Shalom to you who diligently seek the Lord and remain in His Holy presence to receive knowledge and direction.
I’ve been struggling with whether or not the to wear the veil for quiet some times now. Finally the Lord has given me an answer that I believe is perfectly clear.
Paul the Apostle that many portray as misogynous, addressed that issue in his first letter to the Corinthians chapter 11, verse 3 to 15. He wrote ” But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.”
“Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.
People in the Church have argued that the veil Paul is talking about is the actual hair. I myself wanted to believe that. Until I started to ask myself why women (We talking here to married women) are so reluctant to wear the veil during the time of prayer if this is agreeable to The Lord; Why is the veil so contested in the church? Personally I don’t believe Paul gave that instruction as a personal advise but rather as the Lord’s counsel. Then why is it so difficult for us to simply obey the word of God. Could it be because we think it is from another age? (is the word of God dated?), or because we think it is not fashionable. Have we ever thought that it is in the enemy’s interest that women feel revolted against this biblical command. In my opinion it is just a matter of obedience and submission to authority, two things that are of paramount importance for a believer. Seriously would Paul go through all this trouble just to exhort women to wear long hair? Or would he make such a long argument to demonstrate something that really didn’t need to be proven from the beginning, that women’s hair is their natural veil and glory? What would be the point?
Some have argued that Paul was actually referring to Corinthians prostitutes (without any biblical proof) who were wearing short hair. If this was the case then he already answered the question when he said “if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn”. Now by “covered” was he talking about hair length? I don’t think so.
Even in his time Paul knew there would be opposition to this teaching, so he said in verse 16 of the same chapter “But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God”.
Maybe we should meditate more on verse 10, as many tend to ignore it in this debate, and try to understand why Paul referred to the angels while talking about authority. Could this be to remind us of a previous rebellion to God’s authority that led to the outcome that we all know, and to underline the fact that respect of hierarchy in God’s kingdom is crucial? As he demonstrated in verse 3: “the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”
note that the word used for “covering” in verse 15 is peribolaion, which is a different word than what he’s been using in all the prior verses, which is katakalyptō a Greek word meaning “cover with a veil”. In other places in the Greek version of the old testament this same word is use to refer to “an external fabric covering” e.i genesis 28:15; 38:14; Ruth 3:4-7, Number 5:18.
As for me, I chose to wear the veil during prayer time by personal conviction ( not judging whoever chose to do otherwise, and knowing that whatever is not from faith is a sin) and it feels good to know that my Lord and my husband are honored in that.