A Woman's Place

"Women in Israel have been partners in defending Israel. Those in Israel who think a woman’s place is only in the home, they don’t get it. In Israel, women defend our homes. As I said last year at a ceremony in which we had air force cadets finishing their pilot school training, and there were five female pilots there that earned their wings. I said there that in Israel, women not only sit in the fighter pilot’s seat, they’ll sit anywhere they want. Shabbat Shalom to all from Jerusalem." ~Benjamin Netanyahu, Oct.19, 2012

The quote from Benjamin Netanyahu reminds me of a book I read a few weeks ago, 'When Life and Beliefs Collide' by Carolyn Custis James. She shows, using the definition of the original Hebrew word ezer, translated as 'help-meet' in Genesis, means a lot more than a woman put in a position to 'benefit' the man. The word ezer in other places in scripture is used to describe God himself when fighting for Israel and her people. So, ezer not only describes the 'helper' as in 'help-meet', it also describes the warrior, which is God fighting on the side that chooses Him.

Examples of these scriptures are Psalms 33:20, 70:5, 115:9-11,121:1-2, 124:8. Who better to understand the ezer of God than David, who sought God continually while he was on the run from Saul? Hosea 13:9,  Deut. 33:26 and 29 speak about God being the 'help' to His people. My favorite, Deut. 33:7, says this: And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be you an help to him from his enemies.

If the same word is used to describe help from God and the help to Adam~and therefore all men~then how high is the expectation of women in God's eyes? He wants us [women] to be in a position to help Him, and others, in a capacity that only He can give. Examples in scripture are Deborah, Abigail, and Esther, to name a few. The women were all faced with issues that dealt with not only their own personal future, but the future of Israel, as a land and as a people. The Bible is full of women who rose to the challenge, went against tradition, ceremony, and concepts acceptable to everyone else, and chose to do what God asked of them. Not because they were female, but because they were obedient.

About a month ago, a clear message was given to my husband and I. The message was that we make it publicly known that we stand with Israel. I am not an Israeli soldier, as are the women pictured at the top of the page, but I fight in God's army just the same. Times are changing~finally~so that women can answer the call given to them, whether in the literal army, or the spiritual army.

A woman's place is to be an ezer, a helper, in the way that God created her to be in the beginning. In His image, fighting His battles, along side the man. We women must step into the role created for us, because there is no one else to fill it.