In a world where the definition of man and woman has become so fluid and out of focus it is important to go back to the foundation of the world and see how they creator of it all defined man and woman when He established them in the world. That is the very thing that I strife to answer and layout for you in this weeks blog. Man and woman are created and defined by God and God alone. So come join me as we work through Genesis 2-3 and learn how God defines man and woman and how He values and cherishes both man and woman equally.
Before we get into chapter 2 we need to first look at Genesis 1:26-30 to set our foundation of understanding. We see in the last four verses of chapter 1 that God created man and woman in His image and places both of them over all the other things He created. We see it said multiple times in these four verses that all of mankind is created in HIs image. Verse 26 says Then God said “Let Us make man in our one image, according to our likeness. They will rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” These verses show that man and woman were both created in the image of God as equal counterparts to one another. However they are equal but uniquely different creatures who are both needed to live out the mission God has given them. The first thing God gave them to do was to be in close relationship with Him and to do that they had to keep sin out, although we know how that played out, so they needed each other and God to help fight against sin entering the world. Secondly, He commanded them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth as well as taking care of everything that He had created. To succeed in this the best chance they had to do so was if they had their equal but uniquely different counterpart to do it with.
Now let us dive into Genesis 2-3 and see the uniqueness of man and woman and how they were created to be helpmates to one another. We see in the beginning of chapter 2 that no plants or shrubs had begun to sprout because God had not caused it to rain on the earth and because there was no man to take care of the plants and creatures on the earth. But a mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. Then He created man from the dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. God then planted the garden of Eden and placed man in the garden. He gave man everything He needed to survive and live a good life as well as a place where man could live in communion with God on a daily basis. We then see in verse 18 where God said “that it was not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper fit for him.” (Vs 18 ESV) The word helper or helpmate in other translations has been a term that has been used to justify that women are less than to men. But this term is anything but making women just help to men. The Hebrew phrase that is used here that helper is translated from Ezer Kenegdo. According to the book 40 Questions About Women in Ministry, the root word of Ezer means “to rescue”, “to save”, or “to be strong”. Kenegdo when used with Ezer modifies it and shows that Ezer (the helper) is face to face or the same as the one that is being helped. The word Ezer was used in the Old Testament as a noun twenty one times translated into various words always with the connotation of empowering , assisting, or helping where it is needed. Sixteen times it is used to describe God coming to the aid of His people and being their helper. Some examples of this are Exodus 18:4,Dutereonmy 33:7, 26, 29, Psalm 20:22, and many others. The verb form of Ezer, which means to rescue or to save, is seen eighty one times in the Old Testament. In this instance it is normally talking about a military assistance and typically an assistance that comes from God Himself. Some examples of this are 2 Chronicles 14:10, Isaiah 41:13-14; 49:8; 59:7, and many more. So we see the meaning of Ezer and the helpful thing with this phrase is the second part Kenegdo, this modifies the word that it is attached too and means “according to what is in front of —-corresponding too. (40 Questions About Women in Ministry; Sue Edwards and Kelly Matthews.https://a.co/d/00FmaC1g)(this is a great resource for better understanding on many topics with women and ministry) This shows that man and woman were created to be help mates to one another and they are created equally in His image and corresponding to one another. They are the same but uniquely created differently to correspond with each other.
Through this understanding of the Hebrew phrase used in verse 18 we see that woman was created because man could not shoulder the weight of the what God was calling him to do, he needed someone who was like him and equal to him but uniquely different to fill in the gaps that he had to complete the mission God had set humans on at creation. This mission is known as the Dominion Mandate which is found in Genesis 1 and it was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living creature that moves on the ground. God knew that man needed a counterpart that was equal to him and similar to him but uniquely different in order to do what He was asking him to do. The uniqueness of man and woman from each other allows for them both to work together covering the blind spots that each one has because of the way they are wired and how they operate, so their uniqueness complement each other and show the full picture. They are equal heirs to God because they are both His image bearers; they just have different parts to play. One is not less than the other but they are similar to one another. This is really what is being driven home throughout the rest of Genesis 2. What it means for woman to be a suitable helper to man not because she is lesser than him but because she is his equal in God but created in uniqueness from him so that they could work alongside one another and show the Glory of God in all things they do together. As well as showing the full picture of who God is as they work alongside each other. This translation of this phrase is also supported through God taking a rib from mans side to create the woman it shows that they are created to be side by side and equal not one above the other but uniquely created equal counterparts.
Now that we have our minds wrapped around why man and woman were created, which is to be in relationship with God, to be His image bearers and to care for His creation. As well as the fact that they were created as equal counterparts to help each other we will now dive into Genesis 3 and see how falling short on that helpmate purpose lead to sin entering the world. We see in Genesis 3 the serpent enters stage left to shake up all of what Adam and Eve knew of their surroundings and make them question the very one who put them there an gave it all to them. He targeted the woman first and posed a simple question of did God really say you should not eat from any tree in the garden and Eve’s response was that God said they could eat from any tree except the trees in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life and if they ate from them you surely would die. We see here that the serpent is trying to cause confusion by twisting what God said and trying to place doubt in Eve’s mind. The serpents response to Eve’s response was you will not surely die if you eat from it, God is keeping this from you because He does not want you to be like Him knowing good and evil. So the serpent twisted the command that was given out of protection of man and woman as well as their ability to dwell with God in the garden into God was just keeping the ability to be like Him from them. It was at this moment that the woman started questioning the goodness of God and if He really was just saying it to keep them from being like Him. She saw that the fruit was good for food, that it was delightful to look at, and it was desirable to gain wisdom she took it and ate from it. She also gave some to the man and he ate of it as well. Then both of their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked and felt shame. They then sewed fig leaves together to make coverings for themselves.
Here we see a few things humankind’s curiosity got the best of them, Adam was near to Eve when the serpent was speaking to her, the serpent twisted just enough of the truth to plant a seed of doubt into man and woman, and the consequences of going against God’s commands have instant change in creation. Now I have seen and heard people using the fact that Eve was the one who was deceived is the reason that women can not lead. But if you look at the text Adam was near her he could have stepped in as the leader and stopped it all because the command was said directly to him from God. He could have been Eve’s helpmate she needed in this moment to stop her from making that choice. He fell short on His leadership role and Eve decided to eat the fruit from the tree. They both fell short in being equal counterparts to one another and sin entered the world. This is not the reason there are certain roles women should not be in with in the church, the reason for that is something that will be discussed in later blogs on this site. But for now all I will say is the only reason for the certain roles being men is because that is how God set it up, not because women are less than but because of the nature He created man and woman have certain things that each are stronger in than the other. Back to Genesis chapter three throughout the rest of the text we see God call out the man, woman, and serpent. He gives the consequences of their sin. We see the first mention of His redemption plan in Jesus in verse fifteen of chapter three. we also see God kick man and woman out of the garden to protect them from eating of the tree of life and being stuck in sin for eternity. We see that God provided man and woman with adequate clothes to help them survive the weather and the work they had to do. Also Adam gives woman the name of Eve, which means mother of many, this name is a way of reestablishing her purpose that God gave her from her fall in the garden.
So in summary of all that we have looked at in this week’s post Woman was created to be an equal counterpart to man. She was equally created in God’s image. Although she is equal to man she is uniquely different from Him in a way that helps him and vice versa man is created equal but uniquely different in ways that help woman. We need both men and women to do life and to successful in the mission God has set us on. God did not make any mistakes in creating each and every man and woman from the beginning of times to now. The relationship between man and woman is a beautiful full picture of the fullness of God. Woman is created as a Ezer Kenegdo to man to assist where it is needed. Being a helpmate does not make her less than him but rather shows the value and abundant need for her in the world. We also saw that when men and women are not operating as they were created to sin gets in and leads to the consequences that sin bring into our lives. We need strong men of God leadership submission as well as strong women of God leadership and submission. We all ultimately need to be fully submitted to God and His plan for us and the rest will fall into place in His good and perfect timing.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this weeks blog. I hope you have learned something new and have taking something away from what you have read. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me on here or through email, I would love to talk with you. Next week’s blog will look at some characteristics of a biblical woman from Titus 2 as well as some other passages in scripture. I hope you join me next week in unpacking that! Until then keep reaching for, learning about, submitting to, and following the one who created it all and has a great plan for everything He created!
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