Ezer Kenegdo

Do you ever wonder what your purpose as a woman is? What your identity as a woman is? I’m going to take you back to Genesis where God created woman. In Genesis 2:18 our purpose and true identity as a woman is revealed. I believe this Scripture is misinterpreted by a lot of people, especially women.  It is important that we understand it correctly and live up to our full potential.

I used to cringe whenever I heard this Bible verse, I went straight into defensive mode. I don’t want to be a “helper” or “help meet”, that sounds so lame. Like I was made to be an assistent or servant to a man. This my dear sisters is a lie, you are made for so much more. In Hebrew the word used is Ezer Kenegdo and this is a difficult word to translate into English or any other language.

The meaning of Ezer Kenegdo

Ezer has originally two meanings in Hebrew, depending on the pronunciation: to rescue/to save and to be strong. In the Old Testament the word Ezer is used 21 times. We can roughly divide the different Scriptures in three ways the word “Ezer” is used:

What these Bible verses have in common is that Ezer is used consistently in military context. The Ezer is a warrior. You are a warrior.

The Hebrew word Kenegdo means opposite as to him or corresponding as to him. A woman is no better or less than the man. Man and woman are equally and uniquely created, a perfect fit.

Modern day Ezer Kenegdo

The word Ezer Kenegdo might be old but the purpose of our existence as women is the same. You are an Ezer Kenegdo. A strong warrior, complementary to man. I love the word complementary. Complementary is what you are, not what you are doing. Complementary is not what you become, you were born complementary to man. Does this mean you can only be whole with a man? No, I don’t think so. I think you will be complete with the right man, and without one you are still God’s beloved daughter. You are a warrior princess and there is nothing you can’t do with the power of the King of kings.

The way I see it is that man and woman are like two hands. Your left hand and right hand are in ways the same but also different. You have bones, muscles, veins, skin, nails. And you have fingers and a thumb on each hand. Your left and right hand are the exact opposite of each other, but the one hand is not more important than the other one. One hand might be a little stronger and is your preferred hand, but you can perfectly use each hand on its own. Together your hands can do more. They are even stronger than your preferred hand. You can get more done with less effort when using both hands together. Of course this is only going to work when your one hand is the kenegdo to your other hand.

So what does the modern day Ezer Kenegdo do without a man? She roots and grounds herself in love and strengthens herself by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16-19). Think of one thing or area in which you have hold yourself back thinking that you shouldn’t or couldn’t do it because you are a woman. Go back to that moment and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you can do to strengthen yourself in a moment like that. Pray the answer over your life, so you become more deeply grounded in Christ.