An Ezer

And the Lord God said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone. I will create a companion, a helper suited to his needs.” Genesis 2:18

To me, the word “helper” is chalk-full of connotations. I think of little girl “helping” mom make cookies, ie: making a mess while mom does everything important. I think of someone less strong or less capable assisting someone more powerful or more skilled. So really, my go-to definition of a woman being a man’s “helper” is weak. Limited. Is this what God had in mind?

In Hebrew the word for “helper” is ezer. It turns out that the word ezer pops up everywhere in the Old Testament, and not just under our go-to definition. It describes how God tends to (or helps) His people. For example:

1. Exodus 18:14 says, “The God of my Father was my ezer and he delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” So in this instance, ezer means a warrior, a deliverer, a shield.

2. Psalm 70:5 says, “But I am afflicted and needy. Hasten to me, O God! Thou art my ezer and my deliverer.” Through this verse, we see that ezer can mean someone who supports, someone who offers relief to one who is suffering or lacking.

3. Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I will lift my eyes up to the mountains; from where shall my ezer come from? My ezer comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” These verses suggest that an ezer offers hope to a despondent and desperate heart.

So it seems that ezer isn’t a namby-pamby word. It is a strong, freeing word. It suggests that women were made to be warriors and deliverers. Were made to relieve suffering. Were made to offer hope to the sensitive, hurting places. To me this is something, not nothing. It challenges my go-to definition of femininity, but more, it broadens my picture of who God is. Genesis talks about how God made man AND woman in his image- together they give a more complete picture of the character of God.

I have been really struggling to know what the role of women is in the church. Heck, let’s be real, I’ve been struggling to know what MY role is in the church. It’s hard. It’s hard because society has some pretty twisted propaganda about how women are supposed to be. And really, historically the church also has had some pretty twisted ideas too. I mean, even theological big shots like Augustine said stuff like, “I cannot think of any reason for woman’s being made as man’s helper, if we dismiss the reason of procreation” (as quoted in Fincher, 2007, p. 90). Since women are God’s image-bearers, this is a pretty wimpy view of God- only good for producing stuff when we want it.

This refined definition of ezer makes me think that maybe, maybe, God has a bigger plan for women, a bigger plan for men, too. I couldn’t possibly pretend to have All The Answers- but reading through this, I have been challenged to rethink what I have been accepting as status quo- from the media, from the church, from what I tell myself. It challenges me to pursue the True Heart of God in how He sees people.

Holy God, you are so big and so beyond my comprehension. I worship you. Help me to pursue seeing who you are more clearly and to pursue seeing men and women as you see them- image-bearers of the Lord Creator.