Through the lens of Woman

There is a sentence in Exodus 32 that almost no one teaches on. “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me” (Ex 32:2).

The calf was made out of the women’s and children’s jewelry. The men handed it over. The women had to take it off. The earrings that had been their gift, their adornment, their celebration — became the substance of an idol.

There is a quiet warning here for women of faith. What we hand over to broken systems eventually shapes their idols. What we let our culture take from us — our voices, our gifts, our discernment, our objections — eventually gets melted down into something that is no longer ours.

Conversely: what we withhold and consecrate shapes God’s altars. Hannah dedicated Samuel. Mary said yes to the angel. The women at the tomb brought spices. What women keep for the Father becomes part of the dwelling place.

One small thing today: name one piece of yourself — a gift, a voice, a moment, a gift of money or time — that you have been handing to a system that should not have it. Take it back. Consecrate it instead. Watch where the Father uses it.