The woman God Created- A woman of Strength

Genesis 2:18 and 21-22
“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”

“God is our designer and Manufacturer. He knew exactly what He wanted when He thought of the female. He had her in mind before He made her. He first concluded what He wanted, then He created her and caused Her to function in exactly the way He had planned. He did the same thing with the male. He created him after He had finished deciding what the male was supposed to be. God did not create the woman as an afterthought, but as an integral part of His plan in creation. As such, He designed and built her in love and with particular care. Her uniqueness is a reflection of God‟s purpose and design for her.” (Women in God’s Agenda. God Created Everything with a Purpose by E. M. Uka).

God made the woman from the rib bones of the man. Bones are the strongest part of the human body and are symbolic of strength. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines strength as “the quality or state of being strong: capacity for exertion or endurance.” The woman was made from the bone which is symbolic of strength meaning a woman is strong and has the capacity of to endure.

The function of the ribs in the human body is very crucial. The rib protects the contents of the thoracic cavity and mediastinum. The thoracic cavity comprises of organs and tissues that function in the respiratory (lungs, bronchi, trachea, pleura), cardiovascular (heart, pericardium, great vessels, lymphatics), nervous (vagus nerve, sympathetic chain, phrenic nerve, recurrent laryngeal nerve), immune (thymus) and digestive (esophagus) systems. The ribs assist the lungs in respiration; provide a place where some muscles originate or attach and also play a role in erythropoiesis during development (at birth, the erythropoiesis sides change, it recedes in long bones and persists in flat bones, like ribs).

Did you notice that rib bones are powerful and are very essential for sustenance of the human body even though they may not be seen like the flesh? Just like ribs found beneath the flesh are very pertinent in sustenance of the life of the human being, creating a woman from the rib is symbolic of the strength a woman carries which is pertinent in the fulfilment of God’s plans. This strength is not necessarily physical but generated from within and the essence of this strength is not to fight or despise the role of the man but to work with and help the man in nurturing and ensuring the fulfilment of God’s purpose on the earth.

As mentioned above, the strength of a woman is not necessarily physical but from within. 1 Peter 3:7 says “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” The woman is perceived as the weaker vessel, but God through his work makes us to understand that the strength of the Lord is made perfect in weakness and this strength enables the weak to endure on the path of life God has set for them to the end. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says “…And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

The verse above shows that the strength for the weak is a product of the of the manifest power of Jesus Christ in them. The source of the strength of a woman is the power of Jesus Christ which is made manifest in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples “…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). In Acts 10:38, Peter recounts how “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”

The source of the woman’s strength is the creator who is God and we plunge into this Godly strength through a relationship with Jesus Christ and yielding our hearts to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. As observed in the life of the disciples, the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin unto righteousness (John 16:7-8); transform us become more like Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Galatians 5: 22-23); and the Holy Spirit will empower you for good works as predestined by God (Acts 1:8). It is by the Holy Spirits power that we are made strong. The Holy Spirit will transform you to become more like Christ especially in character and lead you to fulfill the Godly purpose for your life.

Dear sister, let us be careful about the kind of strength of a woman as propagated by human philosophies. It is time for us to go back to the word of God and anchor to Jesus Christ who is our strength. In our weakness, we are made strong by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Our God given strength is to be used to effectively carry out our role as a woman and for the fulfilment of our God-ordained purpose. The source of our strength is God and for good works. This strength is to enable the woman to fulfil her role as a woman and not for evil or to distort God’s plan for humanity.

When we read the stories of strong women who did great exploits in the bible like Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:1-2; Matthew 27:56-6: John 20:1-8) and the Samaritan women in John 4:1-42, the peculiar traits we notice is that they all had a relationship with God and by the strength of Christ in them, God’s purposes for nations and generations was made manifest.
Some questions to ponder: