Rebekah Hargraves is the host of the Home and Hearth Podcast, which, up until recently, has always been mostly an interview-style podcast. Now, however, she is branching out into recording the seventh of her solo podcasts to talk today on the topic of God’s beautiful “ezer” design for women and its implications for our understanding of Biblical womanhood.
What She Chats about in Today’s Episode:
~The full definition of the Hebrew word “ezer” translated as “helper” in Genesis 2:18
~A survey of the OT Scriptures to discover the 21 times this word is used
~The definition of the Hebrew word “azer”, the root word behind “ezer”
~A survey of the OT Scriptures to discover how “azer” is used; its full definition and meaning in the Word; what this all reveals to us about God’s design for women and their God-given roles and responsibilities to come alongside men, partnering with them to subdue and take dominion
~The problem with both the “I am woman, hear me roar” concept as well as the “Women are subordinate to men” concept
~The wrong understanding of the word “helper” or “helpmeet” that we can come to if we follow the culture’s teachings rather than the reality of the Hebrew meaning behind that word
~The warrior-nature of ezers; the way in which this Hebrew word is also used to refer to the mighty men of valor who fought in Israel’s army
~3 characteristics of a Biblical helper:
*Being a helper is a position of great strength and valor (see Joshua 1:14, 10:, 1 Chronicles 5:20, 12:1, 21)
*Being a helper is a position of ministry and edification (1 Kings 14:26, 1 Chronicles 12:18, Job 29:12, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 37:40, Psalm 79:9, Isaiah 41:10)
*The New Testament position of Helper is what actually grows and sustains the church (see the Holy Spirit’s role described in John 14:16, 26; 15:26, 16:7, 1 John 2:1)
~What the context of Genesis 2:18 (i.e. Genesis 1:27-28) reveals to us as to the mission and tasks associated with us being ezer helpers as women
~How the “ezer” role coincides with Paul’s admonition to women to be “managers” and “guardians” of their homes and families
~The Victorian (not Biblical) idea that there are to be separate spheres for the sexes
~God’s ‘ezer’ design for women as a design that all women everywhere can live out, whether they are married or single, childless or running a house full of children, young or old
~And more!
Resources Mentioned
Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth
Previous Solo Podcast Episodes
My Solo Podcast Episode, What is Biblical Womanhood?
My Podcast Episode with Kat Armstrong on God’s Beautiful Design for Men and Women
My Podcast Episode with Lisa Bevere on Cultivating and Celebrating Strong Womanhood
My Podcast Episode Series with Rachel Green Miller on “Beyond Authority and Submission
Quotes to Remember:
“What happens when we do not know the truths of God’s Word as it pertains to womanhood is that we end up with one of two extremes (the ultra-liberal form of feminism and the belief system of patriarchy), both of which are wrong and dangerous.”
“The Bible is smack dab in the middle, not supporting one extreme or the other. Men are not better or more important than women, but neither are women better or more important than men. Men and women are equal image bearers of God both tasked with the mission to be fruitful and multiply, to subdue the earth, and to take dominion.”
“The tasks we perform around the home are by no means unimportant or mundane. They are eternity-shaping tasks. But they do not comprise the sum total of what it means for us as women to be helpers.”
“God repeatedly refers to Himself as being an ‘ezer’ to His people. That automatically shows us that the role is one of strength and importance. It also shows us that the helper is not beneath or less-than the one being helped.”
“Far from being a demeaning role, the Biblical role of helper is set forth as being a strong, protective, guarding, competent, and crucial role.”
“The word ‘ezer’ is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to the aid and assistance given in military situations. This coincides perfectly with Paul’s admonition to women (and to men, as well!) that they guard and manage their homes and families well. The reality is that there is an enemy waging war against our souls, and women are tasked with the mission of partnering with men to fight back with strength, valor, and truth.”
“Without the helper, the object of the help simply would not succeed. We see this in the New Testament when the Holy Spirit fills the role of Helper in the Church. Without the Holy Spirit working in and through us, we have no hope. So to be a helper is to be vastly important and crucial.”
“Genesis 1:27-28 reveals to us what it was that man needed help with, and it wasn’t just someone to complete household tasks. It went beyond that.”
“To understand what the ‘helper’ is designed to do, we have to first understand that it was not just man who was tasked with the mission and calling of subduing and taking dominion - it was woman, too.”
“What is so tragic about Eve being the first one to give into the enemy’s ploys in Genesis 3 was that she was the one tasked with being an ‘ezer’, a guardian of defense and strength, a helper and protector, of that garden. And she let it down.”
“The common caricatures surrounding homemakers are laughable and ridiculous, for to be a true homemaker in the biblical sense of the word, to be a true ‘ezer’, is to be a strong warrior who wears the armor of God and wages war against the attacks of the enemy.”
“We have this wrong modern-day idea that managing your home pertains solely to making meals, cleaning up messes, and doing laundry. But this is not a full-orbed biblical understanding of the word or the role.”
“We have wrongly created a hierarchy between the sexes that God never intended.”
“Regardless of the specific circumstances of your own unique life, you are an ezer, and you can live out that God-given design in your life.”
“Just as woman is man’s helper, so God is the Helper of His people.”
“The idea that women are to be weak and not strong is a lie from the pit of hell designed to keep women from standing up and being the children of God on mission that the Lord designed them to be.”
Where You Can Find Rebekah Online:
Websites - Hargraves Home and Hearth, Spirit-Filled Woman Magazine
Instagram –@rebekahhargraves
Facebook - Hargraves Home and Hearth
Twitter - @hhomeandhearth
Podcast - Home and Hearth Podcast
To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes
Have you been encouraged or inspired by today’s episode? If so, could I ask a little favor? If you could leave the podcast a rating and review in iTunes, that would be amazing! The more ratings and reviews a podcast receives, the more iTunes shows that podcast to other folks searching for shows to listen to, so by leaving me a rating and review, you truly are partnering with me in this podcast ministry to encourage and help as many women as we possibly can. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! Here’s how:
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