The Beauty and Blessing That is Woman: The Beginning

**This is a blog series that I'm writing in tandem with a good friend, Ronel Sidney.  I really think that the Lord gave us this purpose, to come together and write something to build and bless and share His knowledge and wisdom.  I want to pray through and bless you with as much of God's word as I can.**

With that said, my start will be...at the beginning.  Or at least within a couple days of the beginning.

Genesis 2:18-23 (ESV) The verses will be in blue, and my commentary will be in black. Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Read what it says.  It says that God saw man's need for a "helper fit for him."  It doesn't say a servant that was inferior to him.  It doesn't say a slave who would do everything he said.  It says a "helper fit for him."  It's clearly pointing out that man needed someone to walk with him, to help him in life, and to love him.  Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. Here we see some of the work the man had done before Eve was made.  He was naming all of the creatures.  Also, it's pointing out that everything, including man, was made "from the earth."  But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.  Despite all his work, and looking, Adam could not find a "helper fit for him."  He could not find the companionship or help that his soul needed.  He could not find the help and love that the Lord knew he required.  So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Really, God anesthetized Adam, took a rib out, and made Eve.  It was from man, that God made woman.  It seems only fitting that one of Adam's ribs was used.  I'm sure some of us have heard some of the reasons God used a rib:

1. God did not use a piece of his skull so that woman would not believe herself to be above her man
2. God did not use one of his toes so that man would not believe himself above his woman
3. God used a rib because it was on Adams side, where Eve was to walk with him...right next to him
4. God used a rib because Adam was meant to keep Eve safe, under his arms
5. God used a rib because it was near to Adam's heart

These are wonderful reasons our God did things the way He did.  The deliberate and intentional love contained in just creation itself reveals a lot about the relationship between man and woman.  Man and woman are to work together, walk together, love each other, and be one flesh.  How can the right hand do good work without the left hand?  Can the right hand hate the left hand?  No.  And as such, man and woman are to work together, under the Lord, for His glory.

With that said, while we walk together, our jobs and callings will be different.  God, in His sovereignty, has seen fit to hold man ultimately accountable for his family and their spiritual shepherding.  This does not mean that the woman plays no part, but simply that God will hold the man ultimately accountable in the end.

Look at what happened in Genesis 3.  Woman is deceived into eating from the forbidden tree.  And the Bible says that she just turned around and gave some to Adam and he ate.  And they saw they were naked, and sewed fig leaves together.  Then they heard God walking through the Garden in the cool of the day.  Imagine how ashamed and afraid of their loving Creator they had to be, to hide on such a perfect and wonderful day.  And then God calls out to the man.  They have a discussion.  God brings His discipline and judgement, with a promise of the Messiah.  

But, in the end, He held Adam accountable for what his wife had done.  Adam tried to pass the buck, but God wasn't having it.  God made it clear that Adam should have shepherded and guarded his bride's heart against the serpent.  Regardless of who sinned first, the judgement was heaviest on the man.  God may have multiplied Eve's pain in childbirth, but God cursed the earth because of Adam.  God said in Genesis 3:17-19"...cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  

No matter how man and woman were called to walk together, man was held in judgement for his wife's actions and his lack of action.  This is how God said it is to be.  Some people, men and women, might take issue with this.  They might call God "unfair" or "unjust."  Who are we to say that our almighty God is unfair and unjust in how He has planned out for things to be?  We are to live according to His purpose and rest in His sovereignty.  Does this mean that God does not make exceptions? No.  He absolutely has.  But His plan and intention has never changed.

In part 2, I will address some of those women that God chose and the Proverbs 31 woman.  I pray that this has been a good beginning to us finding ourselves not in what we believe is our identity and our sense of justice, but in God's grace, power, and love.

Where is God?

For a long time now, I've had this brewing, and with yesterday's tragedy, it just brought it all to a head, in my head.  Please please please read it all the way through.  If it doesn't seem to make sense, and you get angry, just read it all the way through so you can REALLY hate me.  But know that God loves you regardless.

• 5 million children a year die from hunger and malnutrition, around the world
• Hundreds of thousands of women, children and men are raped every year
• Women, children and men are sold in to sexual slavery around the world to be exploited till they are either too old, sick with disease, or dead
• Men, women, and children are killed and their organs harvested and sold on the black market
• Over 12 million babies have been aborted since the turn of the century
• There was a murder every 36 minutes, in 2011, in the United states
• Of those murders, 8,552 were committed with a gun of some kind
• Of THOSE murders, 1,220 were committed in the state of California
• A large majority of the world lives at or beneath the poverty line (Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day)

I could run off a list of facts that would just continue to enrage or depress you, or both.  The point is, we live in a world that is overflowing with injustice, depravity, death, greed, and pollution.  Some still cry out, "Where is God?"  God has not left.  God is still sitting, waiting to be called on by His creations which He loves and seeks to redeem.  

"But if He is God, why does He allow such evil to happen?  Why would he allow His creation to suffer so much?  Why would He ALLOW children to die of hunger, rape, murder, and all the other evil things that happen every second of every day around the world?"  So many people use these questions to get angry with God.  So many people are blind to the simple truth.

God has ever been present in our lives and world, and is but a heartbeat away from producing a life-altering change within us that would transform our lives, our families, our communities, our cities, and inevitably, the world.  Change does start with one person, Christ.  Only He can change our hearts and fill them with a wonderful love for our neighbors and neighborhood.  And a neighborhood is the basis of community.  To live in community, through Christ, would radically change many things.  

1.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5   The darkness could not hide if we were bound in community through Christ.  What does this mean?  It means that truly perverse people with dark hard hearts would flee from the people of God to seek a safer place to do their evil deeds.  They would not be able to abide in the truth and light of God and His people.  

2.  Also, there would not be one person in the community that did not feel loved.  There are literally dozens of verses in the Bible that speak of the community of God loving one another.  With this, no one would feel depressed or alone or abandoned.  God's love brings us into community and His community is filled with love.

But, without realizing that we are poor, needy, destitute sinners that can offer God nothing but our surrender to His love, we can only stand in our pride, which is nothing but filthy rags when compared to a mighty and everlasting God.  Think about this, say you're wrong about God existing and when you die you stand before Him and say, "Well, I was a good person."  He will say to you " 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!' Luke 13:27."  You can bring God NOTHING.  But even so, He still wants to bless you and me, sinners, with more than we could ever imagine.  

God wants you and me to see how much we need Him.  He wants us to turn away from our evil deeds, from our selfish ways, and to turn to Him and say, "Lord, here I am, create in me a clean heart."  He wants us to see how much change He can do in us and through us for our family, our neighbors, our city and the world to see.

Don't get angry because God doesn't step in and stamp out evil with one breath.  He most certainly could, but He doesn't.  Why?  Because He is filled with mercy and His heart breaks that everyone would know Him as Father.  Don't look to Washington, DC to solve our problems, because they are only corrupt men and women, just like us.  The change must start with us.  The change must come from Christ.

Now, you might think these the ramblings of a crazy person.  I'm ok with that.  Just know that I'm not talking about starting up our own "Christian City" where we're all safe from evil and we don't let anyone not with us in.  No, quite the contrary, I'm saying that we need to put our lives for Christ on display, right where they are, in our neighborhoods, jobs, and cities, for the world to see and feel God's love and know Him in spirit and in truth.

God has not left you friend.  He is knocking at the door of your heart.