CHILDBIRTH. Leviticus 12 The care God took in explaining the events surrounding a child's birth is significant because it reminds us that every child matters to God. There is no casual attitude toward the unborn, as if they lack value. When God creates life through fertilization, something important occurs because God is the Source of all life. The birth of a child is a joyful occasion, but it is also a serious one. A human being begins an eternal journey at conception, and that individual is now in a family to prepare for and be equipped for that journey.
As life unfolds for a new person, they will reach a point where they can place personal faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Savior. Those who do not believe in Christ will be forever lost in the lake of fire. The event of childbirth reminds us that every person will either be saved for heaven or lost in hell. With joy, we welcome the new child, and with seriousness, we are reminded of the purpose of every life and the consequences that lie ahead for each person.
Childbirth did not make the mother morally or spiritually unclean. God ordained and blessed childbirth even before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. The natural aspects of childbirth caused a Jewish mother to be ritually unclean for a certain period. Pain in childbirth was one of the curses that came after the fall into sin. We still live with a sinful nature that requires God’s mercy and spiritual cleansing.
The uncleanness related to childbirth does not mean something dirty or sinful, but rather bodily emissions that occur during childbirth. The temporary state of a woman's body after giving birth requires time to recover and heal. While this may not be considered a physical illness today, some degree of weakness may still take time to fully recover. A new mother in ancient Israel was not allowed to participate in any activities related to the Tabernacle or the altar until the specified period had passed. If the newborn was a boy, she was to wait one week for physical cleansing and for the circumcision to be performed. Afterward, a period of thirty-three days passed until she was considered ceremonially clean. If the child was a girl, she needed two weeks for physical cleanliness and sixty-six days for ceremonial purification.
Many of the things we read about Israel are hard to understand, but we can be sure there are reasons why God commanded certain things and forbade others. We might not know all the reasons behind events in our own lives, but that’s why our faith in God and willingness to follow His revealed will are so important. Trusting Him is pleasing to Him.
Religions of that ancient time often incorporated sex into their rituals as a fertility rite fueled by the desire to create new life and symbolically worship the life source they believed dwelt in their pagan idols. They were worshipping the creature more than the Creator. The planting of seeds was often accompanied by sexual promiscuity, as worshippers appealed to the pagan gods in hopes that life would emerge from the planted seed. The children of Israel were called to be distinctly different from the practices of Egyptian religion and Canaanite idolatry.
Worship of God and sexual activity were completely separate for those who followed the Lord. They were to "be fruitful and multiply" on earth, as God said at the beginning of human history, but their worship was focused on the God of heaven, who created all things and “by whom all things consist." Worship of God is directed to Him personally. We can thank Him directly for His gracious provision of food, clothing, and a bountiful harvest—and for giving us children.
How grateful we should be for His design of marriage—one man and one woman for life. Of course, we are thankful when our children are born safely, and we thank Him for the new life He has entrusted to us. We need to be aware in these days of sexual promiscuity and self-seeking pleasure that we do not see a new life as something we have the right to give or take away. Christians must remember it is "the Lord who giveth and the Lord who taketh away." Those things are not up to us, nor are they our rights. Abortion, euthanasia, and anything related to them are not rights we are entitled to. The keys to life and death are in the Lord's hands. We are not to take these matters into our own hands.
When a new mother brought a lamb for a burnt offering to the Lord, it was to be one year old. That lamb had to be born before the child's conception. God is the One who gives life to both the sinner and the substitute. It is significant that, before the child was conceived in sin, the sinless substitute was already provided for the child.
The perfection of our Lord Jesus Christ and the value of His person and work were already provided for us before we were born. Complete provision was made for our acceptance by God at the start of our existence. Every human being has had provision made for their salvation before they were conceived. The thousands who die in infancy every day have been provided for by God when the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was made—"The Lamb of God which beareth away the sin of the world."
Millions of children, whether unborn or born and who have died young, will become countless people praising God for who He is. Their voices may blend in worship with ours, as we worship as sinners saved by grace and give our praise and thanksgiving "unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood."
The new mother who brought her lamb, doves, or pigeons would be reminded that God gave life to her child, and her burnt offering would be all for God. She would also feel grateful for the blessing of having this new, important person in her life who constantly reminds her of the God who gives life. The waiting period before she offers her burnt sacrifice would give her plenty of time to consider the difference between the holy way the God of heaven and those who worship Him view life, and the immoral way that pagan idol worshippers see life.