Woman, Helper for Man!

What did God mean whe He siad, "It is not good that the man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him."? God is about to create the basic human community, the family. This requires two persons. The man has already been created. The other must now be created. That 'other' must be suitable for the man. As a sort of interim, God created the animals and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Adam gave names to all the animals God brought to him. Notice how the interim ends. "But for Adam, there was not found a helper for him." Lesson number 1, A helper suitable for man cannot be found among the animals.

So God put the man to sleep; removed one of his ribs; closed up the area from which He took the rib, and with the rib, He made a woman, and brought the woman to the man. Lesson 2, From God's point of view, only a woman can be a suitable helper for man. He did not make another man to be a suitable helper for Adam.

Adam greeted the woman with great joy. "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman for she was taken out of man." Lesson number 3, Fullness of joy for man is found only in the union of a man and a woman suitable for him. This is crucial. We may say that the fundamental cause for many divorces lies in the fact that the woman is not suitable for the man, and therefore, the man is not suitable for the woman.

Now many men and women living together, and many 'christians' also, hold the view that if a man and a woman are living together, they are husband and wife. Let's look at Genesis again. God created a man. God placed him in a garden. God said it is not good for the man to be alone. God said, I will make him a helper suitable for him. God put the man to sleep. God took a rib from the man and made a woman. God brought the woman to the man. The man accepted all that God had done. It is God at work all the time. Now you two are living together. Where does God come in to your relationship? Lesson number 4, if God is not in it from beginning to end, it is not marriage in His sight, so you are not husband and wife in God's sight.

Let's go back to Gen. 1:28. God said, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. Now masny people having children out of marriage, not even living together say, that on the basis of these words they have the freedom to make children as they please. They are simply carrying out the command, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.' Well, let us ask the question, Who said these words, to whom? God spoke. God gave the command. He gave the command to a man and a woman in His image and likenes, because that is the way it is in the kingdom of God. God commands men and women in His image and in His likerness to bring forth children. Are you in the image and likeness of God? Are you born again? Are you a new creation in Christ Jesus? Lesson number 5, If you are a new man and a new woman in Christ jesus, and if you are suitable for each other, God's commandment is for you. If you are not, the commandment is not for you. You cannot use it as giving you the right to have children.

God made the woman to be a helper for the man. What does that mean? Complete misunderstanding of this has led to many women being no more than housekeepers. Let us look at the word helper in the original Hebrew. The word translated 'help' has more than one meaning. First it means to 'aid.' If the man is working at a particular task, the woman can be a 'help' to him. This should not be confined to domestic work. In fact it can mean any task in which the man may be involved, even professional work. This seems to call for a bit of communication and consultation here.

Second, the word means 'to succoor.' The man can be under great strain, or pressure. The tasks may be burdensome and bring frustration, and anxiety. Sometimes a man may feel like quitting. The woman comes along side of him as a source of strength. She helps him bear the burden. She helps to relieve him of the pain. She bears the burden with him. She comforts him. She inspires patience and perseverance. She brings to the situation considerations which help him to see things in a new way. She is a tower of strength to him. What would he do without her?

Third, the word means 'to throw the arms around.' This has more than one meaning. 'To throw the arms around someone' is an expression of desire for intimacy, or a desire to meet one's need for intimacy. Every one of us has that need for intimacy. If that need is not met, then we feel alone in the world. Another way of putting it is 'the need for love.' To throw the arma around someone is a way of saying 'I love you.' When that need for intimacy and love is not satisfied, the result is tragedy.

'To throw the arms around someone' can also mean to protect that one. You see danger coming and you throw your arms around him to protect him. Let's take this a little further. The man is in danger. There is one out there who wants to destroy him. That one will seek all means by which to attack the man. The woman is there to help the man; to protect him against the enemy that is seeking to destroy him. The woman then engages herself in prayer, in intercession, and in spiritual warfare on her husband's behalf. I suppose by now you begin to see that this matter of being a helper is no small thing. And this is no small task or calling given to women.

To put it briefly, the woman's calling is to help the man to be all that God wants him to be, and to help him to do all that God want him to do. The woman is in one way like a prop for the man. Take away the prop and the tree falls. If the woman fails, the man falls. Now you understand why the serpant came to the woman. Take away the helper, the man falls. Do you see then how awesome is the task of women?
Woman then, is no inferior being. It takes an abundance of wisdom, knowledge, strength, and knowledge of God and His ways for woman to fulfill her calling.

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