Spiritual Perception & The Wife
The Holy Spirit bears multiple types of fruit in the lives of believers. The Christian wife, who is modeled after Wisdom, also bears many different types of fruit. These fruits combine to produce a Spirit-led ministry of helps within the home, the product of which is spiritual perception.
Perception is the ability to become aware of something through the sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin). Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling are all things the mind uses to process information, make decisions, and send instructions to the rest of the body. Information presented from the senses aid in the total health of the body, as it alerts the brain that something may be wrong. For instance, without the sense of touch, the brain will not know the body is in pain. Without the sense of smell, the brain will not realize the body is about to consume spoiled food. Without the sense of sight, the brain will not realize the body is in danger.
Since the husband is the head of the marriage, he is the mind, and the wife represents the sensory receptors that aid his decision-making leadership. This is one of the ways she is able to assist her husband and help him protect their children.
Philo, the ancient Jewish philosopher who lived in the time of Jesus, presents man and woman this way in his writings. His interpretation of woman’s creation included the following excerpt:
“And he filled up flesh in its stead” (Gen. 2:21), that is to say He fulfilled perception that was only a state by leading it on to be an activity, and extending it till it reached the flesh and the whole surface of the body. And so he adds the words, “He built it to be a woman” (Gen. 2:22), proving by this that the most proper and exact name for sense-perception is “woman.” ~Philo, Allegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2, 3
Godly wives help via their senses. A husband may use his natural mind to come up with a plan, idea, or solution to a problem, however his wife will sense if it doesn’t look, feel, smell, taste, or sound right. Whatever her senses perceive override logic, which are products of her faith and the Wisdom it brings, as faith does not require natural sight to believe (Heb. 11:1). If there is a way that seems right to a man but ends in death (Prov. 14:12), a godly wife will be able to sense it before her husband even steps foot on the path.
Spiritual Perception = Spiritual Understanding
Spiritual perception is also spiritual understanding, which comes from the Holy Spirit, our Teacher (Neh. 9:2; Luke 12:12; John 14:26). Proverbs 19:14 teaches that only God can give an understanding wife. Many translations render the word “understanding” as prudence. To be prudent is to be attentive with scrutiny which results in one becoming wise and insightful (Emanuel, 2014).
Since Wisdom is the Holy Spirit, and only God can give Wisdom (Job 28:23; James 5:1), only God can give a wife with spiritual perception.
Spiritual perception is seen in the wives of Scripture, particularly Abigail, Manoah’s wife (Samson’s mother), and the wife of Pilate.
Abigail
Abigail’s story is found in 1 Samuel 25. We are introduced to her as the wife of Nabal. Scripture describes her as sensible (the same Hebrew word used for prudence) and beautiful, while her husband is described as crude and mean. While David was in the wilderness (during the time he was on the run from Saul), he and his men encountered Nabal’s shepherds, but did not steal from them or harm them in any way. When David sought reciprocal provisions during one of Nabal’s celebrations, Nabal refused and insulted him. When Abigail heard of this, she quickly gathered enough food for David and his men and secretly went to meet David in the wilderness, already perceiving David was on the move to attack. She humbly interceded for her husband and their household, even though Nabal was a fool, and begged David for forgiveness while also giving glory and honor to God for his life. David perceived she was a woman of good sense (discernment) and praised God for it. Had it not been for her he would have killed Nabal and every man in their household. (Nabal was very wealthy, so there would have been a lot of blood shed.) He accepted the gifts she offered and sent her back home to Nabal, whom the Lord killed a short time later. When David learned of Nabal’s death he made arrangements to marry Abigail, proving himself to be a man of wisdom because he saw her value.
Manoah’s Wife
Manoah’s wife’s name is never revealed in Scripture, but her story is found in Judges 13. As the mother of one of Israel’s judges, she made a valuable contribution to the story of faith. She’d been unable to become pregnant, which was a heavy burden for a women at that time. However, the angel of the Lord appeared to her with news that she would indeed bear a son. He also gave her instructions on how to eat during her pregnancy and how to raise the child once he was born.
Manoah was not present when she had this experience. However, when she told him about what happened he prayed for the angel to return and give them further instructions. The angel appeared again, and again Manoah’s wife was alone. She quickly ran and brought her husband, who conversed with the angel, not realizing it was the angel of the Lord. (Both Manoah and his wife referred to the angel as a man, even though Manoah’s wife initially observed that the angel looked like one of God’s angels in verse 6. Angels do appear as human beings [consider Heb. 13:2]).
When Manoah offered the angel a meal, the angel suggested he prepare a burnt offering to the Lord instead. (Burnt offerings were sacrifices given to God as a form of worship). When he did, flames from the altar shot up toward the sky and the angel ascended in the fire (vs. 20). Manoah then realized who they’d been talking to and feared they would die, however, his wife provided spiritual insight by pointing out God’s approval of them. Not only had God accepted their offerings, but He also appeared to them, told them of the good things which were to come, and performed miracles. In this case, spiritual perception began with the wife and was also clarified by her.
Pilate’s Wife
Pilate was the governor of Rome at the time of Jesus’ death. When Our Lord was brought to trial, his case was brought before Pilate. Pilate had some measure of perception himself, for he realized the religious leaders arrested Jesus out of envy (Matt. 27:18). However, his wife helped him make his judgment. While he was sitting on the judgment seat he received a message from her, warning him to leave Jesus alone because He was innocent. She’d had a terrible nightmare about him the night before (Matt. 27:19). With this in mind, along with the observations he’d made about the situation himself, he washed his hands before the people as a symbol of his innocence concerning Jesus’ crucifixion before giving the people what they wanted (Matt. 27:24-26).
Though Scripture alone does not tell us whether or not Pilate and his wife believed in Jesus, both he and his wife are venerated (honored as saints) in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ("Pontius Pilate | Biography, Facts, Religion, Jesus, & Death", 2021). But Scripture does tell us that God speaks in dreams (Job 33:14-18), and this is one of the ways He protects His people from harm. (Consider King Abimelech of Gerar who was warned in a dream not to touch Sarah as he had planned [Gen. 20:1-7]).
In conclusion, spiritual perception is the ability to understand spiritual things, and this is a product of the fruits and gifts the Holy Spirit graces a wife with in order to help protect her family.
References
Pontius Pilate | Biography, Facts, Religion, Jesus, & Death. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pontius-Pilate.
Emanuel, D. M. (2014). Thinking. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Philo. (1929–1962). Philo. (F. H. Colson, G. H. Whitaker, & J. W. Earp, Trans.) (Vol. 1, p. 249). London; England; Cambridge, MA: William Heinemann Ltd; Harvard University Press.