When Life Truly Begins
Ryan Cox • September 24, 2021
When Life Truly Begins
Ecclesiastes 11:5, “Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.”
In this passage, the Hebrew word maw-lay’
is translated “pregnant” (“with child” in other versions). The word means, “full, fullness, fully” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). We learn from this that the womb of a mother is filled with child.
As soon as fertilization takes place, a baby’s genetic make-up is complete (“Fetal Development”, clevelandclinic.org). From that moment on, a mother is fully with child. It is not a tissue mass, but a human being made in the image of God, filling his or her mother’s womb.
16 times the Old Testament scriptures use haw-reh’
to refer to a pregnant mother; it means “conceive, with child” (Strong’s). Again, the Word of God is clear that a pregnant woman is “with child”, not “with bio-tissue”.
One such passage is Exodus 21:22. In the very first chapter after God gives the Ten Commandments, the Lord says, “²² If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely…
²³ if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life”. The Creator God Himself declared that if someone caused the death of a child in the womb, it was just as much murder as killing a child outside of the womb.
It must also be noted that in verse 22, the word yeh’-led
is used to refer to the “fruit” or child. The word is used 89 times in God’s Word and denotes children both in the womb and out.
To God, it matters not the child’s location (whether in a womb or not); the child is a precious human made in His image.
In the New Testament, the Greek word brephos
is used 8 times and translated “child, baby, or infant”. It is used in reference to Jesus both in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:41) and outside Mary’s womb (Luke 2:12). The idea that a baby isn’t a living child entitled to protection of the law until it is outside of the womb breathing on its own is completely obliterated by this word referring to one who has the breath of life both in the womb and out.
However, we have not yet answered the question as to when life truly begins. Most often we hear the argument that is most scientific – life begins at conception. This, though, is not necessarily scriptural. The Scriptures teach that life does NOT begin at conception, but BEFORE.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 says, “you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.” And God states in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before
I formed you in the womb
I knew you”.
Life does not begin at conception – life begins in the mind of God our Creator! And since we “do not know the activity of God who makes all things”, we cannot be so presumptuous to think we know
when
God (who is outside of time) determined in His eternal plan for life to create each and every one of His image bearers.
Humanity, therefore, has no right, let alone authority, to take the life of another human outside of the purview of the Creator’s authority and His eternal law found in His Book – the Bible.
For more information about the abortion issue, consult the 3-part series entitled “America’s Molech Worship” recently posted at www.creationtruth.com/thescroll
In Genesis 12 the Lord calls Abraham (Abram) to be the father of a great nation. This all happened to Abraham at 75 years old. Some might say that is too late in life to start something new, especially a calling of that magnitude. Yet that was not the overwhelming part to me; that would come in verse 7 when the Lord said the land would be his offspring’s. Wait, what?! The Lord had a plan and His Providence would guide Abraham, even when Abraham did not have offspring and did not wait on the Lord. I have to wonder how I would have reacted to such a call and covenant. As we know from Psalms, the Lord guides and sustains all by His Providence for His name sake, which we are focusing on this year. But does Providence act on our timing? When God called Abraham, he had no children. Yet the promise given was that his offspring would be a great nation in a land saved for them. What we know now is that Abraham wouldn’t have his son Isaac until he was 100 years old, a full 25 years after the covenant was made. Most of the time we expect the Lord’s hand working in our life to be immediate, but that is not always the case. In some cases it might take years to experience the Providence coming to fruition. Remember Genesis 21:2 states Isaac’s birth was at the “appointed time.” This understanding should give us peace as we rely on Providence and, at times, are called to patience. Providence was again on display for us to understand that even in obedient sacrifice He will be glorified, as Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, who was inherently tied to the covenant of the Lord. Abraham was faithful in all aspects, even when most of us might say “no way” to that sacrifice to the Lord. Yet at the right time, through faithfulness in Abraham’s obedience, there was Providence providing behind him in the ram. Our faithful obedience sometimes feels like a tough ask from the Lord, but rest assured He is there, ready to lift up His name through us. Providence continued through time, 100 years later, after Isaac had his sons, Jacob and Esau. Then Jacob was blessed by the Lord with 12 sons, one of which was Joseph, who was sold to Egypt by his brothers. You probably recall all the ups and downs of Joseph’s life, yet he was faithful to the Lord throughout them all. Remember, there was a covenant at stake. The Lord, through His Providence, made sure he had Joseph where He needed him to save the great nation of Israel from famine. This Providence secured the covenant line to continue to Christ. Many times throughout history Providence has guided and protected His covenant, and now you and I can be blessed with inclusion in His great nation through Christ. If it had not been so, then we literally have no assurance of our salvation. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ that His Providence is faithful for all eternity, so we may know peace and have confidence in the promised destiny. Our ministry here at CTF has always emphasized the importance of Genesis 12, Abraham’s covenant. We share there is no difference in importance of Genesis 1-11 over chapter 12 and through the entirety of the Bible. The whole Bible is inspired to be trustworthy and to show His Providence throughout history for His name’s sake and also for our salvation. Blessings.
Fort Necessity, also known as the Battle of the Great Meadows