John Eckhardt - Chayil: Release the Power of a Virtuous Woman

IN OUR SOCIETY it is not uncommon to talk about strong women. Many of us have known strong women. Our mothers were or are strongstrong in character and power, whether its spiritual strength, emotional strength, or otherwise. Most of us have known strong women of God who move in power, miracles, healing, and deliverance. They are full of the Holy Ghost. They are strong prayer warriors, intercessors, prophetesses, counselors, preachers, and teachers.

Yet somehow the enemy leads our first thoughts to men when it comes to might and valor. As we are discovering, however, the word chayil means wealth, substance, valor, strength, power, host, valiant, train, army, might, able, company, war, soldiers, riches, virtuous, and forces. And this word is used in connection with women as well as men.

Sometimes men are intimidated by strong women. And sometimes women say, Well, I dont want to be too strong, without realizing that God created them to be strong. This kind of strength is not about physical strength or about women trying to be stronger than men. A lot of women have accepted the traditional definition of who a woman should be: She should be weak and stay in the kitchen. She should be quiet and not say anything.

Then God raises up women who become leadersgovernmental, business, and church leaders. And people still say that a woman shouldnt even speak in church, that she should be silent. Society is now shifting to where women who at one time were not very visible in business are taking over in greater numbers in various leadership roles in certain industries.

Strong chayil women are not Jezebels. They are not overbearing and beating up on their husbands. But the virtuous woman is not just a nice woman who is holy, clean, and praised. Shes a chayil woman who is also strong, mighty, and valiant.

Heres an interesting point: if you ever look up the name Sarah, or SaraiAbrahams wifeyoull see that it is connected to her being a mother of nations (Gen. 17:16) and means my princess and nobility. It refers to someone of power. So Sarah, the woman of God, the woman of faith, was not just a wife who had a baby. She was a very powerful woman who was married to Abraham, a very powerful and wealthy man.

Deborah, a judge in Israel, was also a very powerful woman. All of Israel came to her for sound judgment. Esther, a queen, was a very powerful woman too.

In Scripture we read of women who carried authority and were strong in prayer and worship. Of course in the Old Covenant youll find more men walking in chayil. Still, God did not create women to be weak. And this is the problem: some men do not approve of strong women. They automatically call them Jezebels. Jezebel was a witch, a seductressmanipulative and domineering. Being a strong woman does not make you a Jezebel.

Both men and women should be strong. The Bible says, and this applies to women as well, Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Eph. 6:10). I pray that you would be strengthened with might by the Spirit in your inner being.

THERES NO JUNIOR HOLY GHOST FOR WOMEN

In the Scriptures men were the physical warriors, and kings fought many battles. Pharaoh had chayil. Moses had chayil. Joshua had chayil. David had chayil. Hezekiah had chayil. But women also had chayil. Women such as Esther, Deborah, Anna, Ruth, and Abigail had chayil. These were all women of influence and power.

These scriptures on might and power in Christ apply to women as well as men.

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.

EPHESIANS 3:16

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

EPHESIANS 6:10

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

PHILIPPIANS 4:13

When women receive the Holy Ghost, its not the Holy Ghost Jr. You have the same Holy Ghost that men have. You can be strong, mighty, and powerful. You can walk in wealth and business. You should be strong in the prophetic, in preaching, teaching, prayer, worship, or whatever your call is. You should not become weak or reduce yourself for the approval of men. You should not be dominated, run over, or controlled. You are not to be a doormat for a man or for a church. You should be strong.

This is who you are, chayil woman. I am challenging you to be strong in the Lord and in what God has given you. Walk in strength. Dont ever let culture or tradition make you weak. You are not this little woman who is just run over. No. You can have a quiet and meek spirit and still be strong. As a matter of fact, the Bible talks about meekness as a strength. Its a virtue. Lets go a little deeper into the fullness of the valor and might of the virtuous chayil woman.

WOMAN OF VALOR

In the Jewish culture Proverbs 31:1031 is a poetic blessing husbands sing over their wives at the Sabbath table. The term is eshet chayil, and it is a spontaneous blessing.

Friends cheer one another on with the blessing, celebrating everything from promotions, to pregnancies, to acts of mercy and justice, and honoring everything from battles with cancer, to brave acts of vulnerability, to difficult choices, with a hearty eshet chayil!woman of valor.

So I set aside my to-do list and began using Proverbs 31 as it was meant to be usednot as yet another impossible standard by which to measure our perceived failures, but as a celebration of what weve already accomplished as women of valor.

This changes the whole idea of Proverbs 31, which should now be liberating for women to read and not a reminder of who they are not.

Carol McCleod states:

Materialism, physical beauty and creature comforts were never meant to be the substance of the life of a woman who was created for chayil!

You were created to help win this battle on planet earth!

You were created with power and with ability!

You were created to tap into the wealth of God on earth!

You were created to be a front-line warrior in the mighty army of God and for His purposes!

You were created to raise up the next generation of warriors for the kingdom of God!

You were created to take back real estate from the kingdom of darkness and to position yourself as an immovable proponent for all that is right and good.

You were created to pray for the sick with faith and with power.

You were created to use the resources that God has given to you as a treasure chest of generous giving and lavish investment in Gods kingdom.

You were created, my sisters of the faith, to walk side by side with man, pushing back the darkness, subduing and taking dominion over the earth.

The fight was never intended to be man vs. woman; the battle was intended to be man and woman taking down strongholds and charging forward in victory against spiritual forces of wickedness.

Kathi Woodall states:

The Old Testament uses chayil most often in the context of war or battle. Traditionally, the role of a man is to fight for and defend his country or his homeland. Scripture is full of stories of the Israelite men leaving their homes to go to battle; over and over it refers to them as chayil. They are the valiant warriors who crossed the Jordan to claim the Promised Land and fought alongside Joshua. They were the elite army of Israel who could wage war with great power (2 Chronicles 26:13). King David was chayil even before God chose him as king; he was a mighty man of valor (1 Samuel 9:1).

These are merely a sampling of the imagery behind the word chayil. Like these valiant warriors, a chayil woman fights for and defends her home. She protects it from invading negative influences and organizes those under her so that it runs smoothly and calmly. A chayil woman is strong, mighty, and efficient. She is valiant and virtuous. But, and this is a very important point, she is all of these things alongside her husband, never in opposition to him.