Over the last several months, we have been unfolding this series on headship and patriarchy from a Biblical perspective. The Bible is clear concerning the structure of family and marriage, but we are sure the average reader has harbored the ‘why does God do it this way?’ question. And, we could simply say, ‘Because He can…’ but for many, that would be too simplistic or even entirely unsatisfactory.

Personally, I accept Scripture as truth. Period. End of story. But, as with many other areas where the wisdom of Elohim proves true, what if there are very solid sociological reasons why headship and patriarchy are the best route to go?

Today, I read an amazing article that exactly explains the ‘why?’

How Getting Marriage ‘Wrong’ Destroyed Every Great Civilization in World History

The article is long with a pile of research, but it is well worth your time to read and process if you want to understand the major underlying reason why civilizations fail. And, more significantly, why God mandates patriarchy.

The article demonstrates that in more than 80 civilizations the downfall began with a cultural move toward egalitarianism which led to sexual freedom outside of marriage, then fatherless children resulting in immoral social collapse. The cycle is repeated in ‘unrelieved monotony.’

Ancient Babylon, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Anglo-Saxon Empire, and many others all gave women full, equal rights just before they began their decline.  In every single case, the great civilization began to fall right after they gave women full, equal rights. (again, equal rights leads to unwed mothers and divorce, which leads to fatherless children, which is what destroys the society)

How getting marriage ‘wrong’…

What is a particularly fascinating connector to the related subject of Biblical marriage is that,

A female emancipating movement is a cultural phenomenon of unfailing regularity; it appears to be the necessary outcome of absolute monogamy.

“Sex and Culture” by JD Unwin, pages 344-345

The author fails to recognize that because marriageable women always outnumber marriageable men there will always be a number of ‘unattached’ women in a culture of absolute monogamy. The result is a hormonal cocktail of trouble that leads to the emancipation movement. For example, after the Civil War, 600,000 dead men left an abundance of women who would never marry. Their energies were then channeled into beginning the American ’emancipation movement.’

Had there been a proper understanding of marriage according to the Scriptures, rather than ‘traditional marriage’ (monogamy-only), headship and patriarchy would have been sustained, women cared for and valued and the ’emancipation movement’ would have been sidestepped entirely due to a dearth of single women agitating out of frustration. I was not aware of the historic evidence when I wrote a list of reasons why ‘monogamy only’ does not work, or why the alternative does work.

There is a reason (probably many more than one…) why God instructs headship and patriarchy and a reason why He never commands monogamy-only. The reason is because He wants a thriving society that builds families, gives every woman a place of protection and provision and cares for children rather than the destruction we see when families disintegrate leading to moral decline.

If kol Israel is to be restored and the Moshiach is to reign forever, then Torah is the standard and Moses gives quite a different picture of marriage and family than the church does. Wouldn’t it pay to actually study it out and dig into what the Word teaches instead of tradition?

Selah!