6. Are There Exceptions to Male Representation?
Three evidences that do not allow an exception
This raises an interesting question: when the man of the house is absent or dead, may another representative from the family vote? May single mothers vote? After all, does not her family deserve to be represented? This argument seems logical. If representation were the only issue involved in voting, this would be a strong argument in favor of allowing any head of household to vote and/or any representative child chosen by the family to vote. However, there are three problems with this line of reasoning.
Voting also involves leadership and authority.
First, voting is not simply a representational issue. It is also a leadership and authority issue within the church. God has vested some authority in the officers and some authority in the congregation, but if women or children wield the authority of the vote, they are still violating 1 Timothy 2:12; 1 Cor. 14:34-35; etc. by exercising authority and leadership over men. The death of a husband does not automatically give a woman authority over other men in the church.
The Bible shows no examples of women voting.
Second, we do not find any examples of women voting to represent their homes in the Bible. In light of the fact that there are so many Scriptures which speak of “all the men” voting, this is a significant silence.
Ideally, widows are given the protection of men.
It is significant that ordinarily, single women remain under the authority of their fathers or some other male relative until they were given in marriage (Gen. 24:41, 29:19; 34:8; Ex. 22:17; 1 Cor. 7:38; etc.). This was true of even divorced or widowed women who either come under the protective covering of their father (Gen. 38:11; Lev. 22:13), a son (John 19:25-27), a grandson (1 Tim. 5:4), a member of the family (1 Tim. 5:16), a friend of the family (John 19:25-27)18 or—in cases where the woman is truly “left alone” (1 Tim. 5:5)—she could come under the protective care of an elder (2 John; 1 Tim. 5:1-19). These verses show that the ideal is for a widowed or divorced woman to be cared for and protected by a male. (However, see the objections in the next chapter for a caution on how far to take this principle.)
The Biblical evidence indicates that the issues of leadership, authority, the total absence of any Biblical examples of women voting, and pervasive responsibilities of men for women would seem to rule out an exception. However, there are three more arguments that need to be dealt with in the next section.