Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / The Issues About Woman's Liberty pt. 11
Transcript
- 0:01Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
- 0:06designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
- 0:09walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
- 0:14the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
- 0:17right in. So last Sunday we stopped at a scripture.
- 0:30that we got from Matthew 19 so that the Pharisees
- 0:37came to test Jesus with a question that is it
- 0:42lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just
- 0:47any other reason and we noted that the Pharisee
- 0:51had a twisted knowledge or understanding of a
- 0:56woman because whatever action you would take
- 1:00to a friend to someone who is close to you will
- 1:03depend on how you see the person and we noted
- 1:07a quite difference between what jesus was pointing
- 1:10at and what the pharisees were insisting their
- 1:15focus is to put away understand they knew the
- 1:21law that is not uh at for any cause now they
- 1:26want to ask jesus Can we put her away for any
- 1:30cause? Remember, they want to test him. But Jesus'
- 1:34focus was, no. In the beginning, it was not so.
- 1:40In the beginning, the idea is to join, not to
- 1:45put away. So by saying just to join, Jesus pointed
- 1:52us to something very critical. Which we are trying
- 2:00to explore. As we continue. But he quoted. Two
- 2:05scriptures. In verse 4. That. And. He answered
- 2:13and said. To them. Have you not read. That he
- 2:18who made them. At the beginning. Made them male
- 2:25and female. This scripture is taken from. Genesis
- 2:29chapter 1, verse 27. And we saw that scripture
- 2:38repeated in Genesis 5 too. We're going to that.
- 2:42Then verse 5, and said, for this reason, for
- 2:47the reason of what? That is for the reason of
- 2:50the verse 4. That is they are made male and female.
- 2:55And we noted that we are coming to that. That
- 2:59male and female, they are made in the image of
- 3:03God. So Jesus was not just talking about marriage.
- 3:07It's beyond marriage what he's trying to talk
- 3:09about. So then he said, on the basis of this
- 3:16understanding that they are made in the image
- 3:18of God, male and female, a woman is not less
- 3:22of the image of God than the man. You understand?
- 3:26Based on this understanding, therefore shall
- 3:29a man, you understand, leave his father and mother
- 3:33and be joined to his wife. So it's about the
- 3:37joining. And the joining is predicated upon an
- 3:41understanding, you understand, of who the woman
- 3:45is or the image of God. Because she's the same
- 3:50as the man, you understand, the image of God.
- 3:56Either join. But they did not have that understanding.
- 4:00That was why Jesus said. Have you not read. In
- 4:03the beginning it was not so. Because they have
- 4:05no understanding of this. Value of a woman. That
- 4:10both the woman and the man. In the image of God.
- 4:13So they see a woman of a lesser value. So it's
- 4:17just about. Let's put her away. Understand. Let's
- 4:21put her away. And remember. that the focus is
- 4:26always the woman. What about the Pharisee? So
- 4:30he can go and sleep anywhere, anyhow, and nothing
- 4:34happens to him. Because there was no any idea
- 4:39around what will happen to the Pharisee, you
- 4:43understand? If he's the one that misbehaved.
- 4:46But the focus is the woman because she is of
- 4:50a lesser value to them. Because that's a patriarchal
- 4:53culture. You understand? So, and then we now
- 4:58move to look at those two scriptures, which we
- 5:01said we are going to explain them. But before
- 5:04I come to Genesis 1, then we move to look at
- 5:08Genesis 2, verse 24, where Jesus said, therefore,
- 5:12for this reason, man shall leave his father and
- 5:18mother and join to his wife. Then we move to
- 5:21Genesis 2, verse 24. Genesis 2 .24, which we
- 5:26said, that scripture as always, because we started
- 5:33work on that. And then we read that scripture.
- 5:37And then we said, for us to understand the basis,
- 5:40because he said, therefore, you understand. Are
- 5:45we together? Verse 24. Are you there? Genesis
- 5:4824 and 2 .24. Therefore, a man shall leave his
- 5:53father and mother. And then what we did was to
- 5:56read because what we see, therefore, that means
- 5:58it's coming to a conclusion. You understand?
- 6:00This is something that needs to be understood.
- 6:03Are we together? Just the same way, Jesus, the
- 6:07way Jesus also arranged the scripture in Matthew
- 6:09is not haphazard. You understand? Definitely,
- 6:13that verse he quoted, male and female. You understand?
- 6:16Then, therefore, it's not by mystic. is by the
- 6:20spirit of God that it was put that way. And that's
- 6:23why you find out that even in the scripture here,
- 6:25the way also, that's the same, because there
- 6:27must be that kind of revelation first before
- 6:30the devil, because the devil, shall a man leave
- 6:33his father and mother and join to his wife, is
- 6:35like a conclusion predicated upon actually this
- 6:39understanding and revelation. And we said, okay,
- 6:42let's go back and read a little bit in the sand
- 6:45to understand. what the Bible is saying before
- 6:50coming to this day of all. And then we started
- 6:54from verse 18. And then we will go behind, but
- 7:01we will start at verse 18 because it says, and
- 7:03the Lord God said, it is not good that a man
- 7:07should be alone. You understand? Then he now
- 7:11said, I will make him a helpmate. Or in my version
- 7:19here, I see a helper. I think those who are using
- 7:22King James says a help me. Amen. So he said a
- 7:28helper comparable to him. A helper comparable
- 7:34to him. And then we read that. So we stop at
- 7:40verse 18. And as we said, oftentimes this verse.
- 7:45is taught as the woman that is the woman as the
- 7:47helper and so we explore some ideas in the sense
- 7:52that because when you start reading from behind
- 7:54it looks as if uh the issue of tending of the
- 7:57um the garden and all that is a work of the man
- 8:03and so the woman is coming to help the man in
- 8:06his assignment so more or less as it has always
- 8:09been taught that the man is a one day That God
- 8:15gave him the work. He is the man that has the
- 8:17assignment. The man that has the ministry. The
- 8:20woman is coming. Actually to help the man in
- 8:24the work. And then we noted that. That actually
- 8:29does not hold true. Through our scriptures. Because
- 8:32as we said. That the Holy Spirit is the author.
- 8:36Is one. Therefore whatever that is taught in
- 8:40Genesis. Must be consistent. with the entire
- 8:43bible because that's the entire context so and
- 8:47then we look at it we said in no part when we
- 8:50begin to read and i read some i mean it's a scripture
- 8:52like second corinthians uh 5 17 to 20 and we
- 8:59saw that actually that scripture is is showing
- 9:02to us that the ministry is both for male and
- 9:05female no one is is is actually like a quote
- 9:09-unquote a helper of the order You understand?
- 9:12That we are all, those who have been reconciled
- 9:16are given the ministry of reconciliation. And
- 9:18those who have been given the ministry of reconciliation
- 9:21are those who have been reconciled. And those
- 9:23who have been reconciled are male and female.
- 9:25You understand? All have been reconciled. And
- 9:28these are people in Christ. So I say, okay. So
- 9:32it actually contradicts a lot of things. And
- 9:34we didn't look at it as actually making any sense.
- 9:37In the sense that, so what about those ladies
- 9:39who are not married? Okay, we said every woman
- 9:42is a helper of a man. What about those who are
- 9:47not married? Does that mean that a woman becomes
- 9:54useless if she is not married? And then we noted
- 9:59that also, again, the purposes of God is not
- 10:03gender -based. It's also marriage -determined.
- 10:06Marriage is a choice. You can decide to marry.
- 10:11Decide not to marry in the sun. But as we noted,
- 10:14if we decide to get married, it must be because
- 10:17of the Lord. If we decide not to get married,
- 10:20it also must be for the Lord. If you go and do
- 10:23it for any other selfish reason, are you savvy?
- 10:25We are not dead yet. We are not dead yet also.
- 10:29So, because the consequences is going to come
- 10:32along the line. And so, the point is that now
- 10:36we want to understand then in the sun. Is the
- 10:39woman the helper of the man? So we want to go
- 10:41down to look at the word helper and then explain
- 10:46to understand whether the woman is the helper
- 10:48of the man. Now let's look at that verse 18 again.
- 10:53And the Lord God said, it is not good that man
- 10:58should be alone. That man should be alone. So
- 11:06I will make him a helper. So the issue of I will
- 11:11make him a helper comparable to him was God's
- 11:15response to actually it is not good that man
- 11:21be alone. It's not good that man be alone. Now,
- 11:27we have done that study for those of us who have
- 11:29been in the church for some time. We have done
- 11:32this study. during some of our teachings about
- 11:37marriage and relationship and also teachings
- 11:39about salvation. But let's go over it. We have
- 11:43a lot of people who have not been with us. But
- 11:46then again, we really need to go over it again.
- 11:51First, I want us to know that word alone. That
- 11:54word alone. It is not good that man be or should
- 11:59be alone. That word alone. That word alone in
- 12:02Greek is B -A -D. Bad. B -A -D. Alone. That word
- 12:09alone in Hebrew is B -A -D. It's B -A -D. That
- 12:20is bad. You understand? Not bad the one in English.
- 12:27Not the bad in English. Yes. So that word. Bad
- 12:34is a noun, actually. So it means separation or
- 12:38apart from. That's what it means. It means separation
- 12:41or apart from. And when I looked at it more deeply,
- 12:47it is from a root word, badad. B -A -D -A -D.
- 12:55Badad is from a root word, badad. So that word
- 12:59bad, which is alone. is from the root word badad.
- 13:04Of course, the root word is a verb. B -A -D -A
- 13:10-D. It means to separate or separate or be isolated.
- 13:17That's what it means. Separate or be isolated.
- 13:20That's what it means. So we can say, if we plug
- 13:25that into the verse, we can say that it is not
- 13:30good that Man should be separate or apart from.
- 13:36Man should be separate or apart from. But there
- 13:43is a question we need to ask here at this point.
- 13:49Be separate or apart from what? Because that's
- 13:53the question we want to ask. If man is not good
- 13:56to be separate or to be alone or to be... apart
- 14:01from to be separate or to be apart from what
- 14:06what exactly are we together now to answer that
- 14:11question we need to so just bear with me that's
- 14:16the reason why i use questions a lot because
- 14:17that it takes us gradually you understand so
- 14:21um to answer that question we need to explain
- 14:25the word helper because um In that verse 18,
- 14:32God's response to it is not good that man be
- 14:39alone is that he will make him a helper. Did
- 14:44you understand what I'm saying? So that means
- 14:46if we can understand the word helper, we will
- 14:51then understand actually what God... never intended
- 14:58or did not want or the reason why god did not
- 15:01want man to be separate or to be apart from in
- 15:05the sun are we together we have already noted
- 15:09that that could not be the woman because of some
- 15:14of the question we have raised which does not
- 15:17actually uh meet the test of the entire scripture
- 15:23because there are other scriptures that seems
- 15:25to show that the woman have a ministry and have
- 15:29a purpose apart from the man. So it could not
- 15:33be that. But let's look at it closely again,
- 15:36as we said. So let's look at the word helper.
- 15:41The word helper is a word E -Z -E -R or E -Z
- 15:50-E -R. However, either you say Z or Z, whichever
- 15:56one you use. So E -Z -E -R. Ezar. That's what
- 16:03it means. Now, this word Ezar, please follow
- 16:08me gradually. I'm a bit detailed this time around.
- 16:12It occurs 21 times in the Bible. 21 times. That
- 16:17word particularly. It occurs 21 times. Now, Moses
- 16:25alone, Moses alone in his five books, that is
- 16:29Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
- 16:32Moses alone uses six times. Use that same word
- 16:37six times. Then in the book of Psalms alone,
- 16:42it is used 11 times. In the book of Psalms, it's
- 16:47used 11 times. Then in Isaiah, it is used once.
- 16:54In Ezekiel, it is used once. In Daniel, it is
- 16:58used once. And then Hosea, it is used once. Let
- 17:03me come again. Moses alone used that. We said
- 17:08the whole that word Isaiah is used 21 times in
- 17:12the Bible. I'm using King James, so probably,
- 17:17let's say about 21, because I used the King James.
- 17:20So that means if you're using any other translation,
- 17:23maybe you can find a different number. However,
- 17:26it will be about that. So, as I said, Moses alone
- 17:31uses six times in his five books. In the book
- 17:38of Psalms, 11 times that word was used, Ezzah.
- 17:42In Isaiah, it was used one time. In Ezekiel,
- 17:47one time or once. In Daniel, it was used once.
- 17:55And then Hosea also once. So quickly, let's already
- 18:01look at the first one in the book of Moses in
- 18:06Genesis. If you look at Genesis 1 .18, can you
- 18:10see that Genesis 1 .18? Genesis 1 .18. Helper
- 18:16is there. So that's one time. When you go to
- 18:20verse 20, that's the second one. Verse 20. So
- 18:24Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of
- 18:28the air, and to every beast of the field. But
- 18:33for Adam, there was not found a helper comparable
- 18:38to him. There was not found a helper comparable
- 18:43to him. So that word helper there is also Ezar.
- 18:47That's the second time Moses is using it. The
- 18:52third time Moses uses or used that word is in
- 18:57Exodus 18. Exodus 18 verse 4. Exodus 18 verse
- 19:054. And the name of the order was Elijah. For
- 19:14he said, so note that word Elisa is from the
- 19:18word El and Ezar. You understand? El and Ezar.
- 19:24Remember the E -L, El refers to God. Ezar, we
- 19:30said, is the word helper. So Elisa means, that's
- 19:33why he explained what that means. He said, for
- 19:36he said, God, the God. Of my fathers was my what?
- 19:44Was my help and delivered me from the sword of
- 19:50Pharaoh. So, I want you to note the use of this
- 19:53one here. At least, let's put the ones in Genesis
- 19:59first. Let's move with these ones. Now, in this
- 20:03place, Ezra means God. You understand? And God
- 20:08as a deliverer. That's what is clear here. God
- 20:13as a deliverer. Okay, Deuteronomy 33. That's
- 20:17the fourth one. Deuteronomy 33, that Moses used
- 20:23that word. Because Moses was the one who started
- 20:27using this word. So we have to follow to see
- 20:32how Moses used the same word in other places.
- 20:36Because that would give us an idea. Because he
- 20:38was the one who used the word. So, if you look
- 20:43at Deuteronomy 33, verse 7. Deuteronomy 33, verse
- 20:507. And this he said of Judah. Hear the Lord,
- 20:57the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people.
- 21:01Let his hand be sufficient for him, and may you
- 21:06be a help against his enemy. Again, he's using
- 21:11this place as referring to God, a help against
- 21:16his enemy. Okay. We'll go to 26, Deuteronomy
- 21:2133, 26. There is no one like the God of Jehurum,
- 21:32or Jeshurum, rather, who rides the heaven. To
- 21:38help you. So it's referring still to God. To
- 21:42help you. And in his excellencies. Of the cloud.
- 21:49Deuteronomy 33. 29. So move to 29. Verse 29.
- 21:54That same chapter. So in Deuteronomy. Just 33.
- 21:59He uses it three times. Verse 29. Happy are you.
- 22:06O Israel. Who is like you, a people saved by
- 22:10the Lord, the shield of your help. So that means
- 22:14it's still referring to God as a shield of his
- 22:18help, that is of your help. And the sword of
- 22:20your majesty, your enemies shall submit to you
- 22:24and you shall tread down their high places. So
- 22:29we can see this is the, so we can see that from
- 22:32Exodus and the three verses in Deuteronomy 33.
- 22:36All of them refers to God as Ezzah, you understand,
- 22:40who came to deliver. You can see that he's explaining
- 22:45that word in the direction that God is the deliverer.
- 22:54God as a help means God as a deliverer or a savior
- 23:00or one who rescues. from enemies, from danger.
- 23:10Okay, let's go to Psalms 20. Let's look at the
- 23:15verses in the Psalms. Psalms. We said there are
- 23:2111 verses in Psalms that use the word helper
- 23:30or ezer or help. 20 verse 2. 20 verse 2, Psalms
- 23:3720 verse 2. May he send you help from the sanctuary
- 23:42and strengthen you out of Zion. Now, when you
- 23:46read verse 1, you will understand he's talking
- 23:48about the Lord. Verse 1 says, may the Lord answer
- 23:51you in the day of trouble. May the name of the
- 23:54God of Jacob defend you. May he send you. So
- 23:59he's still talking about God sending you help
- 24:03in times of trouble. Okay. Psalm 33, verse 20.
- 24:10Psalm 33, verse 20. Our soul awaits for the Lord.
- 24:15He is our help and our shield. Again, referring
- 24:21to God. Psalm 70, verse 5. Psalm 70, verse 5.
- 24:33But I am poor and needy. Make haste to me, O
- 24:37God. You are my help and my deliverer. So God
- 24:43as a deliverer. God as a help, O Ezra. Psalms
- 24:4889 verse 19. The next one is Psalms 89 verse
- 24:5619. Then you spoke in a vision to your Holy One
- 25:01and said, I have given help to one who is mighty.
- 25:08I have exalted one chosen from the people. Yes,
- 25:13talking about, because when you read, verse 18
- 25:16says, our shield belongs to the Lord and our
- 25:20king to the Holy One of Israel. Then verse 19
- 25:24says, then you spoke in a vision to your Holy
- 25:28One. So when you continue, you understand what
- 25:32that is talking about also. Okay. Psalms 115.
- 25:39That is 115 verse 9. Psalms 115 verse 9. O Israel,
- 25:50trust in the Lord. He is your help and your shield.
- 25:54He is your help and your shield. Then the next
- 25:59verse, that's verse 10. So add one, Psalms 115
- 26:02verse 10. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
- 26:09He is your help and your shield. Then the next
- 26:14verse also, Psalms 115 verse 11. You who hear
- 26:20the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help
- 26:25and their shield. So you can see. Someone who
- 26:28shields you. Someone who rescues you. Someone
- 26:33who delivers from trouble. That is Ezzah. That
- 26:38is Ezzah. The popular one, Psalms 121. Next one.
- 26:44Psalms 121. This one is popular. I will lift
- 26:49up my eyes to the hills. From whence comes my
- 26:55help. Did you see that? Verse 1. That word help
- 27:00is exact. From whence comes my help? Then verse
- 27:052. That's another one. So Psalms 121 verse 2.
- 27:10He said my help comes from the Lord. That word
- 27:14help is exact. Who made heavens and the earth?
- 27:19Who made the heavens and the earth? Who made
- 27:23the heavens and the earth? Psalms 124, look at
- 27:29124, verse 8. Our help is in the name of the
- 27:37Lord who made heaven and earth. There again,
- 27:43talking about God. Psalms 146, verse 5, the last
- 27:50one in the book of Psalms. Psalms 148. Sorry,
- 27:5746. Let's say 48. 46 verse 5. Happy is he who
- 28:04has God of Jacob for his help. Who has the God
- 28:12of Jacob for his help. Whose hope is in the Lord
- 28:15is God. So again, you can see throughout the
- 28:19book of Psalms the 11 times it presents that.
- 28:24Isaiah is God referring to God who saves, who
- 28:30shields, who delivers. Are we together? Who saves,
- 28:38who shields from trouble, who helps from trouble,
- 28:44who delivers from trouble. Okay. Then we said
- 28:52there is one verse in Isaiah. Isaiah 30 verse
- 28:575. Isaiah 30 verse 5. Opening plenty scripture
- 29:03is good for our health. Glory to Jesus. Are you
- 29:10in verse 30? I'm sorry, chapter 30 verse 5. He
- 29:16said, they were all ashamed of a people who could
- 29:20not benefit them or be helped. Or benefits. But
- 29:28a shame. And also a reproach. Now I want you
- 29:34to see something here. Very dramatically. He
- 29:37said a people. Who could not. Benefit them. Or
- 29:43be a help. That is. They could not be a czar.
- 29:49A people. That could not be a czar. I want you
- 29:57to be very instructive. So it appears to look
- 30:00as if it's only God that can be Ezzah. Because
- 30:04we have a people who cannot give benefit them
- 30:08or be Ezzah. You understand? So I want you to
- 30:13see this very clearly. Now when you read here
- 30:18in the text, you will see it talks about how
- 30:23uh the egyptians couldn't help uh actually um
- 30:27if you go back by the time you read from uh verse
- 30:35even from verse three he said therefore the strength
- 30:37of pharaoh shall not shall not be your shame
- 30:40and that and trust in the shadow of egypt shall
- 30:44be your humiliation for his princess were as
- 30:48soon and his ambassadors came to harness They
- 30:52were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit
- 30:57them or be a help. So it's talking about Egypt,
- 31:00the Egyptian who could not be a czar to Israel.
- 31:05You understand? It was like a futility to depend
- 31:09on them to give you help. Okay. Then Ezekiel
- 31:1412 verse 14. Ezekiel 12 verse 14 he said I will
- 31:26scatter to every wind all who are around him
- 31:32to help him and all his troops and I will draw
- 31:38out the sword after them if you read also contextually
- 31:44you will see that this text is showing the captivity
- 31:49of Judah, how God will scatter their helper.
- 31:52You can see that he said, I will scatter. When
- 31:54you read this one, I don't want us to read one
- 31:58because that's not the direction we are going.
- 31:59But if you read in the context, you will see
- 32:02that he's talking about Judah, you understand,
- 32:05the captivity of Judah and how God will scatter
- 32:08those who provide help, you understand, any person,
- 32:14you understand, their helper. God will scatter
- 32:18them. And then look at Daniel chapter 11. I know
- 32:22we like that verse closely. You understand? That
- 32:25other verse. 1130. Daniel 1130. We like that
- 32:31verse, right? Amen. Now look at, I'm not reading
- 32:3732. That's the one most people normally quote.
- 32:40But if you read also in the context, you understand
- 32:43what that means. You understand? But I will read.
- 32:4634. Now when they fall, they shall be aided with
- 32:52a little help, but many shall join with them
- 32:57by entry. So if you read behind, I mean, if you
- 33:02read in the context, I mean, those post -texts,
- 33:06you will see that this scripture is talking about
- 33:09the king of the north that set himself against
- 33:12the people of the covenant. you understand he
- 33:16set himself against the people of the covenant
- 33:18and then the people of the covenant could not
- 33:21get much help you could only get little help
- 33:25in that time of persecution you understand you
- 33:28could only get little help in that time of persecution
- 33:32you understand of course the scripture we normally
- 33:36read is those who do wickedly against the covenant
- 33:40shall be corrupt with flattery that means Because
- 33:44it was a time of trouble. There are those people
- 33:47who will be corrupted. But then the Bible says
- 33:50that, but the people who know their God shall
- 33:54be strong and carry out great exploits. Meaning
- 33:58that they shall stand their ground. Because the
- 34:02king of the north was coming against the people
- 34:07of the covenant. So some will be corrupted. those
- 34:11people who know their god they shall withstand
- 34:13they shall stand strong are we together and so
- 34:16when you go down he talks about also that these
- 34:20people of the covenant in that time of difficulty
- 34:22they could not receive much or they received
- 34:26little help in the sun are we together amen then
- 34:30lastly hosiah hosiah hosiah 13 verse 9 oh israel
- 34:40you are destroyed but your help is from me i
- 34:45will be your king where is any other that he
- 34:53may save you in all your cities and your judges
- 34:59to whom you said give me a king and princess
- 35:02so here again is pointing god as a zap Now, in
- 35:08all these places where it appears, now, you know,
- 35:13as we thought, each time you read context, you
- 35:18try to find the original meaning of the word
- 35:22and where it appears and in different contexts.
- 35:25We try to look at, even though, yes, the root
- 35:29word does not tell us what the meaning of that
- 35:35word contextually. But they help us to give us
- 35:37an idea of actually how we can relate to what
- 35:41the world is talking about. So, sometimes when
- 35:45we look at the world, it appears in different
- 35:48contexts differently. You understand? Just like
- 35:50even here that we saw. You understand? But you
- 35:53see, if you look at how it appears, it appears
- 35:55majority showing God as Ezra. Are we together?
- 36:00But in no place did it appear as showing that.
- 36:05Ezra means a woman. So that is instructive for
- 36:11us to pay attention. So in all the 21 places
- 36:15where it appears in the sun, all of them in the
- 36:19sun, the word helper does not refer to a woman
- 36:24in no any place, no any place. But we could see
- 36:30that Ezra refers to a savior. A rescuer. One
- 36:37who is powerful. And superior. In strength. And
- 36:43coming in times of trouble. To rescue. Or to
- 36:47deliver. So we can see that. That one we can
- 36:50be able to. Generally look at those. To conclude.
- 36:55It mostly appeared as. That Ezar must be one.
- 37:00Who is superior in strength. Who. comes to rescue
- 37:04you who is powerful you understand and it comes
- 37:10to help you in terms of trouble in times of trouble
- 37:15this is not a description of a woman you understand
- 37:20this certainly is not a description of a woman
- 37:23no a woman is not described as a savior of a
- 37:27man or neither as a rescuer of a man that's not
- 37:31how She's not superior to a man. Remember, we
- 37:37have already noted. Neither is a man superior
- 37:39to her. Because we are coming back to that scripture.
- 37:42Remember? I need to be reminding you. We are
- 37:45coming back to that scripture. They are made
- 37:46male and female in the image of God. That means
- 37:50none is superior. Glory to God. Okay. So, this
- 37:56helper is not the description of a woman. Okay.
- 38:05So, what we can see here is that in all those
- 38:09places, particularly, we'll pay attention to
- 38:11because, let me tell you one thing. Everybody
- 38:16in scripture gets his message from Moses. You
- 38:21know what I'm saying? Everybody gets his message
- 38:24from Moses. A subsequent prophet is from Moses.
- 38:29You understand? So, You see, first let's focus
- 38:36in how Moses used the word. In the place we saw
- 38:40Moses use the word, both in Exodus and in Deuteronomy,
- 38:46he was teaching, please note that, he was teaching
- 38:51the Israelites that God is their deliverer. God
- 39:02is their deliverer. God is their rescuer from
- 39:06trouble. And God is their savior. That was what
- 39:10Moses was teaching. So, could that his teaching
- 39:17from Exodus and Deuteronomy be different from
- 39:22what he is teaching from Genesis? Remember, You
- 39:28cannot understand fully Genesis without understanding
- 39:31Exodus. Because the message of Genesis is revealed
- 39:35to the Exodus. So we understand Exodus. And then,
- 39:42because that's where the background is. Are we
- 39:46together? So, let's go back to our 18th. That
- 39:55is Genesis 2. Genesis 2 .18. Genesis 2 .18. So
- 40:05now, let me just start to address something here,
- 40:09even though I can't finish that. So, what we
- 40:14see now here is that Moses was teaching and referring
- 40:18to God as Ezra. So, bear in mind now. Now, let's
- 40:26put God as the helper there. You understand?
- 40:30So that means that a helper, you understand,
- 40:34is God saying, I will be the helper of man. You
- 40:40understand? Because it is not good that man be
- 40:43alone, so I will be a helper to him. You understand?
- 40:48I'll be a helper to him. So the question now
- 40:52is, If God is to be a helper to man, and we saw
- 40:58that the helper is rescuing from trouble, in
- 41:04all that it appears, when we see God as Ezra,
- 41:07is that he rescues from trouble. He delivers
- 41:12from trouble. Are we together? Are we together?
- 41:16Yes, that's very important. Now, the question
- 41:19now is that, we should ask here is that, What
- 41:23is God rescuing man from? Because that's the
- 41:26question. Since God is a helper, dear, what is
- 41:31he rescuing man from? Because we have to answer
- 41:35that one to be able to be sure or to fully explain
- 41:40that really that Ezzat there is God. What is
- 41:45God rescuing man from? Now, I want us to move
- 41:49back a little bit. You understand? Move back
- 41:52a little bit. To. Verse 16. Because that verse
- 41:5918. Could not have just moved like that. Because
- 42:05there is some verses behind. So let's read behind.
- 42:09Some verses in the first text. Now verse 16.
- 42:13And the Lord God commanded man. Saying. Of every
- 42:19tree. of the garden you may freely eat you may
- 42:25freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of
- 42:30good and evil you shall not eat for in the day
- 42:35you eat of it you shall surely die then Verse
- 42:4618 says now, and the Lord God said, it is not
- 42:50good for a man to be alone. It appears that God
- 42:54has already is making plan for man because there
- 42:59is imminent danger of what man will do. But let's
- 43:04move so that we will not just answer it just
- 43:09like that. We want to see it. From scriptures.
- 43:13To explain it from scriptures. Because in the
- 43:16day you eat. You shall surely die. Would it be
- 43:19that God is becoming a help. For man to rescue
- 43:22him from death. From. Did you get what I'm trying
- 43:25to say? To rescue man from death. To rescue man
- 43:31from death. Are we together? Okay. So. I want
- 43:38you. But before that. I want you to know the
- 43:40word every day. verse 16 every three you know
- 43:44most times when we read this we normally use
- 43:46we normally assume once we say every three we're
- 43:49thinking there are plenty trees you understand
- 43:51plenty trees around there understand that what
- 43:56every is cold cold p sorry the icc k o l k o
- 44:05l that word every in verse 16 of every in the
- 44:11sun cold in hebrew k -o -l is a noun and it means
- 44:21it could mean each it could also mean any it
- 44:30could also mean all it could also mean whole
- 44:35w h o l e It also means totality or everything.
- 44:44So that word kol will mean any of this. Now,
- 44:50it might interest you to know that that word
- 44:52kol is from the root word kalal. That is K -L
- 44:58-A -L. K -A -L, sorry, K -A -L -A -L. That is
- 45:06kalal. And that word kalal means perfect or complete.
- 45:13That's a verb. So a verb means complete or perfect.
- 45:18So that means whole means whole, complete. I
- 45:25mean, I want to point you to something. Generally,
- 45:29when you use the word every, it is used before
- 45:34what we call a singular noun. You know what I'm
- 45:37saying? To refer to individual members of a set.
- 45:43Like, for example, just, you know, individual
- 45:44now. To refer to, like, all the individual members
- 45:54of a set without exception. You understand? Of
- 45:59a set of 18 without exception. And know that
- 46:03that word every is not actually... uh a determinant
- 46:08of the number in the set it's not he's not talking
- 46:13about the number in the set or he's talking about
- 46:17the kinds in the sets let's for example you have
- 46:20a box the box has let's say 20 balls you understand
- 46:24when you say every ball you are not referring
- 46:29to the number of the box one you are also not
- 46:35referring to the kinds of the balls let's say
- 46:38blue green whatever no that's not your focus
- 46:40your focus is actually saying all the balls that
- 46:45is all the individual in the set without exception
- 46:49are we together so that's the the the the focus
- 46:54so it cannot tell you whether there are there
- 46:57are two threes four threes five threes seven
- 47:00threes so when you say every three it just talks
- 47:02about all the trees But it's not referring to
- 47:05there are plenty trees there. That's not what
- 47:07he's saying. So it is reading in the context
- 47:12that will tell us the trees there. You understand?
- 47:17So every tree does not mean many trees. That's
- 47:20not what it means. Look at verse 9. Because it
- 47:24mentioned that also there. Also let me read verse
- 47:2719 first. 19 also tells us about that every.
- 47:31Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every
- 47:33beast of the field, every breath of the air.
- 47:38So you see, he's not trying to tell us the number.
- 47:42He's not trying to tell us all the kinds. He's
- 47:45just trying to tell us all the individuals in
- 47:48the set. So look at verse 9. He said, out of
- 47:54the ground, the Lord God made every tree. Grow.
- 48:02That is pleasing to the sight. And good for food.
- 48:06Then. The next line says. The tree of life. Was
- 48:14also in the middle. Of the garden. And the tree
- 48:18of the knowledge. Of good and evil. So I want
- 48:24us to pay attention here. Because there is an
- 48:26additional information. That verse 9 gives to
- 48:29us. That verse. 16 did not. And 17. Because it
- 48:36just tells us. Every tree of the garden. You
- 48:38may freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge
- 48:42of good and evil. You shall not eat. For in the
- 48:44day that you eat. Of it you shall surely die.
- 48:49So that means it's focusing. If you look at verse
- 48:5117. It's focusing on the tree of the knowledge
- 48:54of good and evil. So it didn't give us any other
- 48:58identity of the tree. But again, in verse 9 helps
- 49:02us more further. It says the tree of life is
- 49:08introduced another tree, which is a tree of life.
- 49:12And then you also acknowledge the tree of the
- 49:14knowledge of good and evil. So if you look at
- 49:18the A part, and again, this is another thing
- 49:20that if you are reading Genesis, you have to
- 49:22be very careful because it's a slippery place.
- 49:26In the sense that there are all kinds of mixture
- 49:28between literal and figurative expression. Are
- 49:33we together? Are we together? Yes. So that's
- 49:38why you have to also pay attention. So if you
- 49:42look at that verse, there is something here in
- 49:45my Bible here, when he says the tree of life
- 49:48was also in the middle of the garden. Actually,
- 49:51translators added some of these words and make
- 49:55it a little bit more confusing also. which I
- 49:58want to clarify. For example, that word was is
- 50:02not there because it is in italics. So it means
- 50:06it was inserted by the translators. So there
- 50:10is no word was there. So it was inserted. And
- 50:15then if you look at also, that word also is one
- 50:20word together. There is no also. You understand
- 50:25what I'm trying to say? So it means just... the
- 50:28tree of life because the tree of life also is
- 50:32one word in the sense so that um also so if you
- 50:38remove walls and also it becomes just the tree
- 50:41of life are we together the tree of life in the
- 50:47midst of the garden and the three of the knowledge
- 50:50of good and evil so we can clearly see that that
- 50:54the focus of this place and genesis is on two
- 50:58trees you know sir on two trees which is the
- 51:02the tree of life and the three of the knowledge
- 51:07of good and evil and clearly when verse 16 says
- 51:13and the lord commanded the man and saying of
- 51:18every tree of the garden you may freely eat are
- 51:24we together But he said, no, do not eat the tree
- 51:30of the knowledge of good and evil. Because if
- 51:32you do, you will die. Which means that the man
- 51:36can partake from the tree of life which gives
- 51:40life. But he is not to partake from the tree
- 51:46of the knowledge of good and evil. Because when
- 51:52he does that, The consequences is death. The
- 51:59consequences is death. Now, I will refer us to
- 52:06what Pastor Imad did with us again in a few weeks
- 52:12message when he used that word command. You understand?
- 52:16If you look at how Moses used the word command,
- 52:20Pastor Imad taught us. Now, that word when you
- 52:23hear commanded, it is not talking about something
- 52:28you should do. You understand? It's talking about
- 52:32something you should believe. And he took us
- 52:36through a lot of scriptures, through Genesis.
- 52:38In fact, he took us to what we call the Ten Commandments.
- 52:41You understand? He took us to other scriptures
- 52:44and shows to us that when the Bible says, and
- 52:47God commanded or Moses commanded Israel. What
- 52:51he is saying is that it means a call to obedience
- 52:56or a call to believe the word of the Lord. And
- 53:00the word of the Lord is the gospel. The word
- 53:05of the Lord is the gospel. The word of the Lord
- 53:09is the gospel. And again, which I will refer
- 53:13to because we did that teaching also both in...
- 53:18That, although when I come next, I will start
- 53:21from there. But we did that teaching equally,
- 53:24both in the cell meeting as well also in the
- 53:27church. And we saw that because there is no fruit
- 53:33on earth that when you eat, you will die. Do
- 53:37you understand? There's no fruit like that on
- 53:42earth. So God is speaking figuratively. Again,
- 53:45from what Kaseyma taught us. Command talks about
- 53:49obedience or believing. A call to faith. A call
- 53:55to believing the word of the Lord. And what is
- 53:58the word of the Lord? The word of the Lord is
- 54:00the gospel. So when Moses gave them the Ten Commandments,
- 54:06he was not expecting them to practice, so to
- 54:10say. Because Jesus summarized the entire law
- 54:15and the prophet. And said is love the Lord your
- 54:18God. And love your neighbor as yourself. And
- 54:21he said even the second is as the first. And
- 54:24loving the Lord. Means believing in him. That's
- 54:28what it means. So if you sing and say. I love
- 54:32you Lord. I love you. Don't be thinking of works.
- 54:36Be thinking that. I believe in you. Do you understand
- 54:40what I'm trying to say. That's actually what
- 54:41should be in your head. So. That is what that
- 54:47means. So that's one clue to give us what God
- 54:53was saying when he said, and the Lord God commanded
- 54:57the man. In other way, God is demanding faith
- 55:01from the man. In other words, God was preaching
- 55:06the gospel to man. That's what he was doing.
- 55:10And again, we note it because it helps us to
- 55:14know that What goes into the man of God does
- 55:18not defile him. So there is no how God will be
- 55:23referring of the literal fruit. You understand?
- 55:27That when man eats, he will die. No. No. We did
- 55:32that teaching. And Jesus helped us to know that
- 55:36not everything that goes into a man, you understand,
- 55:39defiles him, but that which comes from his heart.
- 55:43And we saw also he taught in John chapter 6.
- 55:48You understand? And in John chapter 6, he shows
- 55:53to them what eating is. So eating talks about
- 55:58faith. When he said, eat my flesh. If you do
- 56:03not eat my flesh, you understand? He said, what
- 56:05you have on your mind is this one. How can you
- 56:07say we should eat your flesh? Is this one okay?
- 56:11But you see, they are carnal men. They do not
- 56:14understand. But as you read down, even though
- 56:19I know it's not just only that, we have many
- 56:21of our brothers and sisters who think that that
- 56:23one is the Holy Communion. Once you take the
- 56:26communion, it literally changes the body of Jesus.
- 56:29I mean, how can you not read the context and
- 56:35see what Jesus is talking about now? That means
- 56:37you are like the Pharisees who do not even understand.
- 56:39Because in that very scripture, I mean, that
- 56:41very, this is the Jew. We are arguing, how can
- 56:44we eat? In fact, that's the reason why many of
- 56:46them left him. They left him. All of them left
- 56:50him. And including, so I said, Kai, this teaching
- 56:52is hard. And then he turned to his disciples
- 56:55and said, are you also going? They said, to who
- 57:01shall we go? You have the word of life. So, When
- 57:05you read John 6, from the beginning to the end,
- 57:09there is no how you can ever miss that Jesus
- 57:11is talking about you should eat his flesh. But
- 57:14now, you have gone to school. Don't look as if
- 57:18the suffering, your parents have been paying
- 57:21money and then you are not doing anything. So,
- 57:24what we are trying to say is that Jesus defines
- 57:29that eating talks about believing. So, when God
- 57:32is talking about here, That in the day you eat,
- 57:38you shall die. He was talking about believing,
- 57:43not actually literal eating. That's figurative
- 57:48expression. So when we come, we will see. But
- 57:54what I'm trying to say here is that, is to understand
- 57:57that what God spoke to man, concerning the trees
- 58:06was the gospel. And he was commanding man, meaning
- 58:10he was calling on man to believe that he should
- 58:13eat from the tree of life, but not to eat from
- 58:17the tree. You understand? The other tree, which
- 58:22is a tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- 58:25Because he said, in the day you did it, you would
- 58:28die. And immediately, verse 17 ends. He now says,
- 58:34and the Lord God said, it is not good. Oh, that
- 58:40is, I do not want man to be separate from me.
- 58:43That's what he said. I will rescue him from the
- 58:46dead. Because there was already death, verse
- 58:5017. That's why he said, and God said that it
- 58:55was not good that man should be alone. I will
- 58:58be his help. I will be his exile. Meaning I will
- 59:02be his savior. I will be his rescuer. Who will
- 59:06rescue him from death? That is the message of
- 59:09the gospel. Are we together? That's the message
- 59:14of the gospel. And that's the same message that
- 59:17was also preached. We will see the message even
- 59:19from Genesis 1. So, when you understand it this
- 59:24way, then you will know that this place is not
- 59:26talking about women. He's talking about the salvation
- 59:30plan of God. He's talking about the gospel. In
- 59:34the sand. Are we together? So when we come. We
- 59:38will continue. To study. And come to a place.
- 59:43To that place. Verse 24. Where he said therefore.
- 59:48Now if you understand this very well. When we
- 59:52come. To the verse. Therefore. You will see.
- 59:58That there is no different from this Genesis
- 1:00:01and the scripture that I read to you last time
- 1:00:05in 2 Corinthians. You see that there is no different.
- 1:00:10That scripture I read to you. You understand?
- 1:00:15Because the ministry work is for both men and
- 1:00:20women. You understand? Not for some certain people.
- 1:00:27And understanding that, that the same value a
- 1:00:33man has, that's the same value a woman has before
- 1:00:37God. Both are of the same value. Both have the
- 1:00:43spirit of God. Both are sons. Both, you understand,
- 1:00:48they are the image of God. Then you will treat
- 1:00:53the woman with respect. with honor she will not
- 1:00:59become like a commodity that she's only good
- 1:01:03you understand for children she's only good for
- 1:01:08for for sex you understand she's only good because
- 1:01:14that means her value is always attached either
- 1:01:17to marriage either to children i mean that's
- 1:01:21a confusion You understand? It's a big confusion.
- 1:01:24That's the reason why we are suffering what we
- 1:01:25are suffering. You understand? Because so many,
- 1:01:29many of the breakup we have in marriage in homes,
- 1:01:31if the woman, you understand, in those days,
- 1:01:35that's the reason even why our great -great -father
- 1:01:38married many women because they want more children.
- 1:01:40You understand? And we have some men whose village
- 1:01:43they are still following them. If it is not a
- 1:01:46male child, you understand, that means something
- 1:01:49is wrong fundamentally with you. Because you
- 1:01:54think that you are here to build a name. He said,
- 1:01:58who will carry the name of my family? I mean,
- 1:02:00what sort of smelling information is that? Who
- 1:02:05will carry the name? Did you think that you were
- 1:02:07here to do with the name of your family? Did
- 1:02:11you remember? Did you know the name of your great
- 1:02:13-great -great -great -grandfather? How many people
- 1:02:16do you remember their name? Are those people
- 1:02:18who do something in life, something that is...
- 1:02:22What nothing. There are people that are remembered,
- 1:02:26not people who give back to male children. Glory
- 1:02:30to Jesus. We appreciate you being here today.
- 1:02:35We hope you carry this word with you throughout
- 1:02:38your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
- 1:02:41for additional insights. Stay connected with
- 1:02:43us through our website or follow us on social
- 1:02:46media. If you are encouraged, share this message
- 1:02:50with someone you care about. Until next time,
- 1:02:53stay blessed.