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"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?"(John 20:15). Jesus said this to Mary Magadelene after He had risen from the dead but had not yet ascended to His throne in heaven.

The following is an exposition of women as Genesis 1 and 2 reveals her. The purpose of this study is to align a woman to the truth about herself from God's view rather than her own view of herself, another's view of her, or a cultural view of herself. We trust that this will be a source of love, change (repentance) comfort, healing, joy, peace and confidence (power).

WOMAN - Only one woman - Number one = Beginning, Unity

W

Genesis 2:18
18. Then the \Lord\ God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."
19. And out of the ground the \Lord\ God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought {them} to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
20. And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
21. So the \Lord\ God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.
22. And the \Lord\ God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
23. And the man said, #"This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."#
24. For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
25. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Genesis 1:26
26. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Matthew 19:4
4. And He {Jesus} answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created {them} from the beginning \made them male and female\,

How was the woman created?

She was taken from a side of man, but she was taken aside with her Creator to be alone with Him. She was formed from the bone (rib) of man, but she was fashioned in secret by the loving, caring hand of her Creator. The word for "fashioned" in Hebrew is banah(1129) and is most often translated "built." Woman was presented to man after the Creator had spent time with her alone fashioning her and building her exactly as He willed. The man's will had nothing to do with the creation of the woman. The woman was God's perfect will, and she was everything the Creator wanted her to be. She was made "in Our image, according to Our likeness."

Her substance came from the Creator through the man. "Man" is the English translation of the Hebrew word adam(121) which means "man, mankind." It is translated with the following English words: "any one, human, infantry, mortal, people, person, population, someone." Man was formed from the dust which in Hebrew is aphar(6083) meaning "dry earth." Man was dry and dusty until the Creator breathed His own breath into him. The "water" from God's breath enabled man to be formed like clay in the hand of a potter. It was God's breath of life mixed with the dry earth that enabled God to form man like a potter forms a vessel with wet clay, and in that moment the first living soul was created "in Our image, according to Our likeness." The woman then came into being through the man, through his living rib.

The Hebrew word for rib is tsela(6763) which also means "side." However, it is most often translated "side chambers" which is used in the descriptions of Solomon's temple and Ezekiel's temple. The most important concept of the creation of woman that is to be remembered is the secrecy in which her Creator fashioned and formed her. God removed the man's "side chamber" from his body (bone,flesh). The man was not aware of God's fashioning. We do not know if God did this in the presence of the man's sleeping body or if God walked away from the body of the man to fashion the creature. We do know that the man was not conscious, and thus the shaping and fashioning of that living substance into another creature made "in Our image, according to Our likeness" was done in private, apart from him. The written word of God does not reveal how the man's "side chambers" became a living, breathing creature; nor does it show where this secret fashioning occurred; nor does it disclose if any of the rest of the living creatures were present. The Genesis account only reveals that when woman was formed, fashioned, prepared, and ready, the Creator brought her back to the man. The "side chamber" that had been taken from the man was now given back, but not in its original form. Much more had been added to his "side chamber" to create woman. Thus we know that woman was fashioned somehow (somewhere?) apart from man. If the order of creation is significant, as all Biblical scholars indicate, then woman, not man, was the last creature the Lord God fashioned.

First and Last

Jesus Christ said something very significant about the order of things when he walked on the earth in the body God prepared for him.

Matthew 20:16
16. "Thus the last shall be first, and the first last."

Did God save His crowning achievement or work of creation as WOMAN? Is God saving His final work of redemption as THE BRIDE? Lest woman begin to exalt herself, the words of the ascended Christ Jesus must also be remembered.

Revelation 1:17
17. And when I {John} saw Him {Jesus}, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

Even though no creature can ever be exalted above the CREATOR, was there "something more" in the creation of WOMAN that enabled the enemy of God to see her as the way to "strike" at the Creator's loving heart? If a woman's uniqueness is also a weakness {see 1Peter 3:7; 1Timothy 2:14}, is this important to a woman of the 21st century?

In whose image was the woman fashioned?

Even though the woman was fashioned by the Creator through the man, she was "made in Our image." Because the Bible never uses a female pronoun to describe God or His actions, His women have a very difficult time "believing" that He created them in "Our own likeness." Thus for six millennia women have believed many lies about themselves and thus about God. It is very important that a woman see her creation in God's kingdom from His will and not from her own perspective or from the erroneous view of woman perpetrated through history and culture. Woman can go neither to the past nor the present to find her true identity. She can only go to Jesus Christ personally and to "THE BEGINNING" to discover who she was meant to be and who she can be now. WOMAN was fashioned by God in secret apart from man and yet from a part of man in "Our image, according to Our likeness."

Why was woman created?

God Himself reveals His view of man being "alone." The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone." The word translated "alone" is badad(909) in the Hebrew which means "separate, isolated." It is translated "alone, lonely, shoots, and straggler," but those references do not give any insight on why the "alone" state of man was "not good." The Hebrew word bad(905) which is derived from badad looks and sounds just like the English word "bad," but its usage does not reveal why alone is bad. Man was not "alone" in the English understanding of the word ,for he had many other living creatures around him. However, the Hebrew meaning of "separate, isolated" gives the idea of being "lonely" rather than "alone."

Why would the Lord God say it is not good for the man to be badad (separated, isolated)? If God is One and is alone, why can't man who is made in God's image be one and be alone? Why is it "not good" for man to be "alone"? If we only look to the English meaning of words, we do not understand the image of God. It is the Hebrew and not the English translations that reveals the true nature of God. Even though God is One, He is also plural (3). God said, "let US make man in OUR image." God is not separate, isolated or lonely because God always functions in a unified, submissive plurality. Another Old Testament example of this is revealed when the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord {Isaiah 6:1-8}. When God speaks, the unity and the plurality are often revealed.

Isaiah 6:8
8. Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

When Jesus came to earth to establish the New Covenant with His creatures, He often referred to the unity and plurality of God that was being revealed in Him. However, the traditions of men, then and now, block many from believing and receiving all that Jesus has come to restore.

Mankind (male and female) has much difficulty understanding the three distinct manifestations of One God, but the Old and the New Testament clearly reveal the unity and the integral plurality of One God. Thus the male, being separate and isolated, did not reveal the "let US make man in OUR image." Therefore God said it was not good for a solitary male to be solely alone in the Garden with no other creature like himself. God said this not only because the male was alone but also because the creation was not complete. God was not finished with His task of creation. Man had to have woman; male had to have female to be made "according to Our likeness." The separate, isolated male in Eden did not manifest the plurality of God that would be revealed when woman was fashioned.

God is not alone! There is something about God that implies plurality. God said, "Let US make man in OUR image." Even though our finite minds may not be able to comprehend the plurality of God, the word reveals that it is so, and the spirit of man and woman was designed to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Thus it was not good for God, in His plurality to look upon man separate and isolated. Man, alone, could not be made in the image of God. Man, a creature, could not be God, the Creator, but man could be like God in God's plurality. Man did not have to be three creatures; two creatures in the likeness and image of God would be sufficient to be in the likeness of God's plurality. The unity and submission in the plurality and diversity of God's image and likeness was duplicated in the creation of male and female. Even though the animals had male and female, animals were not made in the "likeness and image" of "US."

The Hebrew word for male is zakar(2145). It comes from the verb zakar (2142) which is translated "remember(s,ed,ing)" 159 times! The various English translations have two basic similarities: (1) an internal "calling to mind" (2) an external "mentioning." Some of the words used are:

been mindful, boast, bring me to remembrance, bringing to mind, brings to remembrance, burns, call to mind, celebrate, certainly still remember, come to remembrance, confess, consider, extol, invoke(ed), keep, make mention, mention(s,ed,ing), mindful, named, preserve, put me in remembrance, recorder, remind(er), report, surely my remembers, take thought, well remember.

The Hebrew word for female is neqebah(5347). It comes from the verb naqab(5344a) which means "to pierce." It is most often translated as "designated." "Designated" is used six times to assign a name to someone. Thus the male is "remember" and "mention" and the female is "name" and "pierce." The consistency of the scripture is obvious. Man, separate and isolated, was able to "remember" in his mind and "mention" with his mouth. He was able to call the living creatures and that call became the name of those creatures. Woman, who came from man, was also able to "name" (mention or speak with her mouth), but she was uniquely made "to pierce." The mouth of woman was designed by God to do something more than the mouth of man could do alone. Thus male and female together were designed to pierce with words in the image and likeness of the Creator God who spoke all into existence by the words of His mouth. The spoken word by the male and female was to be in agreement with God and thus with each other {see Amos 3:3; Matthew 18:19-20; 1Peter 3:7; 1Corinthians 1:10}.

Woman was fashioned in secret to reveal the plurality of God. Man was able to name the animals without woman, but man did not fully express the image and likeness of God. God, not man, decided there would be another creature added to His creation to fully reveal "Our image, Our likeness." That creature, woman, is given her description by God Himself: a helper. This word in Hebrew is ezer(5828) which means "a help." The Hebrew is heard within the pronunciation of the English word "ease." Webster's 1828 American English Dictionary describes the noun "ease" as

1. Rest; an undisturbed state.

1. Applied to the body, freedom from pain, disturbance, excitement or annoyance.
2. Applied to the mind, a quiet state; tranquility; freedom from pain, concern, anxiety, solicitude or anything that frets or ruffles the mind.

2. Rest; rest from labor; facility; freedom from difficulty or great labor.

3. Freedom; freedom from constraint or formality; unaffectedness. At ease, in an undisturbed state; free from pain or anxiety.

Thus God designed woman "to help mankind" enter into the rest of God {see Hebrews 4:10}.

David used the same Hebrew word ezer to describe God.

Psalms 54:4
4. Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
5. He will recompense the evil to my foes; Destroy them in Thy faithfulness.

God fashioned woman in "Our own image, in Our own likeness" to be "helper." Woman would be one who would be able to help man "sustain his soul" in God; one who would be able to help man rely on God to "destroy" his enemy even before man and woman knew there was an enemy!

Solomon used the same word and the phrase is almost identical to that which God Himself used to describe man before woman was created.

Psalms 72:12
12. For he (Righteous King) will deliver the needy when he cries for help, The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

It is Jesus Christ who fully reveals the concept that it is not good for man to be alone, meaning isolated and separate {Jesus forsaken on the cross}.

John 14:16
16. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17. {that is} the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, {but} you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.
18. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 16:7
7. "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

Just as man was left "alone" in the Garden of Eden while God prepared a "helper suitable" for him, so also Jesus left his disciples "alone" for ten days so that "THE HELPER" could come to "all flesh" forever {see Acts 2:1-4}. It is in the words of Jesus that we find God's view of woman as "helper." The Greek word is parakletos(3875) which means "called to one's aide." This is exactly why God created woman for man. It was not good for man to be separate and isolated. He was able to name the animals by himself, but he needed something more than himself with his own rib intact. God began with man's side chamber, his rib, his bone, his flesh and fashioned that living substance into something much more than the rib man had when he was first created. Bone is not soft and pliable like clay. Bone is a hard substance; it has been used as that which can pierce; it has been shaped into a needle, a knife and other implements which can cut or pierce.

Can a bone be a sword? Is this piercing rib of man similar to the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT?

Hebrews 4:12
12. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Was woman created to pierce the universe with words from the Spirit of Truth? Was woman created to "pray and prophesy"? {I Corinthians 7:5}. Was woman created to "pierce" the atmosphere in song as well as in words? Was there another living creature watching this creation of man and woman, of male and female, who allowed iniquity (unbelief) in his heart to grow into jealousy, envy and evil schemes?

As Jesus explains "THE HELPER" to his disciples, the pure intent and purpose of God in fashioning "a helper" "in Our image, according to Our likeness," is revealed.

John 14:26
26. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

THE HELPER is GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT. Thus woman, designated by God Himself as "a helper" is made in the image and likeness of God, the Holy Spirit. Thus as the Holy Spirit functions in the world so should woman.

John 15:26
26. "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, {that is} the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me,

John 16:8
7. "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;
8. concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
9. and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;
10. and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
11. "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear {them} now.
12. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
13. "He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose {it} to you.
14. "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose {it} to you.

Because a feminine pronoun is never used with "THE HELPER," it is hard for those made in the image of God to see the true intent and purpose of "woman." Thus through the centuries there has been much destruction hurled at women and there has been much disorder caused by women who do not know "The Divine Fashion of The Designer."

Most godly women are very familiar with the negative descriptions of a woman. Proverbs 19:13; 21:9,19; 25:24; 27:15-16 all describe the torture (hell?) on earth for one who has to live with a contentious woman. But Proverbs also says,

Proverbs 14:1
1. The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

How does a wise woman build her own home? She must build according to the plan of the Master Designer for her. A woman was originally designed by God to help mankind. His original design has not changed even though it may be distorted or perverted. Thus a woman was and still is designed to be one who ""helps" just like the Holy Spirit "helps". She is designed to be in total agreement with the Holy Spirit. A woman was designed to be one who

1. believes totally and completely in the Blood of Jesus and in the power of His name.
2. believes Jesus is seated on the throne at the right hand of the Father where His blood continually speaks of the New Covenant.
3. believes the ruler of this world has been defeated, judged and sentenced by the work of Jesus on the cross and through the power of His resurrection, LIFE overcoming the fear of death.

The Greek work parakletos is translated with one other English word. The word has not changed its meaning; it still means "One called alongside to help." However, it now reveals Jesus Christ Himself as that ONE.

I John 2:1
1. My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2. and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for {those of} the whole world.

Thus from the Hebrew and the Greek, woman is given double honor as a helper created in the image of the Creators. She was originally fashioned and formed like the Holy Spirit and like the Son of God. She was originally designed and designated to "remember, to mention, to name, to pierce."

Why is woman "suitable"?

When God designed woman, He spoke an adjective in front of the noun to describe His intent and purpose, His perfect will. That adjective is "suitable." This is the only place where the Hebrew word is translated with the word "suitable." The Hebrew word is neged(5048) which means "in front of, in sight of, opposite to." The English word "naked" bears a very close resemblance to the Hebrew in pronunciation and also in description. The man and woman were not ashamed to be neged in God's presence. Neged is most often translated "before," and occurs 60 times! "Opposite to," is used 16 times and always refers to a position. However, this position is not a "contrary" position. It simply means "face to face." "In sight of" is used 15 times and means exactly what it states: to be in the presence or sight of someone. Therefore man and woman were "made in Our image, according in Our likeness" to be "in front of God," "in the sight of God," "opposite to God," "face to face."

The word "before" in English can give the idea of first in time, but that would not be true of woman. Woman was fashioned in time after man, and after man had named the animals. Woman was not on the earth for the naming of the animals, for God did not deem her existence or presence necessary for that process or task.

However, once woman came into existence, God Himself gave her His description of her place and her position. The word "before" is defined in Webster's 1828 dictionary in the following manner.

1. In front; on the side with the face, at any distance.
2. In presence of, with the idea of power, authority, respect.
3. In sight of; as before the face.
4. In the presence of, noting cognizance or jurisdiction.
5. In the power of, noting the right or ability to choose or possess; free to the choice.
6. In front of any object.
7. In preference to;
8. Superior; preceding in dignity.
9. Before the wind, is to move in the direction of the wind by its impulse.

The Hebrew word neged(5048) comes from the root verb nagad(5046) which means "to be conspicuous." This word is never translated with the English word "conspicuous"! Every word used to translate this Hebrew word has something to do with the "mouth." It is translated with some form of "tell" 101 times and "declare" 71 times! The following words in the NASB Concordance translate nagad:

answered, certainly told, confess, confront, denounce, describe, disclosed, explain, fully reported, give evidence, indeed tell, inform(s,ed), know, known, made known, messenger, related, remind, report, reported, show, surely report, uttered.

This Hebrew word and its English translations distinguish God's design for woman. She was originally created to be a "conspicuous, suitable" helper in the area of words coming from the mouth that "pierce" (rib). Woman was designed by God in "Our image and according to Our likeness" to express to man in words all the wonder, glory, and majesty of the CREATOR GOD as she kept her eyes on FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT.

The world and the church erroneously calls this ability the "The Gift of Gab". Through unbelief, doubt, fear, envy, unforgiveness, and bitterness THE GIFT OF THE PIERCING RIB" has been perverted by the enemy to use the mouth of woman for his wicked schemes. However, when a woman sees her CREATOR and His design for her, she allows her spirit, soul and body to be conformed to the image of her CREATOR, the Son {Ephesians 1:1-14).

There is only one other place where words related to neged and nagad can be found. This is in the book of Daniel. The Hebrew word is neged(5049) which comes from neged(5048) which comes from (5046) and means "toward."

Daniel 6:10
10. Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.

The human mouth used in prayer and prophecy by the prophet Daniel is an excellent example of God's perfect will for the male. Three times a day Daniel stopped his busy schedule to pray and give thanks before God. No threat from the government of the nation in which he was in exile could deter him from his designated task {1Corinthians 11:4-5).

The other Hebrew word neged(5047) comes from nagad(5046) and means "to stream or to flow."

Daniel 7:10
10. "A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.

From the book of Daniel God's plan for woman is consummated. The flowing river of fire coming from before the Ancient of Days at the end of time is the same place where woman first found herself when time began and when God created the female as a very good helper. Woman was created to have a river of fire flowing from her mouth that would pierce the atmosphere with the majestic descriptions of her Creators. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10).

Man named God's conspicuous living creature "Ishshah" because she was taken out of "Ish," man. Even though Ishshah means "woman, wife, female," it is not the word that God used when He said He desired to create the male and female in His own image and likeness.

Thus a woman, married or unmarried, must find her true identity in being created in God's image for all of His purposes. The wife in a marriage is a very specific calling or assignment for just one man. However, every woman is designed to "help" the whole human race. Whether a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a wife, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, a mother-in-law, a grandmother, a widow, or a divorcee, the Biblical record reveals from THE BEGINNING (Genesis 1 and 2) to the end of time (Revelation) that a woman's place as God designed her is to "help or assist" others to see Jesus, the Creator and Redeemer.

"Ishshah" is most often translated "wife" and occurs over 350 times with that connotation. It is also translated as "woman" over 200 times. This same word is also used to translate the idea of marriage 20 times.

The pronunciation of the Hebrew "Ishshah" very much resembles the English word "issue." The English definitions of "issue" picks up the idea of "flowing" that was related in Daniel's vision of the flowing river of fire coming from before THE ANCIENT OF DAYS. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines "issue" as:

1. To pass or flow out; to run out of any enclosed place; to proceed, as from a source; as water issues from springs; blood issues from wounds; sap or gum issues from trees; light issues from the sun.
2. To go out; to rush out. Troops issued from the town and attacked the {enemy}.
3. To proceed, as progeny; to spring.
4. To proceed; to be produced; to arise; to grow or accrue; as rents and profits issuing from land, tenements, or a capital stock.
5. In legal pleadings, to come to a point in fact or law, on which the parties join and rest the decision of the cause. Our lawyers say, a cause issues to the court or to the jury;
6. To close; to end. We know not how the cause will issue.
7. To send out; to put into circulation; as, to issue money from a treasury, or notes from a bank.
8. To send out; to deliver from authority; as, to issue an order from the department of war; to issue a writ or precept.
9. To deliver for use; as, to issue provisions from a store.
10. Descended; sent out.
11. Flowing or passing out; proceeding from; sending out.
12. A flowing or passing out.
13. Emission; a sending out, as of bills or notes.

The Webster's English definitions of "issue" are very similar to the woman described in Proverbs 31; the women in Psalms 68:11-14; and the woman of Samaria in John 4:27-30.

What were man and woman to do in God's creation?

Genesis 1:28
28. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

The first thing man and woman experienced after creation was God's blessing. Male and female were created to receive the blessing of God. There are four Hebrew words used for blessing. They are barak(1288) berak(1289) ashar(833)esher(835). The Hebrew word used for "blessed" in the Genesis description of the first thing God did to His creatures created in "Our likeness, according to Our image" is barak(1288) which means "to kneel, bless." The Hebrew word used for the noun "knee" is berek(1290) which comes from barak(1288) which is translated "blessed" rather than "kneeled." Even though the English language can separate these two behaviors, the Hebrew language does not separate them. When God wanted to bless His creatures, He had to kneel to do so.

After the man and woman were created very good by their Creator, they experienced God kneeling in their presence to bless them. This is extremely hard for the finite, religious mind to comprehend, and yet the language of the Old Testament makes it very clear. Just as a human parent often kneels before his/her child to communicate love, assistance or discipline, so God chose to kneel to bless His creatures. The Greater One kneels to bless the lesser. The Superior Creator kneels to bless the creatures. The Master Designer kneels to bless the designed.

Even though the Creator declared all of His original creation as "good," the Maker of the Universe did not kneel or bless the light, the expanse of heaven, the earth, the seas, the plants, the fruit trees, the greater light, the lesser light, or the stars. He did not bless the living creatures that came from the dust of the earth by kneeling. Thus the cattle, the creeping things, and the beasts of the earth did not have their Creator kneel before them to bless them. Mankind did not evolve from these creatures.

However, the birds of the air and the creatures of the waters were "blessed" by God. The kneeling in blessing is the same description as that which is done with the male and female made in God's likeness and image. Thus those which could move in the air and travel through the seas received the blessing of God's bended knee. Perhaps man and woman were able to fly through the air like a bird and explore the seas like a fish! We do not know exactly why, but the CREATOR treated the birds, sea creatures, man and woman the same. The dove, wind (air), and water, are signs in creation that point to the Holy Spirit. To bless these radically different creatures, the MASTER DESIGNER knelt.

The New Testament reveals the same true picture of God, the Son. To wash the feet of another, the bended knee is the best position. Even though the word "kneel" is not used in the historical account, this menial task given to the lowliest of servants implies Jesus is in a "kneeling" position.

John 13:1
1. Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
2. And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, {the son} of Simon, to betray Him,
3. {Jesus,} knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God,
4. *rose from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about.
5. Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
6. And so He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?"
7. Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you shall understand hereafter."
8. Peter *said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."
9. Simon Peter *said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."
10. Jesus *said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all {of you.}"
11. For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."
12. And so when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and reclined {at the table} again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
13. "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for {so} I am.
14. "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15. "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.
16. "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither {is} one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
17. "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
18. "I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but {it is} that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.'
19. "From now on I am telling you before {it} comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am {He.}
20. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."

In the beginning the Creator knelt and blessed His creatures as He willed, and in the fullness of time, He knelt and showed the way of blessing to His chosen disciples. This is one of the ways in which male and female are made in the image of God: kneeling to bless willingly and kneeling to serve voluntarily.

Matthew 23:11
11. "But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
12. "And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

When on bended knee in the King's presence, the King may delegate some to even "command" as the Creator did and as Jesus did.

Each of the creatures who received this blessing of God were to be fruitful and multiply within their own designated spheres of activity. The birds in the air; the living creatures in the sea; and the man and woman on the earth.

The word "fruitful" in Hebrew is parah(6509) which means "to bear fruit, be fruitful." The pronunciation of the Hebrew sounds like "pair" In English. Both the English and the Hebrew give the idea of "adding to," "to increase." The birds, the sea creatures, the male and the female, the man and the woman were commanded by their Creator to increase who they were; they were to "multiply" by "pairs." The male did not originally make himself multiply. He could not "duplicate" himself; nor could a duplicate of himself bear the image and likeness of God. The male needed diversity (female) in his plurality to be made in "Our image, according to Our likeness." Multiplication is not possible with only one creature or with two creatures of the same gender.

The Hebrew word for "multiply" is rabah(7235a) which means "to become much, many or great." The following translations of this Hebrew word into English reveals God's will for the birds, the sea creatures and man and woman:

abundance, numerous, considerable, continue, enlarge, excessively, give, grow, gather much, have many, heap, increase, large, lavish, make more, makes me great, much, multiply, outnumber, plenty, profited, reared, repeatedly, surpassed, thoroughly, wealth.

However, this is where the comparison to flying creatures and swimming creatures ends; for man and woman were given "much more" than the birds and the sea creatures.

The next command God gave to man and woman while on His knees is "fill the earth." The Hebrew word for "fill" is male(4390) which looks just like the English word "male"! It means "to be full, to fill," but it has such a rich plethora of translations. They are:

accomplished, aloud, armed, complete, confirm, consecrate, covered, dedicate, drenched, drew, ended, endowed, expired, fullness, gratified, live, massed, messengers, mount, ordain, overflowing, passed, presume, refresh, required, satisfied, set, space.

Only man and woman could do these kinds of things. This was not God's will for the birds or the bees or the creatures of the seas! God's highest crown of creation was man and woman, and human beings were created "in Our image, in Our likeness" to do something more. In the beginning God's glory was only in Eden. The man and woman were to "fill the earth with God's glory"! {See Numbers 14:21; John 15:8-9}.

They were both told together to "subdue the earth." This is a very "strong" word in the Hebrew. It is kabash(3533) which means "to subdue, to bring into bondage." It is also translated as "subjugate, trample, tread under foot, forced into bondage, assault, brought them into subjection, forcing." God in His foreknowledge knew that there would be something on earth that needed to be subjugated, and man and woman were commanded "to subdue the earth" together by filling it full with those just like them; others who are made in the image and likeness of God, the CREATORS; filling it with God's glory.

The last command given to man and woman was "rule." The Hebrew word for "rule" is radah(7287a) which means "to have dominion, rule, dominate." Man and woman were to dominate or rule or have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over the earth and over every living thing that creeps on the earth. The Creator knew in His foreknowledge that there would be a creeping thing, a beast of the field that would be "more crafty" than all the other living creatures and would need to be dominated and reminded what its place was in the order of creation.

Even though the male and female who were made in the image and likeness of the Creator were commanded to rule over the other living creatures, they were not originally commanded to rule over each other. They were co-rulers who were also created to be co-dependent in the purest sense of the word. They were created and chosen by the Creator to reveal the plurality and diversity of the Creators. They were also co-equals who were to exemplify to all the rest of the creation and to each other unity and submission to the Creator and the unity and submission of the Creators. They were co-rulers, man and woman, appointed by their Creator to have power, love, influence, authority, and supremacy over that which God had delegated to them: lesser creatures and the Garden. If they were found faithful with the little, they would be entrusted with a wider influence (Luke 19:17).

When woman is defined and described from God's point of view, she was designed as one who is to set an example by word and deed the likeness of The Holy Spirit (God) and The Son (God) {see 1Corinthians 7:34). In Genesis 1 and 2 the woman is never equated with anything that resembles The FATHER. Obviously that is the sole responsibility of man, the male. However, as woman is examined in the revelation of the words that are used to describe the original creation and her specific design, it is obvious that God Himself desired something uniquely in woman that was not given to man. In Genesis 1 and 2 the man clearly represents the Father and the Son, but not specifically the Holy Spirit. This in no way gives woman superiority over man, but neither does man have superiority over the woman. Neither one were given the likeness or image of all three manifestations of God. God's man and woman were made in "Our image and according to Our likeness," but the creatures were never the CREATORS. Both were given the double likeness, but each was missing one likeness. This created the pure co-dependency upon each other that was necessary to keep them "kneeling before God" (single, married, in the church, in the world) as His loving, worshipful creatures {1Corinthians 11:11; 1Corinthians 12:22; 1Peter 3:7}.

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