The Court of the Women

We are on the third section in a series called “God’s House” about steps towards intimacy with God. Once a believer entered the gate/door of the temple (Signifying salvation), they would be in the “Court of the Women.” The name is misleading to our modern mindset. We might think it means women only, but it wasn’t restricted to only women; it restricted women. In that period and culture, women were far from equals. They weren’t allowed to function as leaders, nor were they allowed to be active in religious matters, government, and business. They weren’t even allowed to read God’s word. The court of women was their boundary keeping them at a distance from religious services. When Jesus came, he liberated his people from the law, removing the human-made restrictions that separated God from his sons and daughters.

Now the Lord^[a] is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17

Women in the Church

Jesus demonstrated the importance of women in his ministry. He spent a lot of time with women and used them in his parables; many were his disciples and ministers. The woman at the well was the first woman evangelist on record. God didn’t expect women to be separate from him or only learn his word from men. The temple design is a progression mirroring our deepening relationship to God. We enter his courts with thanksgiving in our hearts. In a home, the wife is usually the one who is demonstratively welcoming and hospitable in the welcoming. It’s symbolic of the introduction to grace; it’s now comfortable you get to know one another better without the distraction and noise. The shape of this court was a perfect square. The only other part of the temple that was a perfect square was the “Holy of Holies.” The most beautiful and intimate place to be with God. It’s no mistake that God designed the Court of the Women with the same shape.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
Psalm 100:4

The Four Corners

This court is where God does the gentle work in our souls. We close the door to the distractions of the world and focus more on the things of God. It’s where people congregated before the service, but it also had four unique corners. The Western part had built-in risers where the Levites stood and led praise during their celebrations. It was the place that ushered in the praise. Psalm 100:4, it says that we enter his courts (the next area) with praise. The four corners were the “Chamber of Wood,” where they sorted and kept the source for the sacrificial fires. A symbol of provision. Another corner was called the “Chamber of the Nazarite’s” where those devotees who’d taken the Nazarite vow would offer their sacrifice. This was a symbol of devotion. The “Chamber of Oils” held the precious oils that kept the lights burning in the temple, signifying sight, and the “Leper’s Chamber” was an exceptional place where the lepers were purified by emersion and sacrificed. The corners stood for provision, devotion, sight, and purification, respectively. These are all components of faith required by God or us as we get to know him.

“… saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” ”
Matthew 21:15

Not a Restriction

In the past the men and women of faith could congregate in the “Court of Women,” but it served as a boundary to restrict women. The closer the progression to God, the more restrictive these areas became until only the priest was allowed in the Holy of Holies. Now, this court is symbolic of the comfortable step towards our intimacy with God as we are welcomed into a relationship with him. Radical Jesus opened the faith up to women, gentiles, and everyone who comes to him. The court is no longer a restriction but a step that invites us to a deeper walk and understanding of God. It’s only through Jesus can we be free from political, social, and societal confines. We enter through the “Beautiful Gate” to the Courts of our king with our hearts, newly washed and redeemed through Jesus. This is a thankful state that allows us to enter into the next more intense phase.