1 Peter 3:5 KJV
[5] “For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:”
I noticed three things about the women mentioned in our text. First, they followed the pattern Peter laid out in the preceding verses. He uses the phrase “after this manner” to denote that they followed the scriptural principles of the Word of God. If a woman is going to be what God wants her to be, she must follow the principles of the Word of God.
A second thing worthy of mentioning is that the Bible calls them holy women. That is the highest compliment you can give to an individual. To be holy does not mean to be perfect, but it does mean to be pleasing to God. They were obedient women who knew their place before God and their husbands.
Finally, they were known as women who trusted God. It takes an unusual faith for a woman to submit to someone else and believe the other person will trust God for them. That is a woman who is holy and full of faith. I think this is the reason that women exercise more faith than men. As men, we have a responsibility to trust God, but our wives are trusting us to trust God. That requires extraordinary faith on the part of the wife. A godly wife will pray for her husband, and she will support him as he makes decisions for their lives.
Let’s consider these women in our text for just a moment longer. These women of old were holy women of faith, but they were also simple women. I do not mean that in a degrading way, but they lived the way God intended them to live. They had their priorities correct and focused on them. Their priorities were on God and their husbands. Life would be much better if we would all focus on godly priorities. We can blame our culture, raising, or spouse, but we all make our own choices in life. We have the truth and great examples of how to be the individual God wants us to be. These women were not great because they figured everything out or had it all together. They were not great because they could accomplish everything in life. They were not great because they were perfect and made no mistakes. No, they were great because they followed the Scriptures and focused on their role in the home. Many women live under the pressure of trying to be better or do more when they need to focus on obeying God to the best of their ability and being a wife to their husbands.