Loving Babies

Exodus 21:22-25: “
 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life,  eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,  burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (ESV)

The world is split. Are babies in the womb human? Is it ok to kill them if they are unwanted by the mother? These are the two questions that are being asked. There are plenty of arguments that we hear from the “pro-choice” side: 1. it’s a blob of tissue, 2. the mother wouldn’t be able to support the child, 3. a woman can kill the baby in cases of rape and incest, 4. if the child had down syndrome, the child can be killed. These are the main arguments for killing a baby. The opposite side of the coin is the pro-life side. Their main arguments are: 1. it is a human being, 2. human beings have a right to life, 3. there is no good reason to take the life of an innocent human being. These both have very compelling emotional arguments for either side. The Christian needs to ask what does the Bible say? The Bible does not mention the word abortion but it does lay the foundation for the answer.

1. Human beings are created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27).
2. Humans are considered humans in the womb before they are born (Psalm 139:13-16).
3. Humans have the right not to be murdered. (Genesis 9:5-6; Exodus 20:13).

Those three foundations are found in the Bible. They are the same arguments for the pro-life side. Remarkably there is a law given to Israel by God concerning the unborn given in Exodus 21:22-25. This is the passage mentioned at the beginning of the article. It is not about abortion but it is an accidental death of an infant that results from men fighting and a pregnant woman being present. While this is not about abortion there is some groundwork laid for the pro-life case.

1. The child/children are considered human. They are not blobs of tissue. They are called children.
2. The children age given the same rights as adults. The tooth for tooth clause is instituted here. Judgements were not to be more severe than the offence itself. Judges and the father determined the price that must be payed.
3. The death of the child was considered to be murder (hence the life for life clause).

Some things to consider about this verse is that it is given in the Old Testament. It was given to the ancient Israelites for their government. Christians are not allowed to enforce the law. The governments are to enforce just laws. Christians are to be submissive to the government and do no harm to abortionists, abortion doctors, or pro-choice leaders. That does not mean we cannot warn them of the wrath of God pointed at them and they will have to face a holy righteous God on judgement day. They have murdered the innocent and will be eternally punished for it in the life to come unless they repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as their savior. They must be warned of the wrath to come. As Christians we can take the principle behind this case law and tell abortionists that what they are advocating for and doing is murder and they will face a holy God on judgement day. We need to love the abortionists by warning them and we need to love babies.

I hope this has blessed you. Please feel free to comment in the comment section. Please no profanity or pornography. Please also feel free to look at the resource section for my book series on how to study the Bible. Lord bless you.