The Yali - Part 2 of 2

Posted on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 06:15

Lords of the Earth.  Kopai.  Female subjugation, despair, violence, hopelessness.  I don’t think this can be fully understood outside the spiritual dimension, starting with Ephesians 6:12:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

As John and Stasi point out in Captivating, the Prince of Darkness has a special hatred of femininity (See chapter 5).  Look at what happened in Eden.  Who did Satan go after?  The serpent could have chosen Adam.  But he didn’t.  He hissed his pernicious poison at Eve.

Why?

Did the Enemy, like any predator, choose to attack whom he believed to be the weaker of the two humans?  Could be.  But is there more?  Remember that Satan was first named Lucifer, “Son of the Morning.”  This infers a glory or radiance unique to him.  See Ezekiel 28:12-14: “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (vs. 12b).”

Lucifer was perfect in beauty.  Stunning.  Glorious.  Satan knew it, and that was his downfall.  See Ezekiel 28:17: “”Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.”  Pride entered Lucifer’s heart and he sought the worship and adoration reserved for God alone. 

Listen up, ladies.  This is key.  After Lucifer fell, who was made the crown of creation, the crescendo of God’s creativity?  Who is the incarnation of the Beauty of God?  Who became God’s final, amazing, astonishing stroke of Beauty?  By Beauty I don’t mean physicality.  I don’t mean Max Factor, Revlon, L’Oreal, or Saks Fifth Avenue.  I mean the tender, tough, bold, shy, glorious, mysterious, indefatigable, intrepid, amazing beauty of a soul at rest in and reflecting God.  As Stasi explains, “The essence of a woman is Beauty.  She is meant to be the incarnation—our experience in human form—of a Captivating God.”

Do you get it?  Eve – ishshah - Woman - represents everything the Enemy hates, loathes, despises, and seeks to destroy.  Think enraged.  Foaming-at-the-mouth rabid.  Like a Stinger missile after a heat signature, the Enemy is locked in on an all-out assault on Beauty.  He has a special hatred of Eve – and all her daughters. 

Satan also hates women because we are life-givers and life-sustainers.  Eve is a lifesaver.  Her name means “life, living” or “life giver, producer.”  But the Evil One is a liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44) and brings only death.  Need convincing?  Just look at today’s headlines. 

Now, put these two things together: 1) Eve embodies the Beauty of God, and 2) She gives life to the world.  And don’t miss this: Messiah came from Eve (see Genesis 3:15).  Notice that this verse says, “her seed.”  It does not say “his” seed or “the man’s seed.”  No.  This verse is Eve’s.  (It would take a separate book to pontificate further on this point, so I’ll stop here.)

But do you see the incredible threat Eve is to the kingdom of darkness?  Woman - he hates you because you’re a huge threat to his kingdom!  Because you uniquely carry the glory of God to the world.  So he assaults Eve with a special hatred.  Why?  The Enemy hates you because he fears you.  (Worth another book.  Maybe later.)

But as the Yali and so many former captives of the Prince of Darkness and his malevolent reign finally learned, there is more to the Story.  Because just as every Story has its Villain, this one also has its Hero.  

Don Richardson writes:

    One weekend at Ninia, I attended a communion service along with about 100 Yali men and, yes, an equal number of devout Yali women.  And it is no coincidence that in a valley where women now enjoy privileges of worship and religious instruction on an equal basis with men, the female suicide rate—once at least 10 times higher than the male suicide rate—has now fallen almost to zero!  (p. 363)

Richardson concludes Lords of the Earth with a final interview with Kusaho, a Yali tribesmen who tried to intervene and prevent the martyrdom of Irian Jaya pioneer missionaries Stan Dale and Phil Masters:

    I tested the feasibility of using the Yali “place of refuge” concept as an analogy pointing to Christ as man’s perfect Refuge. 

We said: “Kusaho, your Yali osuwa was limited to just one geographical location.  If a beleaguered man couldn’t get to it in time, he died without mercy.  And it offered protection only form physical danger, not spiritual.  For this reason God saw that your people needed a better kind of osuwa, one that could be around you in ANY geographical location—one that could deliver you from spiritual as well as physical danger.  That is why He sent His Son.”

“Christ is mankind’s perfect osuwa!  Do you understand this?”

(Kusaho’s) Response was immediate.  “Of course I understand it!  Those words are very meaningful to me.  When I return to Wikboon, I will explain the gospel to my people in this way, so that many more will believe.” (pp. 363-364.)

Thousands of years of Enemy-induced Yali hatred, revenge, bloodlust and murder were shattered by the Lord Jesus Christ -- the osuwa, the Hero who triumphed over that old serpent and all his minions.  That Triumph isn’t just for the stone-age Yali people, but for Eve and all her daughters, too!  The Victor is also the Hero of the Greatest Love Story ever told.  How He woos, pursues and yearns to win your tender, tough, bold, shy, glorious, mysterious, indefatigable, weary, intrepid, amazing, beautiful, and feminine Heart!

Stay tuned.

Laus Deo.

Wonderful, insightful, uplifting...

Posted by solodeogloria on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 08:11 - Link

I just wanted to thank you for this. How clearly you've explained something that has been an unanswered question in so many minds. Yes...the enemy obviously hates women, but to know the actual explanation of why explains so much.

You're a blessing!

Laurie