Women have struggled with their purpose and identity since the beginning of time, and so, I want to take us back to Genesis, where God created woman
In Genesis 2:18, our purpose and true identity as a woman is revealed. Unfortunately, this Scripture has been misinterpreted by many people – especially women. Therefore, we must understand what God intended women to be so that we can step into our full potential
I know for myself that I used to cringe whenever I read this Bible verse, I went straight into defensive mode (mainly because of my upbringing), but I didn’t want to be a “helper” or “help meet” when I knew that my call from God was so much more. I would read this Scripture and think that it was saying that God had created all women to be an assistant (or servants) to man. This is about as far from the truth as possible (in fact, this is a lie) because women were made for so much more. In Hebrew, the word used in Genesis 2:18 is Ezer (ay-zer) Kenegdo
Ezer has originally two meanings in Hebrew, depending on the pronunciation: to rescue/to save and to be strong. In the Old Testament, the word Ezer is used 21 times, but we can roughly divide the different Scriptures into three ways:
- Ezer is used for the woman
- Ezer used for nations to whom Israel appealed for military aid
- Ezer used for God as Israel’s helper
What all these Scriptures have in common is that Ezer is used consistently in a military context – Ezer is a warrior
The Hebrew word Kenegdo means opposite as to him or corresponding as to him. God created man and woman in His image, which means that a woman is no better or less than a man. Man and woman are equally and uniquely created as a perfect fit – together. The word Ezer Kenegdo might be aged, but the purpose of our existence as women is the same. Women are an Ezer Kenegdo. A strong warrior, complementary to man’s role on earth
The way I see it is that man and woman are like two hands. Your left hand and right hand are in ways the same but also different. We each have bones, muscles, veins, skin, nails. And we have fingers and a thumb on each hand. Our left and right hand are the exact opposite of each other, but the one hand is not more important than the other one. One hand usually is a little stronger because it is our preferred hand, but we can use each hand on its own. Yet, together, our hands can do so much more. Together, our hands are even stronger, and that is the ezer relationship that God created man and woman for
Categories: Genesis
