The RAVYN Blog

“Why did God bring the animals to man before making Eve?”

With such a harmless question, you wouldn’t believe how the answer to that question would highlight the sexism and misogyny some men have. 

I saw it for myself, the red flags being waved from every corner, but I chose to ignore it.

Then, I went home late in the night, tears streaming down my face, wondering if something was wrong with me. I’d sat in that church trying to piece together the uneasiness I felt, and I asked God to show me why I felt that way. 

Aware that those feelings could be deep-seated emotional reactions to events that occurred earlier in the week, I sat alone. 

So, why did God bring the animals to Adam before He made Eve? 

If you are anything like the men in my Church, your answer may sound a bit … questionable. 

One young man answered by claiming that Adam’s role was to be in charge of the animals, and this was not a woman’s role. This was wrong, because Genesis 1:27-28 says:

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:27-28 NKJV

Then he continued, saying that a woman was made for the man. Implicitly, he denoted that a woman’s duty was to please/serve the man. 

Perhaps your answer is on the same thread as the pastor’s ideology, who didn’t correct this young man’s position, but rather affirmed it:

God brought the animals to Adam so that Adam could see that they were paired and able to do something Adam couldn’t do without a woman: copulate. Hence, he implied (whether intentionally or not) that Eve’s duty as ‘helper’ was to make children and sexually satisfy a man. 

But … this isn’t what the Bible says. 

Because God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable or comparable to him.”

Before doing so, He brought Adam the animals to see what he would name them. But through the naming process, Adam discovered that he didn’t have a companion that was ‘of his kind’. 

Adam lacked an ally, a teammate, a friend, a companion who could reason with him on his level. He needed someone who understood him, was his strength, his rescuer. He needed a woman. 

He needed an equal and opposite counterpart.

But for Adam, there was not found a helper (ezer) comparable to him.

So, what was Adam looking for?

Ezer: The Woman, The Helper

The word ‘ezer’ is used 21 times in the Old Testament, and 16 of those times it is given to God (YHWH) as a title. It describes who God is to His creation.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (ezer) in trouble. (The feminine form of ezer is used here) Psalm 46:1

Behold, God is my helper (ezer); the Lord is the upholder of my life. Psalm 54:4

The Lord is on my side as my helper (ezer); I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. Psalm 118:7

And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help (ezer), between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” 2 Chronicles 14:11

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Give us help (ezer) from trouble, for the help of man is useless. Psalm 60:11 (the word man is masculine; the word for help is feminine)

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who says to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps (ezer) you.” Isaiah 41:13

“But the Helper (paraklétos), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (The Greek word used as a title for the Holy Spirit). John 14:26

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper (ezer)! Psalm 30:10

Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help (ezer) and our shield. Psalm 33:20

“But when the Helper (paraklētos) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26-27

But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help (ezer) and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay! Psalm 70:5

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper (ezer) fit for him.” Genesis 2:18

What it Means to Be a Helper

The word ‘ezer’ is used:

• 2 times to describe the Edenic woman (Genesis 2:18 & Genesis 2:20)
• 1 time to explain that the Hebrew people would not be considered a help to Egypt (Isaiah 30:5)
• 1 time to explain how the Prince of Jerusalem would be removed and taken to Babylon, and his helpers scattered to the wind (Ezekiel 12:14)
• All other times, “helper” was used as a descriptor of YHWH

Single women ask themselves if they’re wanted or undesirable. And I struggle in a church where these same men who offered so-called ‘theological’ answers to this question subjected me to their belittlement. But I couldn’t see it at the time because in each case I blamed myself. 

So many young women, single and searching, facing the world on their own, leave the church feeling emptier and lonelier than when they got there. This, especially when the couples ‘couple up’, the married stay with their families, and the best friends find their cliques. Among other things, there was rampant disregard for the issue. 

Yet, God, this year, empowered me, saying that a man’s role is to deal with women tenderly, to love women self-sacrificially in their duty as providers and protectors. 

We are single, but what are we searching for? To be followers of the men who mistreat us with their words, diminish our emotions, and reduce us to nothing but childbearers and bedroom pleasers? Or are we the ‘ezer’ that God created us to be? 

The Powerful, Undeniable Helper

Ezer: the power, the aid, the ally, the rescuer, the strength. 

God, the ultimate ‘Ezer’, defines what that term means:

• Rescuer and strength
• Upholder of life
• At our side
• Our teacher
• Filled with mercy
• Our shield
• Our deliverer

All of this is wrapped up in woman. We are created in God’s image as the helper (ezer) of man, the completion of God’s design. For Psalms 60:11 says of God and of man:

Give us help (ezer) from trouble, for the help of man is useless.

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