An Ezer

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet
~ Genesis 2:18

Did you know that a single word in the English language could represent several different words in the Hebrew language?  And then each individual Hebrew word can have a more in depth meaning that the English words used to represent it?

I am no Hebrew scholar, but I do find it interesting to look at the Hebrew word that we translate as "help" in Genesis 2:18.  The Hebrew word is "Ezer."

The Strongs Hebrew dictionary translates Ezer as "to surround, i.e. protect or aid:--help."

An Ezer is someone you look to for help when you are in the most dangerous and important situations of your life.  The bible uses the same term "Ezer" in several other instances where help is needed.

For Example...

Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help [is] in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.-Psalm 124:7,8


Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: He is their help and their shield.
-Psalm 115:11


I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. -Psalms 121:1 and 2

When I look at those scriptures, it make me realize that God has called me to be much more than a helper to the men of this world.  God made me for a very important reason and I want to make sure that I am living my life in such a way that I allow Him to make me into the Ezer that He has destined me to be. 
Sometimes I feel caught between God's Word and the women's movement. Sometimes I think they are polar opposites and then at times I think that there are more similarities than I first realized.

God created woman with a strength all her own. Unfortunately, sometimes I get so caught up with trying to prove that I am just as strong as others out there that I miss using the strength that God has already blessed me with just by making me a woman.

I want to search and find the strength and beauty that God has hidden inside of me.

I want to slow down, and allow God to use His Word to show me who I was really created to be. Not only as a woman, but as His woman.

An Afterthought?

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet
~ Genesis 2:18

So I know that I am not a second class citizen...but what in the world is a help meet?  It sure sounds secondary...like I was God's afterthought.

However, I got to thinking about this and to my All Knowing God, I don't think there is any such thing as an afterthought.  God knew as He was creating Adam that something was missing.  He knew that  another part of the equation was needed, someone with beauty and strength to compliment man's rough edges.

He knew all of this beforehand, yet did not create man and woman at the same time.  I think God was giving us a chance to see just what it would be like without woman...and it was not good!

I have to admit that I am familiar with this tactic.  I have often used it with my own children.  For example, when one if my children does not want to leave the toy aisle in a store when it is time to go, I simply say "okay then, I will see you later!" and step around the corner.  It does not take very long for my child to realize that standing in the toy aisle alone and without the protection of Momma is not good at all.  I will then hear a wail and the patter of little feet as he rushes around the corner to find me only a few yards away.

Now I never intended to leave him in the store.  I never even got far enough that he was out of my sight, but I definitely got the point across that things are better with Momma by your side than without.  I think it is the same way with God.  He created woman second, not as an afterthought; but so that we could see that life was better with woman than without.

Thinking about it in this context, I am so glad to know that I was no after-thought. God doesn't make mistakes but He also sometimes doesn't let us in on His master plan. He alone sees the finished life that is  planned for each of us while we have to remember that every day in our lives is a lesson from Him.

Second Class Citizen?

It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone.
~Genesis 2:18


So why did God really create woman?  What would have happened if he had just let us all be men?  Like it or not we live in a man's world.  Here in the US we women do not have it as bad as other countries around the world, but I still sometimes feel like women are looked down upon and viewed almost as second class citizens.

I am not trying to sound like a feminist, but I often wonder why God made me different from men and what He wants me to use those differences for.  I don't think that God created me as a woman just so my husband would have someone to pick up his dirty socks or just so there would be someone available to carry a baby for nine months.  Although I do those things and I do feel like it is a privilege from God to be able to do them (maybe not the picking up socks thing) but I also think there was a greater plan in mind.

Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him. -Genesis 2:18(Amplified)

The Bible says that God made woman in order to fix a serious problem.  This is the only time in creation that God looks at what he has created and says that it is not good.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed... and God saw that it was good.-Genesis 1:12

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night...and God saw that it was good. -Genesis 1:16-18

God called all of His creation good, except for the fact that man was alone.  And that is where woman comes in.  We are the answer to God's problem.  It definitely makes me feel like I am of great value when I realize that fact!  No second class citizen here!  I am a creation of God...and a very important creation at that!