A Different Breed By Pastor Lanre Oluseye

Everything that God did, He did with intentionality.

At the beginning of creation, women were not found wanting.

1. Though the woman was formed after man, both the man and the woman were created at the same time, in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

2. God blessed both the male and the female at the same time (Genesis 1:28).

3. Both the man and the woman were given the responsibility of being obedient as they took care of the garden of Eden.

When God formed the woman (Genesis 2:21);

– He put the man to sleep – Man did not see the process of the woman’s formation therefore man cannot fully understand the woman’s makeup.

– He used the strongest material in the human body – the bone. Thus, a woman has a higher threshold for pain, than man, who was formed from dust.

– God took the bone from the man’s rib – his side; setting a precedence that women and men are partners, side by side (Galatians 3:28,29).

– God put some extras in the woman, that were not in the man. He gave her a womb – the ability to carry another human inside her; and breasts – the instrument to nurture what she conceives. A woman is naturally empathetic, unlike the man, who has to learn empathy.

– God also put into woman the power to command male attention – by her beauty, form, carriage, etc. (Genesis 2:23).

Genesis 3:15 (NKJV) – The devil hates the woman, whether she has seed or not. He knows that if he can mess up the woman, he can mess up her seed which is meant to bruise its head.

During the time of Moses’ birth, women did not have a voice. Pharaoh’s wicked instruction to Shiphrah (which means ‘Beauty’) and Puah (meaning ‘Splendour’) to kill the male babies and preserve the female ones, is a revelation that women have the power to destroy men with their beauty and splendour. Shiphrah and Puah, however, did not obey Pharaoh even though they had the power to destroy the male children. They said ‘No!’, because they feared God (Exodus 1:17).

Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate women like Puah and Shiphrah who say ‘No!’ to Pharaoh and refuse to use the power of their beauty and splendour to pull down vulnerable men nor be the source of another woman’s pain, by their actions. The Pharaoh of today is the economy.

Watch out for the rise of powerful women who fear God without compromise (Proverbs 31:30). They are a different breed. They stand their ground for what is right in the face of the king of the day. They are beautiful and powerful but they fear God. They are uncommon. They make sacrifices so they can honour God through their actions. We praise God for a different breed of women. We appreciate all Shiphrahs and Puahs who instead of aborting a man’s destiny, help in birthing it. They see the men in their weaknesses and rather choose to save than kill them.

Prayer

Lord help me tell the difference between a midwife and an abortionist. Amen.