Happy International Women’s Day! My blog post today is dedicated to all the wonderful women who bless our lives, and to the God who made us as women.

Recently I was reading the book of Genesis, and it struck me that according to God’s initial design, men and women were supposed to rule together. It wasn’t a case of one ruling over the other. Genesis 1:27-28 states “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”” God did not say man should rule woman and the animals, no. The command to govern and reign was given to “them”, not “him”.

It wasn’t until the fall in Genesis 3, that as part of the curse, God told the woman “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (v.16). As such, Genesis 3:16 is actually a curse not a command.

Remember that God created woman as an ‘Ezer’*. That is a very powerful word, because most of the time, when ‘Ezer’ appears in the Old Testament, it refers to God Himself. Can you imagine how powerful God created woman to be? In Psalm 20:2, Ezer refers to God’s help when in distress, help that protects and sustains. Psalm 33:20 refers to help for deliverance from death and famine. In fact, when it is used in 1 Samuel 7:10-12, it actually refers to reinforcement needed during a time of war. This wasn’t a subservient kind of help, we are talking powerful, if-I-don’t-have-this-help-I-might-die type situations here. It is also important to note that this Ezer, Eve, was suitable for Adam. Note that Genesis 2:20 says that none of the animals, the ones he was supposed to have dominion over, were suitable for him. As such, this woman that was suitable for him was not to be in the class of the ones to be ruled over, but the one he was to rule with.

Sadly, so many people view the curse as the standard, when it shouldn’t be. We take action to mitigate the effects of the other curses – pain relief during labour, making work a bit less challenging, mechanised agriculture etc, and yet, when it comes to equality of men and women, people sometimes act like it is anti-Christian to want that and fight for that.

In the New Testament, there is no record at all of Jesus stereotyping or belittling a woman for her sex. If you can imagine the culture at the time, which, if you live in, or have experience of some African or Asian cultures would not be very hard to do, you will realise how different and powerful Jesus’ treatment of women at the time was. I’ve included a few examples below.

The story of the woman with the issue of blood, as recorded in Luke 8. According to Jewish law, she would have been unclean, and could transmit her unclean status to anyone she touched (Leviticus 15:19, 25-27). For context, when someone was unclean, they usually had to announce their presence, and they would be viewed as untouchable. You can therefore imagine that it would be somewhat annoying for someone unclean to touch you and make you unclean. As a modern example, imagine someone who has Covid and is supposed to self-isolate coming close to you and touching you.
Thankfully, we know Jesus saw things differently. ‘Unclean’ people didn’t transmit their uncleanliness to him, instead it was the reverse, He transmitted his cleanness and wholeness to them.
However, not only was she unclean, He was on His way to do something crucial. Jairus, who was a synagogue leader (so quite an important person) had pleaded with Jesus to come to his house and heal his daughter who was dying. So Jesus wasn’t just taking a leisurely stroll, there was a sense of urgency in this situation. Yet, He paused to acknowledge her and bless her. It is worth noting from this (and other examples) that Jesus isn’t exactly the hurrying type. (I am trying to learn this from Him!)

In the village of Nain, He saw a woman crying and wailing after the death of her son. He didn’t belittle her for being over-emotional and dramatic. No. He had compassion on her, and brought her son back to life (Luke 7:11-17).

When a prostitute came to Jesus and washed his feet with her tears, wiped his feet with her hair, and lavished expensive perfume on his head, the disciples were indignant. Jesus simply asked them to leave her alone, choosing to see the beauty of her sacrifice rather than joining the disciples to complain about waste. Jesus didn’t stop there, He made sure that she would become famous for this act. He changed what she was remembered for, from a prostitute to a woman devoted to Jesus, the one who anointed his body for burial. What an honour! (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 7).

Jesus took the time to chat with the Samaritan woman, the one with five husbands, and living with a sixth man who she wasn’t married to, and she ended up as His evangelist in her town (John 4). I love how Jesus did not let people’s past (and even their present) stop Him from relating with them and using them for His glory.

Jesus defended the woman who was caught in the act of adultery instead of joining her accusers, when He would have had every right to do so. Not unusually, the woman was to be punished, but the man was nowhere to be found. Jesus showed her mercy and compassion that would have been unusual for a female caught in adultery in their culture and time. He did not condemn her, but neither did He leave her as a sinner. He was a life-changer.

Women were also the first people at the tomb of Jesus, the first witnesses of the most powerful event in history, the resurrection of Jesus. One of the MANY reasons why I believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection is that women were the first witnesses of the resurrection. To provide some context, women were not viewed as credible witnesses at the time. According to the Antiquities of the Jews 4:219, written by Flavius Josephus, “…But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex.” As such, the word of a woman did not count according to the customs of the time. Surely if you were going to come up with a conspiracy, you would have the sense to at least choose people who would be viewed as credible for your first witnesses? No one in their right mind would chose an unreliable first witness, if their motive was to convince people of an event that happened. The fact that women were the first shows that it happened as it happened, it was not made up! It also highlights how much God values women, that He chose them for this very special event.

And there are many other examples in the Bible that emphasise how Jesus values women. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he states that “there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.” (3:28-29). As women, we should not let our gender stop us from serving God in any way He has called us to, irrespective of what humans think, say or do.

I am so glad that God made me a woman, an Ezer, and that He made me in His image and likeness! I am so blessed that I have a Saviour who does not think I am ‘less than’ in any way, shape or form, a Saviour who will defend me, who has compassion on me, who loves me despite all my flaws, and who won’t leave me as I am, but is continuously working on me to make me more and more like Him. I pray that as women, we will draw our value from how God sees us, rather than how society treats us. For as Ephesians 2:10 says, we are God’s masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus, to do the good things He planned for us long ago. Today, I celebrate the Master and His masterpiece, You!

*The Hebrew word for helper as used in Genesis 2:18 is Ezer.

Image source: Edited version of picture gotten from here