The short answer to your question is that God, from the very beginning, chose MEN to fill leadership roles. The apostle Paul spoke of this truth in 1 Corinthians 11:3, “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.” This verse is teaching us that God ordained a specific order for society where one person would take a position of AUTHORITY and another person would SUBMIT to that authority. It’s not a matter of one being superior and the other being inferior, for we see in this verse that Christ was in subjection to His Father yet personally He was equal to Him. So God, in His wisdom, chose the MAN to be “the head of the woman,” though personally she is not inferior to Him.

In 1 Timothy 2:8-13 Paul gives an example of this. In verse 8 he brings up the subject of PUBLIC PRAYER and he says, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands.” The word “men” here means “men in contrast to women” and thus he is teaching that men are to lead the people of God in prayer. In verses 11-13 he has this to say about the women, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp the authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” This is consistent with what we saw in 1 Corinthians 11:3 and with Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:34 which reads, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.”  Again, these verses are all teaching us that God, in His sovereignty, chose the MAN to take the position of leading the woman, and this would hold true in public gatherings as well as in the home. I know this is not a popular truth today and thus many rebel against God’s order, but the Word of God is quite clear on this point and we will be blessed if we obey it.

As we study the scriptures from Genesis through Revelation we see that this order was maintained. When God chose judges, kings, priests, prophets, elders, or anyone else to take a place of leadership, it was the MAN that He chose, though there were rare exceptions where God raised up a woman when circumstances called for them. When it came time for the Lord to choose Twelve Apostles, we see in Matthew 10:1-4 that He called TWELVE MEN. We then read in verses 5-7, “These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, Go…to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” They were called to publicly preach God’s Word and as we have seen, MEN alone were to occupy that place.

This teaching does NOT mean that women could not serve the Lord Jesus. Luke 8:1-3 illustrates the wonderful place that women occupied during the Lord’s ministry: “Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance” (NKJV). With grateful hearts they shared with the Lord their possessions of food and lodging, and in doing so they were certainly helping in the spread of God’s Word. They did NOT have a public sphere of ministry, but with devoted hearts they did what they could to advance the kingdom and to bring glory to the Savior whom they loved. Women often displayed a greater devotion than male disciples, and thus the fact that their role is one of submission does not diminish the fact that their hearts were attached to the Lord Jesus and He valued their service to Him.  (188.1)  (DO)