411. In all the Bible no sin is held up to human contempt more than Esau’s. Now we readily imagine that Esau, after he had sold out his birthright, might attempt to bolster up his self-respect by putting a gloss of virtue over his sin. “See how I loved Jacob! See how self-effacing I have been! Behold my meekness! In my humility I gave my brother the chief place.” But God would say to all this, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” God turns away with loathing from the sin of the self-indulgent shirk. Such “virtuous” veneer is not thick enough to hide woeful self-indulgence as its mainspring. Women need to study well the lesson. Woman was created as a help “meet,” sufficient for man; and because it was “not good” for him to be alone. And later, by all he had lost she was left sole heir of a great inheritance,¾to furnish the seed for a better race. She has fulfilled her call in part, by the virginal birth of Jesus Christ. Its complete fulfillment implies a large spiritual progeny growing out of the spiritual activity of woman. She must not sell her birthright (for it is the same one, except greater, that Esau sold), by a vicious self-effacement.
412. That is sham virtue in woman which lends a cloak or gives stimulus to vice in man. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” That which begets virtue in others is virtue; that which begets vice is vice. A wifely self-immolation which encourages masculine sensuality is vice. A feminine “humility” which gives place for the growth of masculine egotism is vice.
The call of a wife to be help MEET comes with authority and power to make a difference. But if I remain trampled down, believing I am less, inferior, deserve mistreatment…. then I am rejecting my birthright as a precious daughter of the King, I am engaging in the SIN of self-rejection.
[...] Husband hooked on vices? Wife REPENT from your vicious self-effacement. Rise up and be help MEET! [...]
From Godswordtowomen.org’s Word Studies (click here):
The Torah Study for Reform Jews says, “From the time of creation, relationships between spouses have at times been adversarial. In Genesis 2:18, God calls woman an ezer kenegdo, a “helper against him.” The great commentator Rashi takes the term literally to make a wonderful point: “If he [Adam] is worthy, [she will be] a help [ezer]. If he is not worthy [she will be] against him [kenegdo] for strife.” This Jewish study also described man and woman facing each other with arms raised holding an arch between them, giving a beautiful picture of equal responsibility.