation would be if a woman allow her hair to grow, or the old Whitlick translation way back in the old times said if a woman nourish long hair, it is a glory unto her. So the hair, the length of the hair is not the glory, it's the act of allowing it to grow. Why? Because she is by doing so signifying her everyday entirety of life recognition of submission to the order of God.

In her daily life, her everyday experience, wherever she is, by allowing that to take place even though the world doesn't understand it, and even though men all around wouldn't even comprehend what is taking place, God knows. And in that sense it's a glory as God looks upon her. And so it's not a matter of how long because I know some sisters and their hair won't grow long.

I don't know why, but I'm not criticizing them for that. Because I know some that have told me I wish it were longer, I wish it would grow. But their desire is for it to grow.

The only way you can let it grow is not to cut it off. So he is saying if a man lets his hair grow, it's a shame unto him. Think of Absalom, he was a strange character wasn't he? He was pretty taken up with his own beauty and attractiveness, but he really was a rebel.

And he was expressing a rebellious character maybe by letting his hair grow. And the Nazarite back in chapter 6 of Numbers, he was letting his hair grow for the period of time that he had the vow. He was sort of strange too in the eyes of the world.

He was doing that though as an act of expressing his subjection and his devotion to the Lord for that period of time. And the same word is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in Numbers chapter 6 is what you have here. A man all the days of his vow he will let his hair grow.

So that there you have the act that is in view. It's a glory to her. It's something that she can do to manifest her appreciation for the place God has given her.

And to set forth before God and before the angels and even before others in this world a picture or expression of desire to give God the place that he deserves to have the Lord the place in her life. And to recognize the proper place God has for her in her relationship with others. So that she have or allow her hair to grow long it is a glory to her for her hair has given her for a covering.

Mr. Robertson says that that word for is in accordance with or answering to a covering. It's of the same character as a covering. It's not the same as the covering in the previous part of the chapter but it's in the character or answering to a covering in her everyday life.

But he says if any man seemed to be contentious and if there were some we have no such custom. We have no custom of being contentious about this issue. And we could also read that we don't have any other custom than what I'm teaching you right here in any of the churches of God.

So it went wide in the court and it's the truth that you and I should seek to find this truth. So I hope that I haven't muddied water on this. I hope that I've clarified a few things.

First of all not to teach anything new but to emphasize to our hearts that in our day that is full of change and departure and in which we're surrounded by people that would minimize things of this nature that the word of God teaches. I believe that God still appreciates and desires in your heart and mind that voluntary submission to his will and sent forth this lovely picture that God can see as he looks upon a local assembly of believers. God help us to carry it out and continue to do so as long as we're left here in our life for him.