“…love in deed and truth.”

I read this book a few weeks ago, and I just have to say that I found it so unlike any book that I’ve ever read about women before.  It challenged some of my own ideas about what it means to be a woman and I found the following passage to be so refreshing from what one normally reads/hears…

“The majority of scholars would say that Woman was made for Man.  And
in a way she was.  She was his help, or ezer in Hebrew.  Ezer reminds
me of a certain Ebenezer Scrooge–a grouchy man who eventually grew
into his name and became one who helped.  I wonder though, is the name
ezer big enough for women?  Could the women in Sex and the City fit
into it? What about Jessica Simpson?  How about Hillary Clinton or
Margaret Thatcher?  Is it too narrow for them?  What about Charlie’s
Angels?  Can they squeeze into it?  What about today’s working woman?
Is ezer too small for her?  Is the name ezer something we understand,
something we want to live with, something we eagerly claim?

If ezer is limiting, then God has limited us.  If ezer is not
limiting, then God has called us to an open, free, deep, and wide
place.

The creation story in Genesis is not the only time Scripture uses
ezer; it pops up several times.  If we looked at these uses of ezer,
our understanding of Eve–and of all women–may be enlarged, enhanced,
and enlightened.  We might see that God calls himself an ezer.

Ezer means deliverer, as in “The God of my father was my ezer, and
delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

Ezer means warrior: “Hear, O LORD, the voice of Judah, And bring him
to his people.  With his hands he contended for them, And may You be
an ezer against his adversaries.”

Ezer means protection: “Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you a
people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your ezer And the sword
of your majesty!  So your enemies shall cringe before you,  And you
will tread upon their high places.

Ezer means support: “May He send you ezer from the sanctuary and
support you from Zion.”

Ezer delivers the afflicted and needy: “But I am afflicted and needy;
Hasten to me, O God! Thou are my ezer and my deliverer, O LORD, do not
delay.”

Ezer means a shield: “You who fear the LORD, trust in the Lord; He is
their ezer and their shield.”

Ezer is capable, vibrant help better than strong mountains: “I will
lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my ezer come?  My
ezer comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”

Ezer gives hope: “How blessed is he whose ezer is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God.”

So although in Genesis 2, ezer is often translated “helper” or
“helpmeet,” it’s meaning includes far more.  Woman is Man’s ezer–she
is a delivering, warring, supporting, shielding, capable, and vibrant
female image bearer of God.  What about putting those words in our
BIble’s margin to refresh our understanding of helper?”

~Jonalyn Fincher, Ruby Slippers, Pp. 65-66