HELPERS OR HELOTS?

Eve was created, if we want to be brutally honest, only because Adam needed a helper. Such a painful dagger to any woman’s ego…😪 to think that our entire existence came about as though we were an afterthought, only because God thought that a man needed help.

Sounds accurate per Genesis 2, doesn’t it? But I think if we asked the right questions, the idea of being created as a helper would come with a sense of glory rather than one of offence. Consider this:

Adam lived in a utopia. He was already succeeding at his key role – having dominion. He had named all the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moved on earth. In this perfect world, having all abundance and all dominion, Adam still needed help😬😐 – not more space in the garden, not more types of plants or animals. Nothing that already existed in this world was good enough to put Adam in a place that God could call good, like He had called everything else He had created. 

In other words, the concept of man’s existence could never have been good or satisfactory or complete without the woman! 😊😊

Here’s how Jackie Hill Perry puts it: “God called Eve to a glorious duty, a duty He played Himself. He called Eve to image Himself.”

How does that even make sense? Let me blow your mind: 😁🤫

God Himself Is a Helper! His creation of Eve was a creation of an institution meant to do and be to man what He Himself would have done and been to him!

Guess who else has the identity of a Helper in scripture? God!

John captures Jesus’ journey to death in such an emotional way. From chapter 13, Jesus begins to tell the disciples about His impending death, how one of his friends was going to betray Him, and about how Peter was going to deny Him. In the midst of the bad news, He presents to them a piece of good news that He expects to make them feel better: that He was going to send them another helper who would be with them always! I noticed that very often, Jesus’ use of the word ‘another’ in this verse is overlooked. But if you took your time to understand what Jesus was saying, it meant that at the time Jesus was speaking, the disciples already had a helper! Now Jesus says He must go, but He would send another personality to help them – The Holy Spirit. What am I saying? That:

Jesus was a Helper! Like the woman! 🤭

Moving on… Jesus sees that His disciples are saddened by the news about His departure. Here’s what He tells them: ‘Because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart [aww 😟] But, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.’

It pleased the Lord, and it pleased the Holy Ghost to be of no use to humans, other than to be a helper!

And Jesus seemed to think that having a person solely known to the disciples as a Helper was to their own advantage, and was more important than what they thought they needed in that moment, which was to be with Jesus on earth forever! This warms my heart so much as a woman!

God the Father – the I am that I am, the Creator of the Universe, the One to whom the angels and all the weird creatures in heaven bow and worship, the One to whom the world and all they that dwell in it belongs – prides Himself in being a Helper. When God talks about this peculiar nature of His, it is with a sense of pride – that He is a helper to mankind. In the Old Testament, the original Hebrew word that translates to helper is used 21 times. Here’s the shocker: 15 of those times were not in reference to slaves; they were in reference to God. The Holy Spirit, in inspiring the writers of the scriptures constantly reminded mankind of who their helper was, as though this was the one thing a man could boast in. A few examples:

Deuteronomy 33:29 – “How blessed you are, O Israel! Who else is like you, a people whose helper is the Lord?”

Psalm 146:5 – “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”

Isaiah 41:10 – “…Let nothing terrify you. I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes! I am your helper!…”

Deuteronomy 33:29 – “There is no one like the God of Israel who rides the heavens to help you…”

Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

Hosea 13:9 [ISV] – “You have destroyed yourself, Israel, though I remain your help.”

Here’s what I’m saying:

The position of Helper is one of glory, though shrouded in service!

In actual fact, it is only a person in a better position who can assist another. That you had to be created to help a man is proof that you stand in a position he may never be privileged to stand in [shhh🤫 don’t tell the men! 😁🤣]

The world has equated the role of a helper to one of inferiority, to giving up our every life’s goal in order to assist a man to chase after all that he desires, sometimes even when it leads away from God. Maybe it’s because we have reduced help to washing clothes, cooking meals and cleaning the house, essentially to a modern-day helot🤷‍♀️. But I submit to you –

If a man is pursuing God, and living for Him, then your submission, dear wife, or to be clearer, your sub [meaning under] –mission [i.e. assignment] will not have to be churned from sweat and a frowned face because your path will be in line with His, and the two will feel better than one, because you both live to labour for the Lord.

If you paid a little attention to how preciously Jesus talked about the role of The Helper, dear husband, or how delicately the Father handled the idea of help in the scriptures, you would realize that your idea that your wife is inferior to you and exists for your sole pleasure is one of folly. A woman is an entire institution. She was set up by God to reflect his nature of help, not to one person for his selfish purposes, but to aid him fulfill purpose – i.e. to bring the world back to Himself. 

You’re not an afterthought. You’re not a helot. Neither are you a back-up plan. God preserved this quality of Himself specifically for you, boo. It’s a glorious call. Enjoy it! 😉😉

★  RAD ★