Several months ago, I was reading through Genesis, and got to that weird part at which a lot of women kind of cringe. I’m talking about chapter 2, verse 18. Right before God created Eve, He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” I’m using the King James Version because that’s what a lot of us grew up hearing. “Help meet” is a very strange combination of words and that’s what makes it sort of cringy. NKJV makes a notable improvement by saying, “I will make him a helper comparable to him.” I use the NIV for my daily study and it says, “I will make a helper suitable for him.”
The other part that makes us women cringe is the “helper” role. In modern vernacular this seems to denote a subservient status to men. But that isn’t the case at all in the original language. The Hebrew noun for “help” is ‘ēzer. When it appears elsewhere in the Bible, it’s usually referring to God helping people. For example, Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” ‘Ezer is the word used in both instances of “help” here (see also Deuteronomy 33:7, Psalm 33:20, and Hosea 13:9.) God is not subservient to man and yet he helps us constantly. This is the sort of relationship denoted in Genesis 2:18. Please don’t misunderstand, women are not equal with God, this is simply showing that “help/helper” don’t necessarily mean a lower or servant-like status. I want to establish this because I feel it’s very misunderstood in modern thought. Although Genesis 2:18 is in the context of male and female relationships, and I certainly desire to be a “helper suitable” for my future husband/family, I want to be a helper suitable for my Lord first.
For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth. Isaiah 54:5
As I read about various women in the Bible, along with other passages, here is what I found:
Ruth was a helper suitable. She took care of her mother-in-law and worshiped the God of the Israelites even before she entered Israel. Boaz was attracted to her because of her willingness to glean in the fields and take care of her mother-in-law. Ruth was loyal and diligent.
Hannah was favored by her husband, but barren. She trusted the Lord and worshiped Him before she saw the miracle; she also asked for favor. She then became pregnant and gave her son to the work of the Lord. Hannah found favor and was prayerful, worshipful, and sacrificial.
Mary and Martha were friends of Jesus. Martha showed hospitality and Mary showed devotion. Although Jesus favored Mary’s devotion over Martha’s hospitality, I believe He was simply trying to put Martha’s frantic mind at ease. He wants relationship over work.
Lydia was Paul’s first convert in Europe. She was the first to open her home as a church for European converts. Lydia’s hospitality opened the door for the gospel to spread into Europe. Lydia worshiped, showed hospitality, and was an entrepreneur.
Additional attributes of a fruitful believer and helper suitable:
- Proverbs 3:3-4: Love and faithfulness
- Proverbs 31:10-31: Noble, trustworthy, consistent, diligent, provider, entrepreneurial, profitable, assists the poor and needy, doesn’t fear for her household and watches over her household, strength, dignified, wise, faithful instruction is on her tongue, and fears the Lord.
- Matthew 5:3-14: Poor in Spirit (this basically means humility and acknowledging a need for God), meek, desire for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker, salt, and light.
- Galatians 5:22: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
- 2 Peter 1:5-7: Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love.
It’s interesting to me how so many of the above correlate with each other. I’m sure they could be easily organized into larger categories, but that’s a different project for a different time.
Are there any women in the Bible or passages you would add to these qualities of being a fruitful Christian/helper suitable? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Resources used for this post include: Blue Letter Bible, The NIV Application Commentary, Genesis, by John H. Walton, and TheNIVBible.com.