Rocko

I think that what Paul is trying to get across here is that in God's eyes, there is much value for the woman to build her home by having and raising children. Not that this is her only role. In fact, Paul encourages those who can to stay single (1 Cor. 7). But Paul was one to address the family and the roles of the fathers, mothers and children in that context. And God is pleased when the family works in such a harmonious way. So yes, that is part of the righteous woman's role that pleases God - but not her only role.

Why do you ask? Do you ask because you need to be reassured? Or do you ask to challenge people's beliefs?

I would say that God would not make the ground so hard to work. Noah's father (Lamech) said Noah would prove to be a "comfort to us in our painful toil and labor caused by the ground the Lord has cursed." Genesis 5:28 So I believe that once Noah successfully completed God's task for him and offered a sacrifice (a foreshadowing of Christ) God was pleased to lift the curse he'd levied against the ground. Noah, in essense reversed the curse on the ground by his obedience and sacrifice. And now man would not have to work so hard just to get crops from the ground. Thus he becamse a comfort to us all. I wrote a book titled "Re-Introducing God from Genesis" where I discuss alot of these really cool things as well as God's helpful relationships with people of all walks of life in Genesis. There are prophesies in Genesis that people have overlooked for years. Even European dominance is predicted in Genesis. (Private email removed by moderator) All the best, Rocko

Mike, I really appreciate you sharing your heart. I can see you are in a lot of pain. I have gone to moments of crisis where I wondered if God was there for me. When we are not seeing his love clearly is when we are not seeing HIM clearly. I would encourage you to get into the word. Read the gospels, particularly John and Paul's letters to Ephesians, Phillipians and Colossians. Read also the book of Genesis because it is a wonderful book on how God has helped people from all walks of life. Stories you might find particularly interesting are the ones of Joseph and even Ishmael. God took care of those guys even though they may have fallen out with their families. I wrote a book on Genesis where I flesh this out with the purpose of encouraging people to draw near to a good God. The title is "Re-Introducing God from Genesis." If you'd like a free pdf copy for your encouragement, you (or anyone else) can email me at *Edit private E-Mail* I'm happy to send it free of charge because I know people need something to feed their souls. The word of God has strengthened my soul and I want to pass it along. God is good. All the time. Rocko