Celebrating titles that God gave to all women
This Sunday is a wonderful day to celebrate all the women in our lives who have raised us, loved us, challenged us, and given so much for us. As a daughter and a mother, I can truly say that “mom” is a great title to have!
I have been thinking a lot about some other titles that God has given women—titles that are rich and powerful and full of meaning (much like the title of “mom”), but given to every woman! Not every woman is able to be a mom, or called to be a mom, or even wants to be a mom. But every woman can affirm that God has given her a beautiful identity and an important responsibility that centers on her relationship to God himself. Let’s look at just a few:
IMAGE BEARER
By the end of the very first chapter of the Bible, God has created the earth and the creatures in it. In verse 27-28 it says,
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…'"
God created humankind—both men and women—in his image. In other words, every woman on earth was created to be a reflection of God’s character and likeness. Our identity as women is deeply connected with our Creator. The commands that he gave us as image bearers—to fill the earth and subdue it—indicate that we have an important responsibility that goes with our identity. We are called to fill the earth, not only with babies, but with more image-bearers. That means that women are called to help others know their Creator and to reflect him, too. Could there be a more important calling? As image-bearers, we are also instructed to subdue the earth. This is strong language that expresses the weighty responsibility to look after all of God’s creation and persevere against the Enemy that would like to destroy it. A woman’s identity as image-bearer, along with its two commands to fill and subdue, remind us that we are intimately connected to a powerful and loving God who created us to display his power and love for the sake of his mission. Author Carolyn Custis James writes,
“A million benefits and challenges radiate out from this divine center into our everyday lives. It places us at the center of what God is doing in the world—not as spectators, but as kingdom agents and as leaders with responsibility for what is happening around us.” (from Carolyn Custis James’ helpful book, Half the Church, p. 57).
This title of image-bearer defines our identity in relationship to God and our high calling in his mission. It’s a title worth celebrating!
EZER
While the title of image-bearer defines our identity in relationship with God from the very point of creation, just one chapter later, God gives women a title that further binds them to him in a special way. God calls the first woman ezer in Genesis 2:18:
“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make an ezer kenegdo for him.”
Sadly, ezer kenegdo has often been translated in a way that diminishes the power of this title and its connection to God himself. Ezer is translated in English Bibles as “helper” and kenegdo is translated as “suitable or corresponding to” (or in older translations, “meet,” which explains how we ended up with the unhelpful term, “helpmeet”). This has led some to interpret this title as indicating that woman is the man’s assistant with only secondary roles to his primary roles.
However, it is important to understand how this title is used elsewhere in the Old Testament. Ezer appears twenty-one times in the Old Testament. It is used twice in Genesis for the woman (Genesis 2:18, 20), three times for nations to whom Israel has appealed for military aid (Isaiah 30:5; Ezekiel 12:14; Daniel 11:34), and sixteen times for God as Israel’s helper (Exodus 18:4; Deuteronomy 33:7, 26, 29; Psalms 20:2; 33:20; 70:5; 89:19 [translated “strength” in the NIV]; 115:9, 10, 11; 121:1-2; 124:8; 146:5; Hosea 13:9). Not only is ezer consistently used in military contexts, but it is used most often of God himself. In other words, God named his daughters after himself. Like Father, like daughter. As God is a strong warrior for his people, so he called women to be strong warriors alongside men to fight for God’s glorious kingdom. Men and women support one another, empower one another, and fight alongside one another. Ezer as a helper is not a title to be diminished or downplayed, but a role that is vital in bearing God’s image and living out his kingdom. It’s a title worth celebrating.
HEIR
So we know from the titles of image-bearer and ezer that women have been given an identity and crucial responsibility that are connected to the presence of God himself. From the Scriptures we also know that women who follow Christ have a sure and glorious future. We find this in the title of heir—specifically co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). Hebrews 1:2 tells us that,
“…in these last days, [God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”
Jesus being the heir of all things makes perfect sense—he helped create it, and he came to redeem it. But what right do we have to be heirs with Jesus? In ourselves, we have no right at all. But Titus 3:5-7 tells us,
“…he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
The fact that God declares us children, and then gave us the title heir, should fill our hearts with joy and gratitude. As women in the twenty-first century, that statement might still lack some of the impact that it would have had to first-century women in the Roman Empire, who were legally considered property, could not speak in a court of law, and who had very limited ability to inherit and own property. To make sure that they were not overlooked in this title bestowed by God, Peter writes that men should honor their wives as “fellow-heirs in the gracious gift of life” (1 Peter 3:7). Once again, women are given a title that conveys their importance to God and their crucial status in God’s plan—a title worth celebrating.
On this Mother’s Day, let’s honor and celebrate the women who have lived out these important titles in front of us—those who have reflected God’s characteristics, those who have strongly fought for his kingdom and glory, and those who have lived in the richness of God’s promised future. Let’s celebrate the women who have lived these out in front of the children in their own homes, and those who have lived them out in front of other people’s children. The sacrifice, encouragement, and love of mothers are obvious and honorable (thank you, Mom—you are amazing!!), but what a joy to know that women don’t have to wait until marriage and children to start living out God’s rich and meaningful titles for women.