Cause and Effect: The Curse is Effect

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

(Genesis 3:16) KJV

If we understand cause and effect, then the effect is God placing the woman under the authority of the man, therefore the cause was her having formerly had authority over him. That’s logic. Adam chose to submit to his wife when she handed him the forbidden fruit. Whether it was intended or not, at that time she was obviously the leader.

And so this leads us to consider the phrase help meet. Some people use this word as helpmeet, a noun which supposedly embodies all of the teaching about wives in the New Testament. As such a helpmeet is a demure female who adores her husband and does whatever he tells her to do – and thinks whatever he tells her to think. Such an entity doesn’t exist, and it’s not what God created women to be.

If help meet means a helper who is suitable, then what could possibly be wrong with a female analogue of Adam made from the dust of the ground? If the wife’s role is to obey her husband and compliment him on how big his muscles are, then why did God need to carry out the rib removal operation?

Clearly there’s another reason why God made the woman the way he did, and it has to bear on the intended relationship between the man and woman.

Rib Meat Help Meet – Navigation

Section	Title	Scripture
1	Introduction	Genesis 2:20-23
2	Institutionalized Misogyny	Ephesians 5:21-22
3	Cause and Effect: The Curse is Effect	Genesis 3:16
4	A Woman Clothed with the Sun	Revelation 12:1
5	Help can be Active or Passive	Acts 8:30-31
6	Agree to Disagree	Judges 5:25, 4:21
7	Ultimate Responsibility	Romans 5:18
8	Salvation	Romans 10:9-10

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