Man & Woman Equal? Yes and No! Genesis Chapter 2 and Its Implications for Relationships Part 6

Men & Women, Are We Equal?  Yes and No!

Genesis 2:21-22   ...and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made he a woman...

The piece of Adam that Eve contained made her a completer of the man.  God did not replace the piece that he took from the man, but left man without this piece.

As Adam states later, Eve was truly flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone.  She was formed by God using a piece of him.  The woman contained what the man now lacked.

As I read through one of the commentaries on this chapter by Adam Clarke, he made the point that the woman had "equal, power, faculty and rights" as the man.  I immediately disagreed with his point while not considering the full context of his point, nor the time period in which he lived (1830's). 

In an effort to clearly not side with the argument made by some that men & women are equal, I did not look at the spiritual perspective.  In a spiritual sense, men and women are both equal souls--important to God.  The woman complimented the man accordiing to God's specifications.  She was not in the same category as the animals, she was similar to man, yet different from him. 

This point of equality probably had a different meaning in the 1830's, a time where women may have been seen and treated as inferior.

Today, in our post-feminist era, women are applauded from many different angles.  They are told they are equal to man, but not so much from a soul's worth perspective, moreso from a competitive "I'm better than you perspective."  This has led to much discord and confusion on the part of men and women. 

God is definitely able to create identical, but He did not do that in the creation of man & woman. 
One the one hand: We look different anatomically and emotionally.  We are not identical. 
On the other hand:  Men and women are a special creation of God.  Our souls are equally important to God.  So yes, from that perspective, we are equal spiritually.

All this may sound like an unrelated discussion, however, what we understand about God's perspective on men and women affects how we relate to each other.  If this is a competitive race, we treat each other differently.  If we consider that both male and female are precious souls in God's eyes, it changes they way we think and act toward each other.

Adam Clarke's commentary on Genesis Chapter 2:
http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=ge&chapter=2&verse=15#Ge2_15