My church has challenged us to a 40 Day Scripture reading commitment. I read my Bible nearly every day, but this has deliberate passages and a chosen order. All verses come from my NKJV Study Bible.
Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
I HATE the concept of HELPER personally, but the illumination I saw from my NKJV study notes said that the word used for HELPER comes from the same root as TRUST in the related Psalms passages... Reading those Psalm prayers nearly made me shriek in the coffee shop! The same set of study notes said that COMPARABLE means "fully adequate or just right." I long for that, both to give and receive!
Psalm 33:20-22
20 Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.
Psalm 115:9-12
O Israel, trust in the LORD;
He is their help and their shield. (IS/present tense)
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The LORD has been mindful of us; (HAS BEEN/past)
He will bless us; (WILL/future)
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
As I prayed for my own circumstances, I felt Him saying "I am your perfectly compatible Helper; trust Me for what you want so deeply." Tough, yes... However, it's the only relationship that can't fail! I feel lonely and want equality in relationships rather than feeling like I must always receive and rarely have a chance to give, so the insight of Helper and "Trust" coming from the same place was necessary. I don't like needing help primarily because trusting those who help me is such a vulnerable thing. Bingo! That was yesterday, Day 2 of 40. Gonna be a challenging read!
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Good thoughts, Kjersti! Great observation. Don't know if your Bible notes mentioned this, but the word translated "helper" in that verse is "ezer" and is usually translated "strong helper". It's used throughout the Old Testament, but this is the only place where it refers to a human being. In every other instance it refers either to a defending army or, most frequently, to God Himself. It is an incredibly powerful word and you and I have been called not only to trust our Strong Helper, but also to BE "strong helpers"--"Ezers"--to those around us.
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