“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Those are the famous words with which the Bible begins. In six days God created the world. Indeed, the mighty power of God is forever seen by the things that He has made (Jeremiah 32:17).

It is not the least bit surprising, to those of us who believe and trust in God, that everything He makes is good. However, after God created man on the sixth day, not everything was just right. There was something lacking. Something was not good! God knew it was not good, but before He filled the void, He wanted man to see it. In Genesis 2:18 God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” 

There are a couple of things that I want to point out here from verse 18. We need to understand the significance of the words “help meet.” The word is not helpmate. There are two Hebrew words here, not one. The first word simply means a helper. Woman was created to help man. This was God’s will from the beginning. Every wife should be a helper to her husband. All wives should be asking themselves the question, how am I helping my husband? Am I supporting him or am I fighting against him? Am I making his life better, easier, and more satisfying, or am I adding difficulty to his life? These are not insignificant questions; for, regarding the very first husband/wife relationship, we find that the primary function and obligation of the wife was to help her husband. She was created for that purpose.

The second Hebrew word is insightful as well. Eve was brought forth, not as a helpmate, but a help meet. The Hebrew word translated “meet” in the KJV is often translated as “suitable.” What would make a helper suitable for man?  We find out in the text by way of contrast. All the animals were brought before Adam but there was not a suitable helper from among them (2:19-20). You see, what man really needed was a being just like himself. A being that was his counterpart. And this is implied by the Hebrew word that we are considering. Listen to some other translations:

“And the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’” NKJV

“And Jehovah God saith, ‘Not good for the man to be alone, I do make to him a helper — as his counterpart.’” Young’s Literal Translation

Do you know what a counterpart is? Here is what Webster’s Dictionary says:

“One of two corresponding copies of a legal instrument: duplicate; a thing that fits another perfectly; something that completes or compliments; one remarkably similar to another.”

Woman was not created to stand over the man and feed him grapes or to be his slave. She was created as his counterpart; his other half, so that she could meet what he really needed, that is, a comparable being with which to share his life.  Man was created with the need for friendship and companionship; the need to love and to be loved; to understand and to be understood. Man, in other words, was created as a social being whose real needs could only be met by another being of the same kind…a being who could give him the intimate relationship and spiritual fellowship for which he was made. Thus, woman was created.

What this means is that man and woman are equal, not regarding authority in the home, but concerning value and worth. This is verified by Genesis 1:27. Man and woman, and therefore husbands and wives, are equal in value because they were both created in the image of God. I like the point that has been made about women being taken from the rib of man. Read vers. 21 and 22. “Woman was not created from the head of man, implying that she might rule over him.  Nor was woman created from the foot of man, implying that she should be trampled under his feet.  But rather woman was taken out of his side that she might be equal with him; taken from under his arm that she might be protected by him, and taken near his heart that she might be loved by him.” 

Understanding the equality of men and women would solve many problems in marriage relationships and help marriages to be what God desires.  Marriage excels when both spouses understand the equality of the sexes. Husbands, your wife is not inferior to you, nor are you inferior to her. Wives, your husband is not inferior to you, nor are you inferior to him.  You are both counterparts of each other.  That is the significance of the wife being the Help Meet for her husband. God knew exactly what man needed and gave it to him—a person equal to him and suitable in every way.