Biblical Ishshah (Woman): The True Role of Helper/Help Meet

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Gen. 2:18

Are you ready to embrace who God created you to be dear sister? Because I am excited to take you on an adventure into the Word of God to discover the truth about women. In our series Biblical Ishshah (Hebrew for woman, pronounced ish-shaw) we will start with the HELPER/HELP MEET.

In the Hebrew the word for the helper/helpmeet in the passages in Genesis 2 is `ezer which is a masculine noun. It has for the root the verb `azar which is also translated helper in the English.

What does that word “Help” or “Helper” mean in the Bible? Would you be surprised that it does not mean what we tend to think in our culture today?

We tend to think of the master tradesman who is the brains with the skills, who calls the shots and hires or enslaves a helper, whom is the lesser of the two. Maybe even apprentice comes to mind.

When people are told wives are created to be a helper to their husbands, an assumption is made based off our current cultural understanding of the word helper.

Let us dig into His Word to find out what a helper is. Helper is one who comes to the aid, to rescue, or deliver those in NEED of help. Does that sound like a lesser being or one further down on the totem?

2 Kings 14:26 we see that Israel is suffering because there was found no HELPER for them. In this case helper is a king, prophet, or military general who would deliver the people.

Job 29:12 speaks of the delivering the poor and the orphan who has no helper. Job was not the lesser, but rather capable of bettering the life of the poor and orphan (who had little or nothing) out of his own faithfulness and abundance.

In the Psalms, every time the word helper is used, it refers to God Himself. David recognized that he desperately needed God to help him, deliver him, rescue him, come to his aid!

In every passage in the Old Testament, the word Helper was understood to be a competent one(s) who came to the aid of the one in need of help. You were in a better position to help those who could not help themselves. Not a lesser position.

God knew from the beginning that He would create both man and woman. However, he allowed man to go for a time alone and separate to understand that He was in need of somebody to come to his aid.

Some say Eve was a helper suitable for Adam. The word that has been translated as suitable means conspicuous, in front of or corresponding to. So God fashioned Eve to come to the aid of Adam in ways that became conspicuous to him corresponding to his needs for help.

God did not create Eve to be treated as a peon. He created her from the side of Adam, not from his top to crush him, nor from his bottom to be trampled on. In every other place in the Bible the word Tsela` is never translated as RIB. It refers to the ENTIRE side, or half of the assembly/structure, even used in reference to parts of the Temple. How interesting. What if Eve was actually created from an equal half of Adam? Could it be? Do you see the Temple connection to our bodies now being His temple in the New Testament?

If God did indeed create marriage to be a three strand cord that correlates to the Trinity, then is Yahweh in this union the Father, while the husband is to be like the Son laying down his life in sacrificial love? If so, then that would mean the wife represents the role of the Holy Spirit who is also called a HELPER in the New Testament. Interesting, given the same role title, helper. Maybe even more than that, since the Holy Spirit inhabits the church, perhaps the wife is also symbolic of the Bride of Christ filled with Spirit. Think about how each role in the Trinity work in AGREEMENT to be part of the WHOLE and always with a purpose in mind.

You, my sister, were created with valuable design in the mind of God. He intentionally waited to create Eve until Adam realized he was in need of aid. He took the very side of Adam and fashioned Eve. She was an equal part of him. First the husband recognized his need for aid, then God made him incomplete without the help of his wife. A helper comes along side (never beneath) in our Bible to aid one in need.

If you are walking in singleness, all of this still applies to your standing. Equal in standing with man in the eyes of God, both are equally sinners in need of grace. You were created to be a helper to those in need of aid. There are plenty of hurting people who need the aid and compassion of a helper to lead them into truth and bandage their wounds with the healing ointment of Christ's blood.

Father God, in the name of Jesus Christ, I thank you for Your Word and my sisters. I ask that today you would reveal to each of my sisters, their standing and purpose in Your eyes as a helper. Help us to understand Your truth and walk in it. Let each of us serve out our purpose for which You created us. AMEN!

Is it Provision or Blessed Provision?

Yahweh-Yireh (The Lord Will Provide) is the name Abraham gave the place where he almost sacrificed his only son of promise, Isaac. On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided is a prophecy of how God would some day truly sacrifice His only Son, that we might be redeemed. Abraham had told Isaac that God Himself would provide the Lamb for the burnt offering! The ultimate provision! Did you know provision means “to see beforehand?” God knows/sees the future and thus anticipates our every need, including sacrifice and redemption!

Yet Abraham, a mere mortal with no corporate protection, knew what most exalted corporate giants do not comprehend. Obeying God brings blessed provision. My emphasis is on blessed!

This same theme was found in the story of “Faith Like Potatoes.” Angus Buchan, a hot-headed Scotsman farming in South Africa is transformed when he lives a life of obedience and faith in God. During a drought, on his farm with no irrigation, God commands him to trust in Him and plant potatoes which require much rain/irrigation. Potatoes grow underground and you cannot see if they are thriving until you dig them up.

Angus obeyed God knowing that if this potato crop failed, he would lose his farm and destroy the means of support for many. During the harvest, he was blessed with the provision of many potatoes that helped not only provide for his family and workers' families, but also for an orphanage full of children on their farm. There is much more to this story, but every detail is about their lives surrendered in obedience to God and their faith being strengthened through it, as well as all of those who came into contact with them.

Most Christians will struggle their entire life fighting against rebellion towards God. The natural, sinful urge within desires control and to exert sole authority in one's life in preference to obeying God.

We have two kinds of “Christians” with money, both receive their provision from God, yet not both are blessed by God. One type uses their money to gain control and require people to acknowledge them for their wealth and generosity. They are like the pharisee on the street giving alms for all to notice. It is for their own glory, yet cloaked in righteous deeds. The other type would rather keep secret how much they do for God, as they want Him alone to receive the glory. They are humble before God walking in obedience to His Word and experience a deeper blessing.

“...for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matt 5:45

Do we only yearn for His provision such as He gives to even the evil and unrighteous? Or do we prefer His blessing?

Many of us have heard the teachings of prosperity and they appeal to us. God wants to bless you financially if you will just tithe to their ministry! These teachers neglect to show you the thousands suffering poverty and imprisonment undergoing persecution around the world who follow Jesus passionately. The persecuted church knows more about sacrificial giving than most of us in free nations could ever fathom. Yet they are not wealthy with material provision! Why not? Does God's windows only open over the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia? Nonsense!

God said He would provide for our needs, not all of our wants and our selfish desires. When the Bible says to "delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart", one better stop and ponder this verse. If you are delighting (taking pleasure) in the Lord with your “self”, then you are surrendered to Him, not your “self.” Your relationship with Him is what brings you pleasure and delight, not the things of this world. Thus, the desires of your heart will be His desires, not all those material or selfish things. The condition of obedience comes before the promise of blessing!

Are you walking in obedience like Abraham? Do you apply faith to that obedience? Have you considered God's servant Job? Could you say, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, Blessed be the Name of the Lord” in the midst of tragedy? What did Abraham and Job know that made them humble servants who would surrender all to God Almighty?

Integrity is described as doing the right thing even when nobody is looking. Obedience is doing God's will even if everybody is watching and nobody supports you or thinks is it wisdom! We have a living example of that kind of obedience in Angus Buchan and his potatoes. If we are obeying and blessing God in our daily walk, even during our petty grievances, then we are more likely to obey Him with more and bless Him even when we have less. This was the heart that was in Abraham and Job. This is the heart that is in Angus and Jill Buchan! Lord, I want that kind of heart in me!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” Eph 1:3

Without Courage, Wisdom Bears No Fruit

The title of this article is actually a quote from Baltasar Gracian, a Spanish Baroque Conceptismo author who was also a Jesuit priest and teacher. He often bore courage to speak to his congregations in controversial methods to penetrate them, such as reading to them a letter from Hell. Eventually he was sanctioned and exiled by his superiors.

The Bible says, “Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.” Ps 31:24. Herein, is the key. In order to have the courage to accomplish God's mission for our life, we must place our hope in the Lord. This means by waiting on the Lord, hoping in the Lord, and expecting from the Lord that He will give us the ability and courage needed.

Last night, many of us caught the world premiere of a Hallmark movie on CBS called “The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler.” Based on a true story, it was about a Catholic, Polish, Social Worker named Irena Sendler who risked her life to save over 2,500 Jewish children from being persecuted and mass murdered. She led a group of Catholic, Polish women disguising themselves as nurses as they visited the Jewish ghettos pretending to prevent the spread of Typhus. They conspired to smuggle out the children of the Jewish parents who were willing.

What many of us failed to perceive was that during the time of WWII, the Catholic church for the most part still had no love for the Jews and blamed them for the crucifixion of our Messiah, believing that the Catholic church has replaced Israel in God's eyes. It was not until my generation that the Pope began seeking to restore a peace between Israel and the Catholic church.

Not only was Irena a bold and courageous woman risking her life, but she showed a love and concern that was uncommon for a despised people. Not only despised by the Nazis, but also by the Catholic church along with many others who blamed the Jews for all the problems in the world.

Somehow beyond our human understanding, God created hearts in willing vessels to love His creation according to His compassion. One person's courage stirred the boldness and benevolence in many others. Irena did not see the Jews as despised, nor did many other beautiful people in Poland and surrounding nations that took in these children and raised them as their own for a season. The Jews went through a horrible persecution during WWII, but once again, God spared their total annihilation. How many times has the Enemy tried to put an end to Israel/Judah?

Yet, God was not taken by surprise. He was prepared. In His knowing the future, He had a plan already in place. Who could imagine a Nazi controlled Catholic nation would have so many people with hearts of empathetic courage to save despised children? Apparently, the Enemy never imagined it and thus saw his plans once again thwarted by our God who is Almighty!

For the Jewish parents this was a huge struggle, to know that their children must take on “Christian” names and have the appearance, if not in reality, a conversion to the Catholic faith. They feared the loss of their Jewish heritage. Yet, Irena, as much as she believed passionately in her Catholic faith, also honored the wishes of the parents and faithfully kept a record of where she placed each of these children, in hopes to restore them to their original families someday in the future. For the adoptive families, they loved these children as their own and then many of them had to reconcile them to their original families, knowing the children they raised as Christian, might now revert to Judaism.

Many hearts were torn, but all acted out of a love greater than themselves. In all of this, without full understanding, all of these people were moved by God. Because God is able!

Today, God wants to move each of us. We need the ability and courage to fulfill His purposes for our lives. Are we hoping in the Lord, waiting on the Lord, and expecting from the Lord according to His will? Does the wisdom we gain from the Bible bear fruit? My dear ones, take courage and hope in the Lord!

Breaking News: My Days are Numbered!

“So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Ps. 90:12

In the recent years, great attention has been drawn to the idea of numbering our days. Pastor Kerry Shook authored a devotional called, “One Month to Live” and country singer Tim McGraw crooned, “Live Like You Were Dying.”

Remember this song from Tim McGraw?

"I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
"I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."

In Pastor Kerry Shook's book, he tries to urgently persuade you to embrace the life God has entrusted to you that you do not live out a mediocre Christian life. We should not be indifferent to the things of God except at church. Each day we should be dwelling on the purposes God has for our lives. Live for today.

This is a biblical concept. Meditate on Joshua 24:15. TODAY, you are to choose whom you will serve. In the Hebrew and the Greek this is poignant. Today is always TODAY. Not yesterday, nor tomorrow. It is the same as reading, “This very day, each day, choose whom you will serve!” I like choose as well. It means to take for oneself, to have preference, to elect. Every single day of your life, through the choices you make with your time, you reveal whom you chose to serve today.

In Ephesians 5:16, we study about redeeming time, or making wise use of time, because the days are full of labors, annoyances, and hardships and also translated as evil. Again, I love the depth of this statement. To redeem means to pay a price (with your money, time, talents, efforts, etc) to recover from the power of another! To make wise and sacred use of every opportunity! This truly sounds like the Lord gives us the occasion to employ our time judiciously to rescue others or ourselves from the power of the Devil or any distraction apart from God.

Today, I went through my own struggle. I had trouble focusing on this article and found myself wasting time on Facebook, instead of accomplishing that which the Lord has set before me. It is called procrastination. Putting off what I should be doing “in this instant” for His glory.

Dear God, please help me to number my days wisely, so that I may have Your heart of wisdom! How do you want me to spend this day?

In the Twilight of Forever

“He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.” Ec. 3:11

My daughters and their friends find great entertainment in the book/movie series Twilight. Why? Because it is so romantic and exciting. In the series there is Edward, the “good” vampire who pursues Bella, a beautiful human girl. A profound connection develops and a love than transcends time. Edward recognizes the “ugly” side of being a vampire and has no intention of ruining Bella by biting her. Bella however, desires more than anything, to have an eternal love with Edward, even if it means giving up her life.

Ah-ha, the identical desire residing in the heart of all men. Eternity. The desire to live forever. Some will disagree, but I am of the opinion that all humans have a spiritual void motivating them to fill it. They all thirst for immortality. Not only that, but to be loved unconditionally, in spite of their character flaws. Desperately, they live out their impulses, in delusion that temporary pleasure will bring satisfaction.

Herein, is the danger to our daughters. In youth they believe a particular guy is going to fulfill that yearning they encounter within to be loved perpetually. They bait the existence of Mr. Right.

Through him, they will live on together for all of eternity in love. Repeatedly I dispel this myth. Only to find my daughter, Monique, struggling. On one hand she discerns she is too young to have a “coupled” relationship, but on the other hand she continues the hunt. With a prescription of truth in a daily dose, I try to immunize her.

Because our world is drenched in pain, I am unapologetic for my bluntness with my daughters once they hit teenage years. I disclose hard facts to them, such as “women use sex to get love,” while “men use love to get sex.” Realistically, this only tends to work for one of those two in this quest. Rarely will sex get love, but love will often get sex.

How many young women are walking wounds of betrayal? They feel devalued as a person when love was their goal. In their mission for enduring love they found what stings like infinite pain and emptiness. Even more so, we have many people that have been sexually molested and/or corrupted by insidious individuals. Cutting, suicide, affairs (either emotional or sexual), and divorce become deceitful solutions.

I surmise the divorce rate is high on the part of women, because they married their husband expecting he would complete them with his immutable love. As the blinders fall away and the emptiness became more evident, they concluded they made a mistake. Mr. Right is still waiting to be found!

The truth is out there!

However, that truth is no human is capable of making her whole. Until she discovers that Jesus Christ is her true Husband and the only Mr. Right that loves her with an everlasting love, she will continue chasing fantasies to fill-up that empty space.

As parents, it is so important that we internalized this truth and venture to discuss these movies and books with our children. Do we allow our precious ones to entertain a fantasy while embedding it within as a reality? Have we been faithful to awaken our children with the veracity of why those things entice and stir a desire within? Are we unwavering in leading our children to the only One who can fill those voids and make them whole?

Today, take the time to pray for protection of your children's hearts and minds. Make certain your children comprehend why they desire eternity and abiding love. Clarify to them who alone can provide and where they can find Him. Walk the walk with them, be their living example. Bring them to the feet of Jesus, that they may know the depth of His love and have a promise of eternity with Him set in their hearts!

Choosing Favorites From a Different Perspective

“I'm Luke Skywalker!”

“No, I am Luke Skywalker!”

“No, you can be Darth Vader!”

“NOOOO! I want to be Luke Skywalker! You can be Darth Vader or Han Solo!!!”

“Okay, I will be Luke Skywalker and you can be Han Solo!”

Sound familiar? Children arguing over which hero they will portray in their pretense of saving the galaxy from evil!

Not in my house! Not since Levi, my non-verbal son with autism, became verbal. The quarrel has changed and brought about a new dimension of strife.

Levi, instead chooses the bad guy or underdog, as the role he desires to play.

Scary?

Not really!

Interesting?

Oh yeah!

Levi, dwells on the redeeming quality that we failed to see in that character and applies it as proof that they become commendable under his prodding. He perceives them as the character most likely to need a fan club to venture into something better. He is determined with the right input they will see the light and repent of their dastardly ways.

Honestly, what kid watches Sponge Bob and wants to pretend he is Plankton? Not just any Plankton, but a good version of Plankton? What child who loves In N Out Burger's Krabby Patties (as they are known in our household), would sacrifice to eat Plankton's chum believing Plankton would realize his value in that fellowship and come to work under Mr. Krab as a faithful and loyal worker? Is this a missionary in the making?

Herein is the strife: Levi's siblings don't conceive the villain they love to hate can be good. They want to proclaim victory over the bad guy, not rehabilitate him. They want to be heroes. Conquerors! Good triumphs over evil!

Levi's version of good triumphing over evil is not to conquer the person, but to redeem them so that only the evil inside of them is conquered, but the good is allowed to thrive.

My son's autism inspires his perspective to be quite contrary from ours. I am in the midst of learning to “hear” him. To ponder his words, because God often speaks to me through him.

I steer Levi in another direction, only when it is truly needed. God created him with autism for a purpose to serve. Sometimes his concepts unhinge me, as I don't want him to be injured or deceived by the wicked. Then I realize, it is time to hit my knees and entrust Levi to the God who designed him and open my ears and mind to what God is speaking!

I wonder how often I get so caught up in what is repulsive about a person that I miss out on the sign that they are ready to be harvested? I speculate how many times I have desired to abolish a person for their mouth that actually needed my arm to come around them and speak loving truth into their life? Did I forget the wretch I once was before the Lord redeemed me? Am I missing out on opportunity because my mind is caught up in good vs evil to the point that I forgot to love my enemy (or the gal who just slammed her shopping cart into mine and grabbed the last box of cereal I was reaching for first)? To pray for those who persecute me (or cut me off while driving)? Have I forgotten that God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (or my neighbor who let his dog loose to poop in my yard again)? Am I seeking to be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect? (Matt. 5:43-47)

When God Speaks

Have you experienced a place or time where/when you tend to hear from God? If so, I bet you seek out those junctures.

Before kids, I found that hiking in the mountains alone blessed me with coming face to face with Him. Since having my brood, it has been a challenge!

To shed some light on my prayer closet, let me illuminate the background. My house is unlike the library, nobody values silence. My husband appears to be going deaf according to the volume of our TV and his stereo. My last three children were born with higher decibel voices than those of their previous siblings.

When I try to stow away to the bathtub for peace what I receive is the agitation of quarreling children on the other side of the wall. During my expeditions to our restroom, I see little hands poking through the bottom space of our door. In my bedroom, I hear constant knocking followed by, "Mom, can I...?" God knows as much as I crave to hear Him, I just cannot in our house very often. By the time our house is quiet, I fall asleep.

I started getting up earlier, but my husband caught on and thought it meant I want to be harassed by him in the morning or sit and listen to him. I tried to explain my intentions, but to no avail.

Shhh! I have uncovered a secluded zone.

Rarely, I have escaped the madness to drive my minivan all by myself! During those times, I in fact discover God. I spend it wisely, praying to and worshiping God. Eventually, He speaks to me, often in the midst of a worship song. I am encouraged and built up in those intervals.

Recently, frequent doctor appointments have been scheduled. They are my sweet blessings in disguise. I meet with God going to and fro! Driving home yesterday I heard a song that truly ministered to me concerning the inner struggle of yearning to live for God in some moments, but choosing "self" in other moments. May I live unto GOD with every breath!

I’ve been living out of sanity
I’ve been splitting hairs and blurring lines
I am a house that is divided
In my heart and in my mind

I use one hand to pull you closer
The other to push you away
If I had two hands doing the same thing
Lifted high, lifted high

I have a broken disposition
I’m a liar who thirsts for the truth
And while I ache for faith to hold me
I need to feel the scars and see the proof

And if we just keep digging we can reach the foundation
Of our souls
And if we just keep cutting all the chains from our hearts
We’ll lose control

And it feels like giving in
It feels like starting over
It feels like waking up, and you know it’s coming
It feels like a brand new day
Open your eyes