God’s Word for You

2 Timothy 3:6-7 The extra hen

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, July 2, 2026

6 For among them are those who worm their way into households and gain control over weak women, weighted down with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

Still speaking about false teachers, Paul sets out an image we can easily see happening in any century, in any village or city: Some dynamic teacher slips into a household where there is something missing; perhaps there is a “little woman.” The Greek word is both diminutive and derogatory; it is not a nice word, or a polite word. She has no husband; perhaps he is dead, or away for a long time. But she herself is the kind of person who is weak, perhaps morally weak, but certainly weak in the sense that she is “never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” This is obviously not the case with all women, nor most, or even many. But there are always some few women and men (for that matter) who are easily duped. The Bible if full of examples of morally strong, upright, decisive women, such as the great Abigail (2 Samuel 25:3), Deborah (Judges 4:9), Ruth, Rebekah, Paul’s friend Lydia in Philippi, and Timothy’s mother and grandmother for that matter, and plenty of other fine women. Luther’s wife Katie would easily take her place in such a list, and other Kathryns I have known would follow.

But getting back to the idea of a “weak woman,” there is a quotation from the Roman Emperor (and philosopher) Marcus Aurelius: “Whose spirit do I have now? That of a child, or of a young man, or of a feeble woman, or of a tyrant, or that of a farm animal, or a wild beast?” (Meditations 5,11). He did not think this of all women (his mother, Domitia, raised her son as a widow and was a capable and influential person), but he was simply musing, as Paul is here, about the kind of women who cannot seem to make firm decisions about their lives, even when they are well-informed.

The term used about the false teachers, who “worm their way in,” is a word used about slipping into clothes, such as the discarded shirt of an absent husband or father. The false teacher with his dynamic personality takes over this woman’s life and all of her way of thinking. She does whatever he says. We see this again and again with false Christs who surround themselves with women who are snatched from fathers or weak husbands and who suddenly become the harem of a David Koresh or a Brigham Young. Their weaknesses are often but not always sexual.

The real trouble with such people is that deep down they are tormented by some sin. “This,” says Luther, “is truly the devil’s game and the women fall for it, especially those who are secretly tormented by serious and grievous sins, or, as St. Paul says, are ‘burdened with sins’ (2 Timothy 3:6). For as soon as their consciences plague them and they do not know where to seek help and advice…” they run headlong into the danger of the false teacher, or put on the cowl of a nun, and they think that they have succeeded in getting rid of the false teaching. But in fact, they have run from one false teaching into another, “always learning but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”

The nun has already, by virtue of her vow, trampled on the Sixth Commandment and made a mockery of God’s will that men and women should marry, for this was the command of God in the Garden of Eden, when God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). And for those who might try to argue with their “godless and empty chatter” (2 Timothy 2:16) and to “quarrel only about words, which does no good” (2:14), that “It is not good for the man to be alone” only applies to males and not also to females, then we also appeal to the words of Christ our Lord, who describes the necessity of marriage as active among men (to marry) and passive among women (to be given in marriage) throughout the Gospels (Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; Luke 20:35) as was the custom in the language of the Hebrews (Exodus 2:21; Deuteronomy 22:16; Joshua 15:17; 1 Samuel 18:27).

And our Savior says, “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Matthew 19:5-6). “You can’t be without a wife and remain without sin,” Luther said to one of his students. “After all, marriage is an ordinance and creation of God. Therefore it is not Satan’s idea when a man desires to marry an honorable girl, for Satan hates this kind of life. So make the venture (that is, get married) in the name of the Lord and on the strength of his blessing and institution!” (Table Talk, LW 54:31).

Therefore, this passage, which might offend some readers, must nevertheless be carefully read, considered, and nailed up on the doorposts of the heart. Beware of false teachers! Not only for your own sake, but because you may have a weak neighbor, prone to being gullible and susceptible to false teaching, who cannot discern the truth of Scripture very well for herself. Be ready to teach such neighbors with your life, with your own example of Christian living, and with gentle or firm words when possible, to help that person along. Any chicken farmer knows that after a while, more chickens will show up in the coop than you can account for if only you take care of them. Give the extra hen food and water and care for her, too, even though she’s not your own, and this will please God. By this I do not mean taking extra wives, for that was the terrible sin of Brigham Young. I only mean looking after your neighbor, which is always God’s will. For this may be just why he has set you where he has in the world, and when. Do these things to give him glory.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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