Is The Bible Good For Women?דוגמה

God called the first woman a helper (ezer), which may initially sound trite and subservient. But note that God Himself is called our helper (ezer) throughout the Old Testament, and His example most certainly is neither trite nor subservient. To understand what God means when He uses the term helper, look at the women that God affirms in Scripture.

While the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is a generic example, the Bible uses the same phrase, ’ishshah chayil, in Ruth 3:11 for another woman affirmed in Scripture who lived as a strong helper in tangible ways for God’s larger purposes.

Scripture fleshes out what it means to be a strong help in the image of God with a real-life example: Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David. In fact, in the Hebrew Bible, the book of Ruth immediately follows Proverbs 31, emphasizing her life as a concrete example of that chapter’s woman of noble character.

Throughout her story, Ruth worked hard to provide for herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi, when their safety nets fell apart. Boaz, a close relative to Ruth’s dead husband, recognized her strength and character, and Naomi told Ruth to pursue him as a husband. Though not fully understanding God’s larger purposes for her life, Ruth yielded to the path He had for her nonetheless.

In her faithfulness to Naomi, Ruth took a chance, unsure of the outcome. She risked by moving from her homeland to a country and people she did not know. She risked by putting herself in a vulnerable place to be possibly rejected by Boaz. She listened to Naomi and put her reputation on the line to aid her.

Though Proverbs 31 emphasizes valor demonstrated in marriage and motherhood, Boaz recognized Ruth as valiant when she was a barren widow with no prospects of family for the future. Though strong help in the image of God often finds its manifestation in the womanly roles of wife and mother, it clearly transcends those roles.

If we look at the first woman of Genesis 2, the two specific examples of women of valor from Proverbs 31 and Ruth, and the many vignettes of women strongly helping in God’s larger purposes throughout Scripture, an inspiring image emerges. But it is just that—an image. It’s a rippling reflection of something big and beautiful, something noble and eternal.

The reflections are sometimes hard to pin down, but they point to One who is real. They point to God Himself, the best of their actions reflecting something wonderful of Him. God Himself is the North Star for the Bible’s vision of women.