What does the Bible say about pregnancy?

"Unto the woman he said, Increasing (greatly) I will increase thy sorrow and thy conception: in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; unto thy husband [shall be] thy desire, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto thy wife's voice, and hast eaten of the tree [of] which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed [be] the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all thy life's days; and thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat herbage of the field; in sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken. For dust [art] thou, and unto dust shalt thou return" (vers. 16-19).

As with the serpent, Jehovah Elohim speaks to the woman of the present governmental effects of her sin. Woman, more than any other female, was to have sorrow multiplied in her pregnancy and in her bringing forth offspring. Woman, not man, is the victim of reiterated sorrow in this respect. It was righteous, however sad. She first listened to the enemy, despising God and His word; then she drew her husband after her into the ditch. Henceforth she was to be subject; like a younger brother to an elder (Gen. 4:7), her desire was to be to her husband, and he should rule over her. The fall would make this hard. How different the original position of companionship! Sin made God a judge: before it, He simply blessed. But grace in Christ leaves Him free now in better and eternal blessings for faith.

Having dealt with the serpent the Lord God turned to the woman. A twofold judgment fell upon her; the result in God's government of her sin. Childbirth was to become a time of sorrow and suffering for her, and she was more definitely made subject to the rule of her husband. There has been much scheming in our day to get rid of both these things, but nothing can really abolish them.

When we think of how God has made us, does it not make us wonder at His greatness and wisdom? What a marvellous creature man is! Well do we praise God for His creatorial power, and for the wisdom displayed in making such a creature. What mysteries are wrapped up in the development of the unborn child! Every part unperfect, but not imperfect — mysteries of nature, body, mind, soul and spirit; mysteries that alone are known to God. Every member was foreknown to God before it existed: it was written in His book: and before it really existed, during the process of its formation, God's eye rested upon it. How blessed for the Christian to realise that God was interested in him before he had any being. Then to realise, as Paul did, that God's eye was upon him from his mother's womb (Gal. 1:15). There has not been a moment in our lives (and never shall be for all eternity), that God has not been interested in us watching over us; caring for us, with an infinite and eternal love. He knew all about us when we were born in sin and shapen in iniquity; but there was divine provision for it all in the cross of Christ. What a precious thought, He sent His Son to die upon the cross that we might receive the forgiveness of sins, be justified, have peace with God, and be accepted before Himself in His beloved Son.

Universal testimony renders it unnecessary for me to dwell upon the pain and peril of childbirth. Gen. 3:16. The apprehension of death which so often accompanies it tells a tale in a woman's heart which a man's indifference (Phases, p. 110) to it will avail little against. I am aware that Mr. N., who thinks it mawkish sentiment to make difficulties about hanging people for the good of society, and takes evil for granted, must, among other evils, take for granted that of parturition. But one who believes in goodness, though he believes God can bring good out of evil, and that He has attached increase of suffering to seeming greater ease, that men's lot may be more even — one who believes God is good may naturally ask, "Why was suffering attached to the bringing in an innocent babe into the world? Why was this special suffering attached to woman, and man left exempt from it necessarily and always?'' For, whatever the reason, general and universal suffering, more or less, there is in this respect. Were the Bible an imposture as to this, it could only found such an imposture on the universal consent of man's universal knowledge of the fact. There was not such extravagant effeminacy of habits when Moses wrote the Pentateuch. A person who founds his infidelity on an assertion that suffering does not, as a general rule, accompany childbirth, must be wonderfully fond of the infidelity he is sustaining.

Verse 15 refers to Genesis 3:16. She shall be preserved in child-bearing, delivered in the hour of trial and labor, if they continue in faith and love. and holiness with sobriety.

Childbearing is consistent with this lowly place, but a blessed honor nevertheless which is not given to the man. If any woman is inclined to question these things, she may well be greatly benefited by considering the many godly mothers of Scripture, whose subject lowly character shines with a beauty that can be seen in no other way. Yet, let us notice too that her being "saved in childbearing" is conditional not only upon her own continuing in faith and love and holiness with discretion, but upon this being true of both husband and wife: "If they continue." This surely impresses upon us the vital value of true spiritual unity in the marriage rela­tionship: a woman who marries an ungodly husband could not claim such a promise as this.

Everything about every individual is perfectly known to God, for He formed even the inward parts or kidneys, as the original really is, sometimes called "reins" because of being in driving control. The kidneys filter impurities from the blood, just as we are responsible to filter out all that is inconsistent with truth. God has made us with this ability, whether or not we use it rightly. But from the womb of one's mother, God is active in forming the individual (v. 13), and this fact awakens the praise of the psalmist's heart, for he is "fearfully and wonderfully made." Indeed, every detail of the human body is amazing, so that we may well agree that we know this very well.

Certainly, one's frame was not hidden from God, for his Creator had acted in secret with marvelous skill "in the lowest parts of the earth' (v. 15). This may be a reference to Adam's being formed from the dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7). It certainly must have taken some skill to accomplish a matter like this! And the Lord knew perfectly the substance of every individual long before this formation took place. He did not have to experiment to find what may be successful, but in His book (of course figuratively) everything about the person was written down long before his being in existence. How little indeed can we understand such wisdom!

LAWS CONNECTED WITH CHILDBIRTH

Every child born into the world adds to the sin that was first introduced by the woman. Yet God had told Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28), and this instruction was not changed when they sinned, though God told the woman, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16). But each child born is a reminder that sin requires a sacrifice. So in Israel when a woman had borne a male child, she was to be unclean for seven days. On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin was to be circumcised. The number eight signifies a new beginning, which takes place when the flesh is cut off, for “the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63).

Then she was to remain 33 days “in the blood of her purification” (v. 4). She was not to touch anything that was consecrated to the service of God, nor enter the sanctuary, until her purification was complete. But if she should bear a female child, the time was twice as long, two weeks being unclean and 66 days of waiting until purification was accomplished. This stems from the fact that “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression” (1 Tim. 2:14), and it is through the woman that the race of sinners is perpetuated.

In each case, however, when the time was completed, whether for a male or female, the mother was to bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove as a sin offering (v. 6). Notice here that there was no trespass offering, for it was not a matter of her having done anything wrong. But the sin offering deals with the sinful nature that is inherited by birth, so that this offering speaks of God having, by the cross of Christ, condemned sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3). The burnt offering tells us that God's glory is really the first consideration in this matter. When God is glorified and sin condemned, then the unclean is rendered clean (v. 7).

This strange confusion between being and nature existing in some minds, on the ground of which they infer that participation of the divine nature cannot be without participation in the Godhead, runs counter to one of the commonest facts of our ordinary human life. The babe in the womb lives of its mother's life, yet is a distinct entity from the mother; does not share her being, though it partakes of her life and nature, and moves or exercises vital functions independently of her volitions, of which Genesis 25:22, 25, and Luke 1:41, 44, are Scripture examples. Here then are two distinct beings—the mother and child—having a life and nature in common, the mother imparting her life and nature to the child without any resulting confusion of being or of personality; and shall there be found among God's own children those who, yielding to the puny reasonings of human intellect, question the fitness of Scripture language and teaching, and would limit the power of God to impart to His children His life and nature, without thereby confounding them with His Godhead?

One striking his servant and causing death would incur the death penalty himself, yet if the servant continued even only a day or two before dying, the penalty would not be effective. The only explanation given for this is, “for he is his money” (v. 21).

If through physical striving a woman is caused an abortion, the person responsible must pay some recompense, as the woman's husband demands, or as was to be determined by a judge. If however there were bad results for the woman, the guilty party would be held responsible for this, and the judgment would be commensurate with the injury, — “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (vv. 24-25). Of course, to literally pluck out one's eye because he had blinded another's eye, would not help the injured party. But he is entitled to a fair recompense.