Hey, Don't Blame Me

"... she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband ..." Genesis 3:6 KJV

This partial verse has been used to justify a misinformed view of the first sin for generations. A common interpretation reads, "Woman gave into temptation and then ran to find her husband who unknowingly ate the forbidden fruit." Our misinformed view says that the woman gave into temptation and the man was deceived.

I intentionally left out the next two words of the quote because they drastically change everything. The two missing words probably went unnoticed by most people. To change your view simply add the words "with her" to the end of the quote.

So, "she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her" which means quite cleary that her husband was there throughout the whole temptation and it was no secret what was going on. And as far as the man is concerned, things only get worse.

This original temptation revolves around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the tree the man was commanded not to eat from. (An interesting side note is that the tree of life was also in the garden, and the man was free to eat from it.) This command, by the way, was given before woman was created. So, we can surmise that woman learned of this command from man.

If we take a step back to verse 2 we see that the woman was either confused about the command, or lacked an accurate memory because she says that not only may they not eat of the tree, but they cannot even touch it. While the extra threat may emphasize the danger of the tree, it does provide the tempter with additional resources. Whether the man told her wrong, or she didn't fully understand is irrelevant, what is important, is that she was not in control of the facts. She was persuaded by the tempter.

To some, this second hand knowledge of the woman gives her some excuse. The apostle Paul recognizes the difference between the man and the woman. In 1 Timothy 2:14 Paul tells us that the woman was deceived, but the man was not deceived.

This is where the real problem arises. The man was not deceived, but knew what was going on and what he was doing. The woman was seduced, the man rebelled. And like most of us the man blamed someone else when he was caught, see Genesis 3:12. The succumbing of the woman brought pain to her. The rebellion of the man brought destruction to all of creation.

Accidents have consequences. Rebellion makes enemies. When the man rebelled against God, he made God his enemy. And, not only man, but all those born of man became by nature enemies of God.

Woe-man

And the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him." Genesis 2:18 KJV

Sometimes it is remarkable how much can be said in a couple short phrases. This single verse tells us about man, woman and their relationship to each other. Who woulda thunk it?

Let's start at the beginning; "It is not good that the man should be alone" seems pretty straightforward. It seems obvious that God doesn't want the man to be lonely, right? Well, yes but there's more.

In the creation story when God was done with something He said "it is good," Now we see that man alone is not good. Man, by himself, is not as he should be. Man alone is incomplete. The sentences are short and should be pretty clear. Man is not self-sufficient. Man is not all that.

Because man is not good alone God says, "I will make him a help meet for him." This is woman. Notice the things that it does not say; woman is not a servant to man and woman is not better than man. God quite clearly says that woman is a "help meet for man."

As a "help" woman "meets" the needs of man. Generally, when I need help it is because I cannot do something alone. Additionally, I don't ask for help from somebody who is not up to the task. God specifically created woman complementary to man; an equal with skills and needs that are other than man's.

It's amazing how out of whack society has become; men who believe that women are inferior; women who believe that they can be anything a man can. This need to dismiss and devalue represents a sorry state of affairs. The attempt to find superiority in either gender is similar to trying to decide which is more valuable, a hammer or a spare tire. Men and women are different. If they were the same, one would be unnecessary.

Without woman, man is alone, solitary. In this state man cannot fulfill his function as a reflection of God (more in a minute). Without man, woman is unnecessary. Who does woman complete without man? This is not sexist, merely a recognition of the differences between the two genders.

Man was created as a reflection of God, His image. Man was created to be god on earth, His likeness. God manifested a large part of His character in the garden that is represented in three words; creation, education, commission.

Man without woman and woman without man cannot create; cannot reproduce after their kind. Man without woman and woman without man cannot educate their offspring. Man without woman and woman without man cannot commission to replenish. Both sides of the equation are necessary for a solution.

Man must stop devaluing woman. Woman must recognize her need of man. The difference exists and should be encouraged and nutured.