Being Childless: Biblical Perpective, Part 4

For part three in these series, please click, Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part III

In II Samuel 6:23, the author says, that as a result of her despising, condemning, humiliating, criticizing David and holding him in contempt, she did not bear any child till her death. That is a profound statement, a profound judgment. In II Samuel 21:8, she is mentioned as having raised her sister’s children. The lack of understanding of the God of Israel, non-submissive attitude towards her husband, a life of unrepented sin, caused so much pain and humiliation to her. The children who were raised by her were put to death, verse 9.

From the very beginning, woman and her womb has been closely associated. In Genesis 3:16, God’s judgment to the woman on her disobedience was this: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bear children.” In Genesis 20, due to the sin of king Abimelech, king of Gerar, God shuts the womb of all the women in the household of the king for the sake of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. On king Abimelech’s acceptance of his sin and restoration of Sarah to Abraham, Abraham prays to God and then they bore children, verse 17.

God forgives sin but we will have to face the consequences of our sin. If your life is filled with porn, pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, and sex with prostitutes, and when you repent of your sins and come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, God will forgive your sin but you will have to live with the consequences of that lifestyle. In II Samuel 12, God confronts David with the sin of sexual immorality with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, husband of Bathsheba. In verse 13, David repents of his sin, ‘So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Though God forgave his sin, still he had to bear the consequences of his sin, verse 13, 14.

God of the Bible does not consider a barren woman to be cursed. While on the way to the cross to be crucified, Jesus said (meant), ‘you consider a barren woman to be cursed, but hear this, “the days are coming in which they will say, ‘blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore a child.”

When God shuts your womb, He is allowing an opportunity in your life for His name to be glorified. It does not mean that you continue to pray to God and expend your hard earned money on finding medical solution. It does not mean that you continue to wait for the Lord to work miracle in your life. Was there only Sarah, Samson’s mother, the great woman of Shunem, Hannah, Elizabeth who were barren, in all the history of Israel? Of course, there would have been other women who would have been barren. What happened to all the other barren women? Did they all conceive and bore a child? We do not know. The Holy Spirit had chosen to mention only these women because God had specific plan to glorify His name in them and through them.

 For part 5 in the series, please click,

Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part III

For part two in these series, please click on Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part II

In II Kings 4:8, we read about a woman. She is referred to as a ‘great woman.’ II Kings 4: 8-10, ‘and it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was 

a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. Verse 9, and she said unto her husband, behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passed by us continually. Verse 10, ‘please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.’ You see her ministry to God’s mighty man. Verse 14, and Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no child, and her husband is old.” Verse 16, Elisha says, “About this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” Verse 17, ‘but the woman conceived, and bore a son….’

A woman having a compassionate heart for God’s people, a woman serving God’s prophet is barren. She in no way is a cursed woman. In spite of not having a child, she is not a bitter woman. She is not angry. On the contrary, she has a service attitude, she is a content woman. Verse 13, “and Elisha said to him, “say now to her, ‘look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” O, what a content woman.

Luke 1: 5-7, ‘there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah, his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Verse 6, and they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Verse 7, but they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

See, righteous people, obeying God’s commandments, blameless and yet barren. God had a purpose in her being a barren and them being well advanced in years. God gave them a child, who was known as John the Baptist.

In all the instances where Bible talks about a woman being barren, it never associates barrenness to sin. In all the references, God had been glorified through the barrenness of the woman.

This discussion is incomplete without reference to II Samuel 6:23, ‘therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.’ ²⁰ Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”

²¹ So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. ²² And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

For part four in the series, please click on Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part 4

Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part II

For first part on the topic, please click, Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part I

Children are a blessing from God. The Psalmist in Psalms 127: 3 says, 'lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.' It is the normal progression of a married life to have a child. Children complete your marriage. After a brief period in your marriage, to fill your life with joy, love and excitement, it is God's design for your family to have a child. It is natural for a couple to crave for a child.

You long for a child not to prove that you are a man or a woman. You long for a child not to prove your neighbors, society or relatives wrong. You long for a child not to continue your family line. You long for a child cos you love children. When you love children, why do you deprive yourselves of the joy of having a child through adoption?

Is it God's curse to not bear a child? In Genesis chapter 11 and verse 30, it says, 'but Sarai was barren; she had no child. The Bible does not comment on Sarai's sinfulness as the cause of her barrenness, but we all know that God had a purpose in her being barren. That He may glorify Himself. He did not want to share His glory. To ensure that all glory was ascribed to Him, He gave them the promised child when they were stricken in age.

Again in Judges Chapter 13, we see a woman, wife of Manoah, who was barren. In verse 2, it says, 'and his wife was barren and bore not. Does it talk about her sin being the reason? No it does not. See, what does it say, verse 3, 'And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, "Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Verse 24, so the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew and the LORD blessed him. We know what a mighty man of God Samson became.

God used her barrenness to bring glory to Himself. Her being barren was for a reason. To not let her glory but let all glory be ascribed to God. She was a proven barren. There was no way she could have said, this is my child.

I Samuel 1:2 say Hannah had no children. There is no comment on her sin. If there is any doubt of her being a sinful woman, you can discard that doubt by reading verse 7, which says, 'So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD.' She found her solace and comfort in the house of the LORD. In verse 11, where Hannah is praying in the house of the LORD. This is what she prays, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me and not forget your maidservant but will give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life." 

There is no comment for her reason to be barren. It just states a fact that she was barren. In verse 5, it says, 'the LORD had closed her womb.' verse 6, 'and her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. See, she was not despised by God. She was not reviled by God. She was humiliated by a fellow human being who did not understand the purpose of God. Then we know how God blessed Hannah with a child who she called Samuel who went on to become a mighty prophet of God.

For part three in these series, please click, Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part III

Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part I

Paul in Romans 12:2 says, ‘Do not be conformed to this world.’ 

It bothers me that we have brought into the church, the customs, practices of the non-believing society that we live in, which are contrary to the teachings and doctrines of the Bible. To our own hurt, have we followed these beliefs. The church has always faced this problem, this issue. It is not a new discussion that we are entering into. From the days of the early church, Paul had to confront believers who followed and practiced the customs of the unregenerate culture that they came from. In I Corinthians chapter 3 verse 3, he confronts the Corinthians church believers of being envious, of striving with each other and divisions among them. In chapter 5, he confronts the sin of sexual immorality within the church. In chapter 6, he confronts believers of going to court against another believer and in that same chapter, he again warns believers to stay away from sexual immorality. In chapter 7, he discusses the topic of marriage, of relationship of husband with his wife and of wife with her husband. In chapter 8, idolatry, in chapter 9, about him being criticized and in the end of the same chapter, about self-control and discipline of body. He goes on and on about the sin prevailing in the church.

History tells us that it was a city of sin and from that sinful culture, there were individuals who believed in Jesus and were part of the church. So, it is obvious that they brought in with them the baggage.

We have been born in this society, we went to school with unbelieving children, and our communications and time have been spent in the company of unbelievers. We have been raised in this culture. We have been bombarded with this belief system though our parents, friends, media, and movies. Before we realized, those belief system have already become a part of us. It has so deeply seeped in the mindset of Christian individuals that it is difficult to see it as sinful custom.

Folks, 'our faith is not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God', I Corinthians 2: 5. Our thought process, our ways in life are different from the ways of unbelievers. Our belief system is different. We don’t think the way the world thinks. We don’t act the way the world act. We don’t do things the way the world does.

Let's look at some of the false beliefs that we practice in the church. And I will start with the issue of adoption. In India, if a married couple fails to have a child, it is considered a disgrace. That gods are not pleased with you. You need to appease the gods. You need to fend off the curse. The couple spends years making trips to countless temples, mosques, god-men and medical practitioners to somehow break this curse. They live with the hope that someday they will have their own child. With that belief, they waste the best years of their lives and spend it in being sorrow, anger, confusion, hatred and seek to forget the issue by getting involved in other things or areas. 

Is not the culture that we live in against the concept of adoption? Does it not look down on parents who adopt children? Is it not a disgrace in our society to adopt children? When we do not adopt children, depriving ourselves of the joy, thrill and renewal of energy that they bring in, we unconsciously practice the belief system of the unregenerate society.

Have we not brought this belief system in the church? Are we not guilty of this act, thought process? Have we not made a fool of ourselves like the people outside the church? Are there not believing couples who are suffering because of this belief? A childless Christian couple, without having an understanding of the Bible on this issue, they undergo pain and suffering. Do they not suffer in their relationship with God and with each other?

For part two on this topic, click on Being Childless: Biblical Perspective, Part II