SEEING THE VALUE OF WOMEN IN GOD'S WORD

WOMEN IN CREATION
Women first appear in Genesis 1, where “God created man in his own image …
male and female he created them.” Together, men and women are given the
responsibility to be rulers on earth, exercising dominion over all things.
Genesis 2 zooms in on the creation of the first man and woman. It was not good
for man to be alone—“not good” meaning not merely lacking, but positively bad.
He needed a helper, which God supplied in the woman. Man is unable to rule
the earth without woman; she is a necessary and God-ordained partner.
WOMEN IN THE FALL
In Genesis 3, sin enters the world through Adam's disobedience. As the Lord
pronounces the consequences of this rebellion, He outlines how the created
order will be frustrated. The man will still (rightly) desire to tend the ground and
eat from it, but the ground will not cooperate. It will produce thorns and thistles
and require sweat to work. Correspondingly, the woman will still desire her
husband and want to have children. However, childbearing will be painful, and
his "rule" over her will be harsh. Their God-ordained partnership will remain
central to God's plan for dominion on the earth, only now it will be frustrating
and plagued with corruption.
WOMEN IN REDEMPTION
Amid these consequences, the Lord makes a promise of redemption. He tells
the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his
heel” (Genesis 3:15).
The woman will have an “offspring,” a son who will crush the serpent’s head
while receiving a lethal strike to the heel. Because of her role in bringing forth
the Savior, the serpent will have a special hatred for the woman. 
This promise gives us clues on how to read the rest of the Bible. First, we
should read looking for a man—in particular, a Son through whom Satan's
tyranny will be ended. (Even in that sentence are several themes you should
trace through the Bible: Sonship, Satan, salvation.) 
Second, it tells us the entry point of that man—namely, the woman. God didn't
have to say He would put enmity between the serpent and the woman, between
his offspring and hers. He could have said, "A man will arrive who will destroy
you." But speaking as He did, highlighting the role of the woman, we see that
she remains a helper, an indispensable part of God's plan. Therefore, as we
look for the Savior to arrive, we should watch the woman. We should pay
attention to the women who show up in Scripture, looking for the ways the
Promised One comes through her.
IN BOTH THE OLD AND THE NEW
As the Old Testament unfolds, we read it looking for the Promised Son. A
Hebrew reader would be paying attention to the line (or ancestry) of David. It
was to David that God promised a Son who would reign forever (2 Samuel 7:12–
16). 
There are multiple times that the line of the Son is threatened, only to be
rescued by a woman. The line is delivered from both barrenness and burning
through the righteousness of Tamar (Genesis 38). The line is rescued by Ruth's
faith and covenant loyalty, which leads to Naomi's wise plan to find a husband.
David is kept from bloodguilt by obeying the voice of wise Abigail (1 Samuel
25:32–35). The line (and the nation) is preserved by Esther's courageous faith.
This is not to mention Israel’s preservation through the actions of women like
Moses’ mother, sister and wife Zipporah, Rahab, Deborah and Jael, and
Hannah, to name a few. Through the “help” of these women, the promised seed
is brought into the world. 
This pattern continues in the New Testament. Mary and Elizabeth are the first
to believe the promise of the Messiah and his forerunner (Luke 1). Anna helps
announce the Messiah’s arrival (Luke 2:36–38). From their own means, women
supported the itinerant ministry of Jesus and His disciples (Luke 8:3); they
“took care of him” (Mark 15:41 CSB). Lydia, a single woman, is the first baptized
convert in Europe, whose home likely hosted a church (Acts 17). Women, such
as Euodia and Syntyche, “labored side by side” with Paul in the gospel
(Philippians 4:2–3). Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, seems to
have financially supported Paul and likely carried his letter to Rome (Romans
16:1–2). Paul regularly greets and commends women for their partnership in
ministry.
WOMEN IN THE RESTORATION
In the New Heavens and New Earth, God’s corporate people are depicted as a
woman—a bride presented to her bridegroom (Revelation 21). Even as Christ
rules the earth, his wife (his helper) is at his side, reigning with him (Revelation
22:5). And so, the picture presented in Genesis 1—that of a man and woman
exercising dominion over the earth—is brought to fulfillment in Christ and the
church.

⸻⸻⸻—

Genesis 2: 18