Submit

[sharonr]

Remember that when Eve ate the fruit in the garden, nothing happened. It was only when Adam, her head, sinned also, that sin entered the world. And throughout scripture we are told that sin entered the world through Adam, not through Eve. He was responsible for her sin, because he had neither prevented her from sinning nor admonished her when she did sin, but rather allowed her sin and chose to sin also himself. It is therefore entirely scriptural to see a husband as being responsible for a sin that is committed by his wife.

This is an awesome breakdown as well, thanks, eye opening Samuel.

 

[sweetlissa]

From this point forward, my husband is responding using my ID. He forgot to identify himself. Lissa

Right, this is a meaty question, and a good one to discuss. Oreslag has very clearly articulated how scripture states a woman is to obey her husband in all matters

The tenor of Scripture does not support anyone obeying a man over God. If this were the case, then when a church leader tells his members to 100% obey him, they must obey as well: Heb 13:17 "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."

I agree with Oreslag that there is nothing in these passages to suggest that a woman must only obey depending on certain conditions, it simply says obey. If that's what the Bible says, we better believe it.

When studying the doctrine of submission, it is wise to include all the principles involved throughout Scripture concerning submission. It will not take long to understand that God nowhere requires for a person to obey another person OVER Himself. That is placing them in an unscriptural position.

The problem is that some men take this and use it to abuse their wives, as SweetLissa has pointed out repeatedly. The first thing to be clear of is that such abuse itself is sin. Husbands are to love their wives, not abuse them. Any husband who is using unconditional obedience to harm his wives or cause them to sin will be held accountable for this before God. This forum will certainly never condone such behaviour either.

Although "this forum will certainly never condone such a behavior...", it actually supports it by default. You see, the only option that you would have if you teach absolute submission of the wife to the husband is to encourage the wife to submit. Sure, you can tell him, "bad boy - you shouldn't do that", but if he ignores you, you are forced to exhort the wife to submit to the abuse.

I cannot think of a single example in scripture of a husband commanding their wife to sin. Neither Sarah nor Rebekah were ordered to sin by their husbands. They were simply told to lie, which is not a sin. The Bible never says "Thou shalt not lie", this is a gross simplification of the 9th commandment that is taught to kids in Sunday School and tends to stick in the back of our minds for the rest of our lives. But it's not Biblical. The 9th commandment actually states "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour", which is a lot more narrow. Lying is not to be encouraged, but is not technically a sin. So Abraham and Isaac were able to command their wives to lie without incurring guilt on either themselves or their wives.

"ALL liars, SHALL HAVE their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone,'' (Rev. 21:8). On the other hand, we are informed by the Psalmist David that only those who speak the truth from their heart will be allowed to dwell in God's holy hill and tabernacle (Psa. 15:1,2)

And Ananias and Sapphira were in cahoots with each other. So once again, there's nothing to say Sapphira was obeying her husband in her sin.

It doesn't have to, if one actually believes that the wife is under her husbands authority absolutely, then Sapphira's agreement was, "in essence, working with his will." Did she agree because she wanted to, or did she agree because her husband was the head of her household?

So we are left with no scriptural example to draw from to see how God judges a woman who is commanded to sin by her husband. In the lack of an example, we have to come to our conclusions by considering the clear commands of scripture using logic. On the surface, it seems like a command to obey your husband regardless, and the clear commands to not sin, could contradict each other. But God's commands are never contradictory.

1. The clear commands of Scripture cannot contradict God's entire tenor of Scripture on how one is to deal with the wicked decision making of leaders.
2. Taking one Scripture and making it appear that it is all the God has to say about submission is prooftexting.
3. There isn't a single example of God telling people to place humans ahead of His principles. On the other hand, there are many clear examples of God teaching, or demonstrating quite the opposite.

If a husband commands his wife to murder someone, what are her options?
- If she obeys him, she sins, because murder is very clearly a sin.
- If she disobeys him, she sins, because the Bible is very clear that she should obey her husband.

If you remember right, Jesus said their were lessor matters in the Law. Therefore, when two commands intersect in life, one will always over ride the other. In this case, she would not be sinning by disobeying her husband. The protection of life is a higher law that disobeying her husband. Ethically, it is called "graded absolutism".

So, whatever she chooses to do, she's sinning. But either way she is being forced to sin by her husband - she wouldn't murder if he hadn't commanded her to, nor would she disobey him if he hadn't commanded her to commit a sin she was unwilling to commit. So either way, her husband is responsible for the sinful act. He is her head. He caused the situation. It is he who is at fault and will be held accountable by God.

Scripture makes it abundantly clear that each individual is accountable to God for their own sin. This is another principle that proves that absolute submission is contrary to the tenor of Scripture: Eze 18:20 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." ...and we KNOW Scripture teaches that a son is under his father's authority!

Remember that when Eve ate the fruit in the garden, nothing happened. It was only when Adam, her head, sinned also, that sin entered the world. And throughout scripture we are told that sin entered the world through Adam, not through Eve. He was responsible for her sin, because he had neither prevented her from sinning nor admonished her when she did sin, but rather allowed her sin and chose to sin also himself. It is therefore entirely scriptural to see a husband as being responsible for a sin that is committed by his wife. This does not necessarily mean that he is responsible for every sin of his wife, we all stand before God alone. But if he causes her to sin, this will clearly fall on his own head, not hers. It would be very unjust for God to punish a woman for sinning when she had no option but to sin.

Adam was certainly primarily responsible. However, check out the text - did she get off or did she get judged?

A wife is therefore able to choose either option, in my view. She is free to obey her conscience, the voice of God in her heart, and do what she feels is the best thing to do in such a difficult situation. She can do whatever feels least wrong, and God will hold her husband accountable for putting her in this situation. So a wife would be free to choose not to murder, despite her husband commanding her to.

Scripture, thus GOD, is the final authority. This does not mean that a wife can just use an excuse for not obeying her husband, but it means that if there is a clear Scripture that teaches that she should not be doing a certain act, she needs to "obey God rather than man!"

This is a very extreme situation. A wife must obey her husband in all matters, that is very clear in scripture, to disobey is sin. But in the very rare case where both choices available to someone are sinful, the above logic will apply.

It is an example of many wild situations that wives find themselves in because of the doctrine of absolute submission of wives. There is only ONE God that deserves absolute submission - that is not a husband. To place a husband before God and His Word is the sin of Idolatry.

 

[sharonr]

Sweet Lisa says

Adam was certainly primarily responsible. However, check out the text - did she get off or did she get judged?

The head was responsible then, so why wouldn't our head, our husband be responsible.

 

[sweetlissa]

Sweet Lisa says

Adam was certainly primarily responsible. However, check out the text - did she get off or did she get judged?

The head was responsible then, so why wouldn't our head, our husband be responsible.

They were both judged for their part... so, a woman will still be judged for her sins individually!

 

[dpohlman]

Hi Guys, Great posts. I normally have to keep my mouth shut on this topic because of the great PC and its wrath of the land. This is my thinking - sin is missing the mark ( not obeying Gods Word). The wife is told to submit to her husband in everything. Not just once but that this is to be the main characteristic of a wife! Is it not sin for the wife to usurp and not obey her husband? This is a woman's calling and God's will. Was not the wife created to be the helpmate for man? How does this work? I see the oneness of man - Both together as one unit - "male and female". I believe that they are more one soul than the two. That is why Jesus command that no one comes between what God has joined together. I even wonder if one can save the soul of both (1 Cor 7). The bottom line is we need our wives and this is good.

Ps A submissive wife is "a great price in the sight of God","holy women hoping in God", "Sarah's daughters", "doing good" and "not fearing any terror" (1 Peter 3:4-5) and the warnings of a unsubmissive wife are "that the Word of God may not be blasphemed." (Titus 2:5) and"if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the churches of God." ( 1Co 11:16).

 

[sola scriptura]

I believe very strongly in a woman's position of submission to her husband. I believe that that a woman's submission is an integral part of a proper relationship to her husband, but also to the Lord. I believe this according to the following scriptures:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. Eph 5:22

But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God. 1 Cor 11:3

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Col 3:18

There is one common thread in these verses besides submission, and that is that the submission is to be TO THE LORD.
You cannot willingly disobey the Lord by submitting to your husband. It just isn't possible.I know that many women will take this supposed loophole and run like the wind with it. This is unfortunate, but those women would have found a way not to submit no matter what, since they weren't submitting as to the Lord in the first place.

Personal accountability to God does not go away with marriage. Each of the above verses clearly states that a wife is to submit to her husband as she would submit to the Lord, and she would never be required to sin against God while submitting to God.

The same principle holds true for all aspects of authority: family, church and government. They are all valid, God-ordained forms of authority and they all need to be submitted to, unless there is a specific command in direct conflict with God's Word. If a person chooses to use this supposed "loophole" to get out of submitting, they will be held accountable to God for those actions, as well.

 

[sharonr]

Obey your husband not unless he tells you to sin, is a huge understatement, you are adding to God's word.
1 Peter 3:6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

 

[Oreslag]

1 Peter 3:1-2 - Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.

Note that this verse refers to a husband that is in disobedience to the Word (i.e. disobedience to the Word = sin). The idea that a wife is to conditionally obey her husband is contradicted by this verse. The idea that a man is not responsible for the sins of his wife or son is easily understood in terms of their disobedience to him (as expressed so concisely by Samuel previously on this thread). When a wife or son disobeys a husband, and the husband was commanding righteous action, the wife or son are indeed responsible for their own sin. Otherwise, if a wife or son disobeys God whilst obeying a husband commanding sinful action, the husband is responsible for the sin.

 

[CecilW]

The problem is that some men take this and use it to abuse their wives, ... This forum will certainly never condone such behaviour either.

Although "this forum will certainly never condone such a behavior...", it actually supports it by default. You see, the only option that you would have if you teach absolute submission of the wife to the husband is to encourage the wife to submit. Sure, you can tell him, "bad boy - you shouldn't do that", but if he ignores you, you are forced to exhort the wife to submit to the abuse.

Not THIS little green duck, Lissa. Sir BumbleBerry & I have personally helped move a woman and her children out during the middle of the night to get them away from abuse. Pls don't EVER accuse the Staff of BF of exhorting wives to submit to abuse.

I don't for even 1 moment suspect that to be what Samuel advocates.

Please remember that we have lots of members here, with widely divergent views on many issues.

Here is another viewpoint, however, on the submission issue: That it means as regards the organization or field of reference in which you are "in ranks". And so long as you choose to remain a part of that organization.

In other words, while I am functioning as a member of the Habersham SDA church, I need to submit to the leadership of that congregation. But if I leave that congregation and begin attending the Windemere Pentecostal church, I'm no longer subject to the first church's leadership but to the second -- and only in those things which pertain to the church. They have no right to tell me, for example, that I must cease to adore Korean food (although they might suggest avoiding a heavy kimchee intake just before church! :lol: )

Following that logic, a woman would be subject to her own husband SO LONG AS she remains his wife, and only in those things which pertain to the operation of the family. He may have the right to tell her to paint the kitchen purple, and arguably she must obey. But he can't tell her to PREFER purple over yellow. Well, he can do so, but it isn't in his purview.

It's much the same as being in the military. My CO can tell me to train, or deploy, or whatever pertains to the unit. Can't tell me who to worship or what to name my kid.

So, absolute submission, within certain limits -- or exit the organization.

But what do I know, given my current situation? It's another viewpoint, anyway.

 

[sharonr]

Romans 7:2-3For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

A women is bound by law and to the law of her husband

1 Corinthians 7:39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

We are bound to our husbands rules, as long as he lives.

1 Corithians 7:10-15 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.

12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace.

Genesis 3:16 NKJ To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

 

[sharonr]

There is only ONE God that deserves absolute submission - that is not a husband. To place a husband before God and His Word is the sin of Idolatry.
SweetLissa

I dont consider my self an idolatress for submitting to my husband in EVERYTHING

Ephesians 5:24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

This is clear, in scripture, to submit in everything.

 

[sharonr]

If Eve was first deceived, and scripture tells women to learn in silence, wouldn't this be breaking the commandments when we try to teach the man, and tell them that this is wrong, or that is wrong? I find my self over and over again, trying to tell my hubby that is incorrect, and come to find out if I would listen I would understand, for example, how can I discern between right and wrong, being the weaker vessel, and my husband is my head who is to tell me what is right and wrong. If my husband is a sinner, and tells me to do something, and its sinful in my eyes, it may not be sinful in the Father's eyes to obey him, but sinful to disobey. All unrighteousness is sin.1 John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.There also is always an open door to not sin, and God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear 1 Cor. 10:13 NKJV No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. So if that sinner is telling you to smoke, go drink, or even trying to deceive you, God will come and deal with that man accordingly and save you through it, that man also may not try to command you but only offer to you, and you have that choice to do accordingly, What man, knowing his wife is a believer, will do this to his wife? Also Paul makes it very clear to marry a man of God. 1 Cor.7:39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. But by her submissiveness to him, if he does not obey she can win him over. The bible does not make any breaks for the women.

 

[sharonr]

Genesis 12:11-13 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.
12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”

Genisis 12:15-17
The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.
16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

God plagued Pharoah for taking her

Now Abimelech the king, tried Sara as well because of her beauty in Genisis 20

Come to find out Abraham was not lying in this matter about Sara being his sister, he just went around it and did not say directly she is my wife.
Genesis 20:12 But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.


In Genesis 26:1 Rebeka and Issac had to deal with the matter as well.
And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.”

Genesis 26:9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’”

Later the matter got dealt with
Genesis 26:11
So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

 

[sola scriptura]

Eph 5:22-24

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.

Both of the statements in bold apply to wives, therefore both of the statements in bold MUST be incorporated into the command of submission. This would give us the following command for a wife to submit to her husband:

Submit to your own husband in everything as to the Lord.

Here we are again at the same end result: A wife must submit to her husband AS SHE WOULD SUBMIT TO THE LORD. A wife cannot submit to the Lord by disobeying His clearly defined Law. A wife cannot submit to her husband by disobeying the Lord's clearly defined Law. It really is just that simple.

 

[sharonr]

Sola says:

Submit to your own husband in everything as to the Lord.

Submit to your husband in everything just like you would submit to the Lord in everything. It's alike, the same.

as definition
1. To the same extent or degree; equally: The child sang as sweetly as a nightingale.
reference freedictionary.com

Submit as to the Lord, is the same, submit just alike to the same extent or degree, its EQUAL, nothing separate.

 

[sola scriptura]

Submit to your husband in everything just like you would submit to the Lord in everything. It's alike, the same.

as definition
1. To the same extent or degree; equally: The child sang as sweetly as a nightingale.
reference freedictionary.com

Submit as to the Lord, is the same, submit just alike to the same extent or degree, its EQUAL, nothing separate.

So, are you also going to follow 1 Peter 2:13 using that same guideline?

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;"

Should Chinese women who find themselves pregnant with a second child do as the government ordinance commands them and kill that child. Should the North Korean Christian do as the government ordinance commands them and teach their children to worship Kim Jong Il?

If it applies to Ephesians 5, it also has to apply to 1 Peter 2.

 

[sharonr]

Our husbands are compared to Christ as to the church. Eph 5:22 Just as the church subjects to Christ in everything, us wives are to do the same, in everything.

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us,[a] leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps

When dealing with government, being Christians many government officials are against our beliefs. So why would I follow them when it goes against the bible.
Like for polygamy, or the Chinese women, or any thing that the government condones.
The bible also states that we should submit to one another
Ephesians 5:21
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. I hear many women say this, as well, like their husbands should submit to them as well. Well they don't have to, that's why God commanded the wives to submit to their husbands, and even when they are harsh, as the scripture is quoted up there.

 

[sharonr]

This is from my husband:

A husband and wife relationship cannot be compared to the government or anything else, because a man and wife represent the Church. Because the man is not fully perfected in his walk, and growth process, the wife should follow the husband because the man is the head and leader. That's why a wife should not judge things because women are easily deceived and if a man do make a bad decision, God will correct him and lead him on the right path, and her husband will correct her as well and bring her on the right path path with him. So as Christ leads the man, the man leads the women.

 

[FollowingHim]

SweetLissa, I think we actually agree, roughly. We both believe a woman is required to obey her husband in all matters unless he tells her to sin, and in that case she has freedom to disobey her husband. The scriptural and logical reasoning we use to get to that point differs however.
- If I understand you correctly, you believe that if a husband commands a wife to sin, she must obey the higher authority (God) and disobey her husband. If she does this, nobody sins, nobody gets punished.
- I on the other hand believe that the law to obey her husband still stands, and she is sinning by disobeying him. She is free to disobey him and obey the higher authority (God), but a sin is still committed. The blame for this sin falls on her husband. This means that her husband incurs guilt through commanding her to sin, which he will be held accountable for on judgement day.

The practical effect of this in the short term is the same - she can choose to disobey her husband. However the spiritual side is very different - in the first the husband gets away scott free (as no sin is committed, so no punishment is required). In the second the husband is held guilty before God. So what I am saying is actually far harsher on a husband.
- If you are correct, it doesn't really matter what a husband tells his wife to do, because she can just disobey him if it is sinful. He has a form of weak authority which requires little accountability.
- If I am correct every husband needs to be extremely careful to not command his wife to sin, because he will be held accountable even if she does not actually do what he commanded. He has both full authority and full accountability - and that should cause any husband to think very carefully before commanding his wife to do anything that has any possibility of being sinful.

You are very concerned about us preaching that a woman is to obey her husband in all matters, because you have seen that abused, and that is understandable. But we must hold to the truth and preach it. We don't refrain from preaching polygamy just because there are men who abuse polygamy, rather we teach a correct scriptural understanding of polygamy to encourage men to do what is right. We don't refrain from preaching that salvation is a free gift by the grace of God because some people take that freedom to mean "I can sin all I like and just ask God to forgive me before I die", rather we teach a correct understanding of salvation. In the same way, we cannot avoid preaching submission because some people abuse it, but must rather teach a correct understanding of it so people are less likely to abuse it.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love [your] wives, and be not bitter against them.

Submission and love go hand in hand. We cannot preach one without the other. They are complimentary.

If we only preach a watered-down version of submission, like most of the church does, the few husbands who read further and see the truth are more likely to be abusive, as they have no guidance on how to lovingly run a marriage with full scriptural submission. If we preach a correct understanding of submission in its fulness, and how it goes hand-in-hand with love, then we can be a resource that helps to reduce the level of abuse in marriage.

Certainly, if a husband does choose to require submission without giving love, all we can say is "bad boy" - but likewise, if a wife chooses to accept love without giving submission in return, all we can say is "bad girl". We don't have any control over the lives of others, we can only preach the truth and pray it is listened to.

Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.

The principle that a wife must obey her husband in all matters is not based on this one "proof-text". It is a fundamental principle that starts in Genesis 2, where Adam is created before and in authority to Eve (he even names her), Genesis 3:16 ("he shall rule over thee"), continues through the obedience that Godly women had to their husbands (1 Peter 3:6, "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord"), and to the instructions to husbands and wives in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5. The Bible repeatedly shows that a woman is to submit to her husband, and never qualifies this by saying "unless...". Instead, the opposite occurs in Ephesians 5:24, which stresses that there is no qualification, submission is always correct.

Now, lets go back to the original example I gave of a husband who commands his wife to murder someone. We agree that she is free to disobey her husband and not murder, and she will not be counted guilty for this disobedience - I believe the husband will be held accountable for it.

What if, however, she was so terrified of her husband that she felt she had no choice but to obey him? What if, despite knowing it was wrong, she did murder someone for him out of pure fear? Will she be held accountable for this action, or will her husband be held accountable?

This sort of situation actually occurs far more regularly than we would like to know about. In the terrible ongoing wars in Africa, it is not uncommon for villages to be captured and children ordered to kill their own family members or be killed themselves, as part of the psychological manipulation used to make them serve as child soldiers. Will a person who is forced to murder like this be held accountable by God for their actions, done against their own will out of pure terror, or will their captors be held accountable? We serve a just God.

So I believe like you that she should choose to do the lesser evil, and disobey her husband rather than murder. But whether she chooses to obey or disobey, it is her husband who is at fault for requiring it in the first place, and our just God will not allow punishment to fall on the wife who is herself a victim in this situation.

 

[sharonr]

What if her husband did tell her to murder, and it was a specific person for a specific matter, that could of been dangerous. Moses murdered someone, and it was for a logical reason.

Exodus 2:12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

what if your husband murdered someone, and he told you not to tell the authorities, wouldn't you rather protect him, just like Rebeka and Sara. Oh and the the harlot Rahab who hid the spies.

Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove[a] to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

4 Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” 6 (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) 7 Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

She went against the authorities/the King, and hid the spies. So she was honored for this.