I don’t
think I will get any resistance if I were to state that things aren’t as they
should be in our world. Things have been
and are being affected by the presence of sin and evil in our world. Even things that were perfect in their
original state now are not, because the effects of sin have touched every aspect
of the created world.
How are we to respond to such a thought?
I see a few possibilities.
Denial: We can pretend that the world around us isn’t broken. We can pretend that the evil and brokenness either don’t exist or aren’t evil or brokenness.
Resignation: Another options is we can just throw up our hands and resign ourselves to fate. Such a response may cause us to say “The world is broken. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it.”
Redemptive Restoration: Another option, and in my opinion the best option, is to admit the world is broken, but to look for ways in which we as followers of Jesus can seek to point things and people back towards the way God’s original creative plan intended.
As a follower of Jesus, I believe this is something He did time and time again throughout His earthly ministry. Time permitting, I hope to share a number of thoughts about how one aspect of creation was created, how it was affected when sin entered the world, how sin marred what God had said was very good, how entropy played out throughout human history, how Jesus sought to restore order, and how we as His followers should view things today.
So, over the weeks or months that follow, I want to take the time to explore what the Bible says about…women. I know this can seem like walking through a mine field, in light of the many opinions that are out there today, I know the whole topic can become divisive. This is not my plan at all. I want us to look at what the Bible does, and in some cases does not say, about women, and see how we can truly live out God’s plan for both men and women.
So, let’s go back to the very beginning. Please turn with me to Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:1-2a
How are we to respond to such a thought?
I see a few possibilities.
Denial: We can pretend that the world around us isn’t broken. We can pretend that the evil and brokenness either don’t exist or aren’t evil or brokenness.
Resignation: Another options is we can just throw up our hands and resign ourselves to fate. Such a response may cause us to say “The world is broken. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it.”
Redemptive Restoration: Another option, and in my opinion the best option, is to admit the world is broken, but to look for ways in which we as followers of Jesus can seek to point things and people back towards the way God’s original creative plan intended.
As a follower of Jesus, I believe this is something He did time and time again throughout His earthly ministry. Time permitting, I hope to share a number of thoughts about how one aspect of creation was created, how it was affected when sin entered the world, how sin marred what God had said was very good, how entropy played out throughout human history, how Jesus sought to restore order, and how we as His followers should view things today.
So, over the weeks or months that follow, I want to take the time to explore what the Bible says about…women. I know this can seem like walking through a mine field, in light of the many opinions that are out there today, I know the whole topic can become divisive. This is not my plan at all. I want us to look at what the Bible does, and in some cases does not say, about women, and see how we can truly live out God’s plan for both men and women.
So, let’s go back to the very beginning. Please turn with me to Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:1-2a
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth
was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep…
God, created all that has been created from nothing. The rest of Genesis 1 goes on to give us more detail.
Verse 3 God said “let there be light”; and there was light.”
Verse 6-8a says “Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven.”
God, created all that has been created from nothing. The rest of Genesis 1 goes on to give us more detail.
Verse 3 God said “let there be light”; and there was light.”
Verse 6-8a says “Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven.”
Verse 9
says God created dry land.
Verse 11
says that plants and trees were created.
Verses 14-18 says that God created the sun to give us light during the day, and the moon to govern the night.
Verses 14-18 says that God created the sun to give us light during the day, and the moon to govern the night.
Verses
20-21 God created fish and birds. As the
passage goes on it says God said these creatures were to “be fruitful and multiply” to fill the waters and sky with
their kind (vs 22)
Verse 24
God created land animals.
After each aspect of His creation, God said what He had made was good. Then, starting in verse 26 we see the remainder of God’s creation week spoken of.
Genesis 1:26-31
After each aspect of His creation, God said what He had made was good. Then, starting in verse 26 we see the remainder of God’s creation week spoken of.
Genesis 1:26-31
Then God
said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our
likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of
God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and
God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it;
and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every
living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given
you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and
every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to
every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that
moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”;
and it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis
2 goes a little more into detail about the creation of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:7 says that Adam was formed by God.
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7 says that Adam was formed by God.
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Unlike
animals, God took time to craft Adam. Then
God placed him in a garden God had created.
Genesis 2:8-9
Genesis 2:8-9
The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He
placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused to
grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
God
placed man in the garden, giving him a beautiful environment, good work to do,
food to eat, and so forth. As the New
American Commentary puts it, this was “a setting men may sometimes consider
idyllic”. But, as the commentary and
scripture text say, God had more to be done “to achieve the ideal for the man.” (Mathews, K. A. (1996).
Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 213). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Continuing on, Genesis 2:18-20
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I
will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God
formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to
the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living
creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to
the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was
not found a helper suitable for him.
Maybe this is the point in which Adam realized that while his home, and work were satisfactory there was something missing: A companion for himself. Now granted, God could have simply said “Adam, I am all the companion you need”. But He didn’t. God said “It is not good for the man to be alone”, and set out to remedy the problem.
Maybe this is the point in which Adam realized that while his home, and work were satisfactory there was something missing: A companion for himself. Now granted, God could have simply said “Adam, I am all the companion you need”. But He didn’t. God said “It is not good for the man to be alone”, and set out to remedy the problem.
I
probably could preach a whole series of sermons on one little phrase in verse 18,
but I won’t—just half a sermon. I do
want to talk about the phrase “helper suitable”, which God used to describe the
woman He created for man.
The phrase comes from two Hebrew words (“ezer” meaning “helper” and “kenegdo” meaning literally “like that is in front of you”). I want to be clear that I don’t think this is meant to be taken as many people over the years have taken it. How the concept of “suitable helper”, or “helpmate” is often spoken of in Christian circles is that man was given a job by God to do, and God decided it wasn’t good for man to be alone, so He gave the man a woman to help him. In many of these scenarios the woman is viewed to be as lesser than man, an afterthought, who is simply there to make life better for man. This is wrong, this is a lie, and this is destructive. I will get into why this can be so destructive at a future date.
The phrase comes from two Hebrew words (“ezer” meaning “helper” and “kenegdo” meaning literally “like that is in front of you”). I want to be clear that I don’t think this is meant to be taken as many people over the years have taken it. How the concept of “suitable helper”, or “helpmate” is often spoken of in Christian circles is that man was given a job by God to do, and God decided it wasn’t good for man to be alone, so He gave the man a woman to help him. In many of these scenarios the woman is viewed to be as lesser than man, an afterthought, who is simply there to make life better for man. This is wrong, this is a lie, and this is destructive. I will get into why this can be so destructive at a future date.
The term
here, help or helper, is used to describe God’s coming to the aid of the Children
of Israel when they were being attacked by their enemies, as well as God
helping others (See Psalm 20, 33, 70, 115, 121, and 124). In Exodus 18, Moses used the term to describe
how God rescued him from Pharaoh.
Another aspect often overlooked in this passage is the fact that the narrative here is written differently than in regards to any other part of creation. When it comes to the creation of animals and then man, God is spoken of in the third person. “Then God said”…and such was created. “Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground…” However, when it comes to the creating of the woman, God said “I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
The New American Commentary has this to say about this passage:
There is no sense derived from the word linguistically or from the context of the garden narrative that the woman is a lesser person because her role differs (see more at 2:23). In the case of the biblical model, the “helper” is an indispensable “partner” (REB) required to achieve the divine commission. “Helper,” as we have seen from its Old Testament usage, means the woman will play an integral part, in this case, in human survival and success. What the man lacks, the woman accomplishes. As Paul said concisely, the man was not made for the woman “but the woman for the man” (cf. 1 Cor 11:9). The woman makes it possible for the man to achieve the blessing that he otherwise could not do “alone.” And, obviously, the woman cannot achieve it apart from the man. (Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, pp. 214–216). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Another aspect often overlooked in this passage is the fact that the narrative here is written differently than in regards to any other part of creation. When it comes to the creation of animals and then man, God is spoken of in the third person. “Then God said”…and such was created. “Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground…” However, when it comes to the creating of the woman, God said “I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
The New American Commentary has this to say about this passage:
There is no sense derived from the word linguistically or from the context of the garden narrative that the woman is a lesser person because her role differs (see more at 2:23). In the case of the biblical model, the “helper” is an indispensable “partner” (REB) required to achieve the divine commission. “Helper,” as we have seen from its Old Testament usage, means the woman will play an integral part, in this case, in human survival and success. What the man lacks, the woman accomplishes. As Paul said concisely, the man was not made for the woman “but the woman for the man” (cf. 1 Cor 11:9). The woman makes it possible for the man to achieve the blessing that he otherwise could not do “alone.” And, obviously, the woman cannot achieve it apart from the man. (Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, pp. 214–216). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
The Bible Knowledge Commentary has this to say:
God decided to make a helper suitable for the man (v. 18). “Helper” is not a demeaning term; it is often used in Scripture to describe God Almighty
And…
They both had the same nature. But what man lacked (his aloneness was
not good) she supplied, and what she lacked he supplied. (Ross, A. P. (1985).
Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 31). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.)
And one
more commentary I want to look at is the Pulpit Commentary. Please keep in mind all of these commentaries
are theologically conservative.
The expression indicates that the forthcoming helper was to be of similar nature to the man himself, corresponding by way of supplement to the incompleteness of his lonely being, and in every way adapted to be his co-partner and companion. All that Adam’s nature demanded for its completion, physically, intellectually, socially, was to be included in this altera ego who was soon to stand by his side. Thus in man’s need, and woman’s power to satisfy that need, is laid the foundation for the Divine institution of marriage, which was afterwards prescribed not for the first pair alone, but for all their posterity. (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Genesis (p. 50). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)
The expression indicates that the forthcoming helper was to be of similar nature to the man himself, corresponding by way of supplement to the incompleteness of his lonely being, and in every way adapted to be his co-partner and companion. All that Adam’s nature demanded for its completion, physically, intellectually, socially, was to be included in this altera ego who was soon to stand by his side. Thus in man’s need, and woman’s power to satisfy that need, is laid the foundation for the Divine institution of marriage, which was afterwards prescribed not for the first pair alone, but for all their posterity. (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Genesis (p. 50). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)
So, in God’s creative
design, both man and woman were made in His image, both were meant to stand
alongside each other and complement each other, what one lacked the other was
to supply and visa-versa. She was
created to be his “co-partner and companion. As the last commentary said.
Genesis
2:21-22
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
Quite
often when I heard verse 23 read, it seems like many believe this is to be said
in a robotic, information only, expression by Adam.
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
However,
I’ve always thought of it in a much more poetic way. Can you imagine what it would have been like
for Adam to see the different animals all go by and for him to see that each
had a partner there for them? Then, to
realize you are the only one without a companion like yourself? When Adam wakes up and sees what God has made
especially for him, I doubt he spoke like a Shakespearian actor, being all
dramatic on stage. I think he was
speaking in awe and wonder when he says ““This is now
bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she
was taken out of Man.”
Not that
Adam had an audience to broadcast it to, but it might sound in today’s
vernacular, “Do you see her? Wow. God made her for me, and from me. She is like me. She is AWESOME.” Men, you had all seen your wife before your
wedding day, but try and remember what it was like to see your wife on your
wedding day as she walked towards you during your wedding ceremony. I remember that moment. It was a moment of awe, a moment of
amazement, a moment of gratitude for the amazing gift that God had given me. (picture
of us entering our reception)
Genesis
2:24-25
24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
It
should be obvious that as the first two humans God created, the command for the
man to “leave his father and mother” was given
by Moses as he wrote down the creation account in Genesis. For Adam and Eve, they were alone and yet
together. They were both naked, they
were to be joined together in one flesh, and they were not to be ashamed. This is how God intended things to be.
Yet, as we will see, God’s perfect plan for humanity drastically changes when sin enters the world.
Yet, as we will see, God’s perfect plan for humanity drastically changes when sin enters the world.
