Genesis 2:18 (NIV84)
18The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Exodus 18:4 (NIV84)
4and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
Psalm 121:1–2 (NIV84)
1I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? 2My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
The word ‘helper’ falls rather flat on the modern ear. It conjures images of a subordinate, an assistant, someone of lesser rank who performs menial tasks for a more important figure. When we hear God declare He will make a “helper” for Adam, we are tempted to read millennia of cultural baggage into the text and assume that the woman was created as a kind of divine afterthought, a supporting character in the man’s story. But to do so is to miss one of the most revolutionary statements in all of Scripture.
The Hebrew word used here is ezer. If we are to understand its weight, we must look not down at the hierarchies of our fallen world, but up at the character of God Himself. For the vast majority of times ezer appears in the Old Testament, the one doing the helping is God. He is the ezer of Israel, the one who comes in power to do for His people what they cannot do for themselves. It is a word of strength, not subservience. A helper, in this biblical sense, is not an apprentice but a powerful ally who provides what is critically lacking in the other. A parent helping a child with arithmetic is not the weaker one in the equation; they bring a strength the child does not possess.
This redefines everything. The woman was not made because the man was lonely and needed a companion, but because he was incomplete and needed a strength that he lacked. The sexes are not interchangeable, each a faint copy of the other. They are, by divine design, deeply complementary. Each possesses a strength the other needs, and to be a ‘helper’ is not to be an inferior, but to be an indispensable and powerful partner in the human project.
Reflect, Share & Prayer: In your key relationships (friendships, family, marriage), how can you shift your perspective from seeing ‘help’ as mere assistance to seeing it as the profound act of bringing your unique, God-given strengths to complement and empower another person? Thank God for the strengthening help that you have received from others.
In my friendships or partnerships I would change my perspective from thinking asking for help is a sign of weakness to a sign of strength and curiosity. We all have our own perspective and people have their own perception. What we know doesn’t mean others know vice verse. So when looking at the word today, God created helpers for us but not the same meaning as in society as how they look down on assistants. People are made by God with special qualities to help one another. He empowers us to help someone else and we may not even know it.
I pray to God thanking him for all the People he has placed in my life to build me up to be the person I am today. Great things have happened to me and sad things have happened but everything has a lesson and thank for building me.
“God is doing for me what I can not do for myself” I have been through a lot of ups & down in my life. I’m truly grateful for the experiences & God has put his people in my life that has become my people & family, even when I did not know & needed it most. God has always worked in mysterious ways and always working in my life. By doing so I have learned to be who the person I have become today. To be of service when I am asked or when I see that’s needed. To be understanding, forgiving, and compassionate by putting myself in their shoes without any judgment. Today I got approved for orientation to go into Orange County Women’s Jail to share my story! Praise God. That is what God has shown me, LOVE.
Heavenly father, Lord, I am just so grateful for my RP family. Thank you for blessing me with such amazing friends that I now call Family ❤️. I know in my heart that I can always rely on them and that I am never alone as you have shown me your grace and mercy through them. Blessing me with such amazing people. And Lord, I thank you for blessing me with an amazing sister and loving boys who always look out for me and love me unconditionally. Most importantly, thank you for allowing my little sister and my boys to experience your love for them. I pray one day my parents will be able to experience your mercy and grace as well. Lord, I also pray that you draw JB closer to you, Lord may you show him signs and put the right people in his life so he too, may experience your goodness and a new way of life. I pray that you continue to guide me so that I may spread your goodness to those around me and may you use me so that those that don’t know you will get to know your love. Lord, thank you for the sisters I have in this group chat maybe continue to get vulnerable and open up to each other to know and to get closer to one another. God I pray for a smooth orientation process to have the courage to share your good news to women who are incarcerated to bring them hope. In Jesus name I pray amen.
In my relationship with my mom, my girlfriend, and female friends, this has to be one of the most misunderstood word within the Bible. For the longest time I struggled with this verse as I wasn’t able to reconcile how can the Bible describe my mom in such derogatory terms, not only that, how can He describe my dear friends as simply a side character. Especially now that I am in a relationship, I find that understanding how my partner brings in gifts, talents, simply a biological difference to my life is inherently valuable and the Lord cares a lot about how I care for her, and for other women in my life.
Once again, I’d have to say that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous has played a significant role in helping me to come to have this perspective on the concept of “helping” someone else through practical application. Within the program, what has come to be called “sponsorship” is really just one alcoholic “helping” another alcoholic by using one’s qualifying experiences and unique, God-given gifts to complement and empower another person. In this way, we learn to “help” one another, branching out beyond the program itself into the world around us, and invariably touching every relational aspect of our lives.
Father, thank You for the people You’ve placed in my path over the years who have come alongside and helped me to flourish and thrive as Your child. I never used to get it when people would say that I was helping them more than they were helping me. I thought that was just something nice to say😏 But today, I know what that means, and am so grateful for those who have helped me as well as those You’ve allowed me to help! Each of us has been uniquely qualified to be of service to others in specific ways, and I pray that we would continually seek to do for others that which has been so freely done for us. Amen.
From Thao
When I think about the word helper, I’m reminded of the relationship between Donna and Harvey in the drama series Suits. Even though Harvey has the degree and the skills to win cases, Donna anticipates his needs and provides support that empowers him to do his work even more effectively. When she quits, Harvey realizes how much he relies on her because nothing runs smoothly without her. In my relationship with Duy, I see a similar dynamic. I tend to do the research, present my findings, and help him stay organized—he even jokes that I’m his personal secretary. He knows he can rely on my organizational strengths, while I rely on him to handle finances, taxes, business, and medical matters. Seeing “help” this way reminds me that it’s not just about providing assistance, but about bringing our God-given strengths to complement and empower one another. I thank God for this kind of partnership and the ways He allows us to strengthen each other.
Yeah, it certainly instances you truly are helping someone. But for the bigger picture, I have always viewed the idea of each person doing something to assist one another. The saying, team work makes the dream work. I live by that when I try to help or when someone’s helping me. I like that because there’s a sense of connection. Hey we’re here to help one another, making it more efficient, making each other better. Better doesn’t have to grand neither. It could be in the simplistic things, like helping at church to help us all clean up faster. That way we leave earlier or have time to hangout with each other more. We have this saying in my job, when a bunch of us show up to a call, each of us are to , “look for work.” This way we can help each other make the service better or more efficient.
God, I thank you for all the people you’ve put around me to have helped or assisted in someway. Together they’ve all genuinely helped me form the perspective you’ve given me, get the position I am in, be who I am. I pray to help and continue to receive help so that we can all grow
-lucky
I’ve always understood the word “suitable helper” and never saw it as something to complain about. After reading so many books on biblical womanhood, I’ve come to embrace its true meaning. People who live in my house often say that I take care of everything from A to Z, while Bumble just rides along. But the truth is, he carries many responsibilities for ministry, so whatever I can do to support him, I will.
It’s not just a cultural expectation that women handle household matters while men work outside. Scripture points to the beauty and purpose of this design. Proverbs 31:23 says, “Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land,” and verse 27 adds, “She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” These verses remind me of my role, and how by caring for our home, I free my husband to do greater things for the Kingdom.
Sadly, I’ve seen many broken marriages where these roles are reversed or neglected. But when each of us embraces the role God has assigned whether as a wife, husband, or parent and commits to being faithful in it, it saves much heartache.
I also believe with all my heart that children are the first and most important ministry God has entrusted to parents. That means being hands-on, spending time with them, teaching them, and walking beside them. If we neglect this ministry at home while chasing after other things, we are missing what God has clearly called us to do. This conviction shapes the way I raise Timmy. And for him right now, I encourage him to be faithful and diligent in the role God has given him in this season—as a student—to study well and do his best for the Lord.
I thank God for bringing many people in the wider Christian community to help me learn my role early on in my marriage. Through books, teachings, and the examples of others, I’ve been able to grow and understand how to walk in the role He has given me.
I’ve never thought the word helper can be so meaningful and profound. Hebrew word ezer indicates helper is irreplaceable. In my friendships and marriage relationship, I thought if there was help offered by others, it would be more wonderful. I should have appreciated the help from anybody. Help from God and godly people is not optional, which I should never ignore or look down. Divine help is powerful and necessary for my spiritual growth. The helper offering help is going to lead me instead of assisting me. I can tell how humble God is even when He’s been shepherding Isrealites with ezer. Thank you God for humbling my mind as you teach me about your help.