Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, January 19, 2020
Shavuah Tov *|FNAME|*,
A hearty “thank you” to Senator/Doctor Raymond Finney for this excellent RR.
Life Is A Wondrous Gift from God (Part 3)
INTRODUCTION: This third installment of a three-part series on abortion in America is written in recognition of Sanctity of Life (SOL) Sunday. In 2020, this Sunday is today (January 19). Many Believers observe SOL Sunday to mourn the anniversary of the January 22, 1973 Roe vs Wade and Doe vs Bolton legal decisions, which permitted abortions in all states. Since this date of infamy, at least 61,628,584 abortions (and counting!) have been performed in America.
INCOMPLETE RR: In this RR, I cite verses from God’s Holy Word to provide a sense of how our Heavenly Father feels about preserving or ending any life He has created. Limited RR space will not permit listing the many other Scripture references I have. Space constraints also prevent printing the Bible text for each verse. Read your Bible to fill in missing parts. I know, this RR is too long. Even though long, I have deleted more than half of my original draft. I am trying, but….
WE, INCLUDING UNBORN BABIES, ARE CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE:
The Bible teaches that God (Hebrew: Elohim) created humans in His image. God’s image is an eternal spirit, which is the counterpart of a human’s eternal soul. By possessing souls, humans are unique among the world’s animals. When God breathed His breath into Adam’s nostrils, He transferred His immortal spirit into succeeding generations of Adam’s race. In the Genesis account, the Hebrew neshamah may be translated “breath of God” or “spirit of man.” Shells of clay for Adam and for each of us are transformed into God’s image, because of God’s spirit (gift of souls). There is no age limit (before or after birth) for a human to receive God’s love and His eternal spirit. A person’s soul becomes part of his/ her makeup at conception, not later in gestation or at birth. When a nation callously kills unborn babies, do we assault the very spirit of God?
** Read Genesis 1:1, 26-28a.
** Read Genesis 2:7, 22.
WE HUMANS ARE GOD’S CHILDREN:
God created us, and He considers us to be His children. There is no age limit (before or after birth) to be considered a child of God.
** Read Acts 17:28.
** Read 1 John 3:1a, 2a.
GOD KNOWS AND LOVES US, EVEN BEFORE WE ARE BORN:
Abba Father knows and loves His children, even before we are born.
** Read Psalm 139:13-16.
** Read Jeremiah 1:4-5a.
** Read Isaiah 49:1b, 5a.
GOD HAS PLANS FOR US, EVEN BEFORE WE ARE BORN:
Abba Father has plans for His children’s future lives, even before we are born.
** Read Genesis 25:22-23a.
** Read Romans 9:10-11.
** Read Matthew 1:18b, 22-23.
** Read Luke 1:36a, 44 || 2:21.
WE ARE SPECIAL IN GOD’S EYES:
Humans– God’s children– are so special that God knows every detail about us.
** Read Matthew 10:29-31.
GOD– NOT MAN– SHOULD DECIDE WHEN A LIFE ENDS:
God, the Giver of life, should decide when human life ends. Man should leave that decision to God.
** Read Job 12:10.
** Read Psalm 31:15.
GOD FORBIDS BLOOD SHEDDING OF (KILLING) AN INNOCENT PERSON:
The lives of God’s children are sacred. We must carefully safeguard others’ lives. One of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:13) is mistranslated as, “Thou shalt not kill.” The verb, here, is the Hebrew ratsach (translated, “intentional, planned, or premeditated killing”). A better translation of this commandment is: “You shall not murder” (that is, “You shall not commit a planned [premeditated] killing”). In the Proverbs text (below), the LORD states He hates “hands that shed innocent blood.” How can an unborn baby be anything but innocent? Abortionists should read the Deuteronomy text (below), and consider: Is a fee for service to commit abortion the same as a bribe to kill an innocent person (which God curses)? Are supporters/ activists of pro-abortion organizations accomplices in unborn babies’ deaths? Take care whom you support.
** Read Exodus 20:1, 13.
** Read Exodus 21:22-23.
** Read Exodus 23:7.
** Read Proverbs 6:16, 17c.
** Read Deuteronomy 27:25a.
YESHUA’S LOVE OF AND PROTECTIVE HEART TOWARD CHILDREN:
Yeshua loved/ loves little children. He sternly warned/ warns against harming them in any way. Yeshua, surely knowing the careful, miraculous love in which children are created, would never think of a baby as merely “a clump of cells.”
** Read Matthew 19:14. Similar passages: Mark 10:14 and Luke 18:16.
** Read Matthew 18:6. Similar passages: Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:2.
IN DISPUTED OR AMBIGUOUS LAW, GOD’S LAW IS SUPREME:
The Bible pays great deference to rulers and governments. If man’s law– including a Supreme Court decision– conflicts with God’s law, however, we are to follow God’s law. Biblical laws are far, far superior to Supreme Court rulings.
** Read Acts 5:29.
GODS WORD IS SUPERIOR TO FALSE TEACHINGS AND KNOWLEDGE:
Many false teachings have arisen and will continue to arise. Truth comes from the Word of God, even if false teachers claim otherwise. Paul cautioned Timothy to avoid “science” or “knowledge” (Greek = gnosis), if such “babblings” contradict faith. Contradicting God’s Truth today are breathless babblings of “learned” men/ women (media, university professors, politicians, etc.). Follow God, not false teachers. Man’s theories (science, knowledge) often fail scrutiny, are proven false, and are discarded, but God’s Truth is eternal and unchanging.
** Read 1 Timothy 6:20-21a.
CONTRADICTING GOD’S WORD SOWS SEED WITH A BITTER HARVEST:
As God warned and punished Israel for her sins, He surely warns and will punish America for her rebellious sins (including America’s obsession for abortion and the sexual deviancy and promiscuity which contribute to a climate for unwanted pregnancies and abortions). A people harvest the seeds they sow.
** Read Hosea 8:7a.
“MY BODY (AND ANY BABY INSIDE) IS MINE TO DO WITH AS I WISH:”
A popular justification for abortion raised by feminists is: “It’s my body. I’ll do whatever I wish with it. No man, no government will tell me what I must do.” The Bible clearly teaches that a person’s body (and a baby growing inside) is God’s temple. Creator God’s temple (a person’s body) is dishonored by abusing drugs, sexual promiscuity, abortion for convenience, and other forms of defilement.
** Read Isaiah 53:5.
** Read Romans 12:1.
** Read 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 || 6:19-20.
FIGHT FOR YOUR BELIEFS:
If you are pro-life and wish to encourage women not to abort their babies for convenience, become a voice for life. God has placed the burden of healing a nation of her sins on only one group of people– “The LORD’s people who are called by His name” (2 Chronicles 7:14). If you are called by the LORD’s name, you are burdened with fighting (contending) to heal America, through humbling yourself, praying, seeking His face (presence), and turning from wickedness.
** Read 2 Chronicles 7:14.
** Read Jude 1:3.
DO YOUR DUTY TO DEFEND THE WEAK:
Can there be anyone weaker than an unborn baby? Scriptures command us to defend the poor, the fatherless, the afflicted, and the needy. Defend unborn babies’ lives (without violence or illegal actions). Having no voice, unborn babies are defenseless. We Believers can be the only friends of unborn babies.
** Read Psalm 82:3-4.
** Read Proverbs 31:8-9.
YOUR SILENCE IS UNACCEPTABLE:
Edmund Burke (1729-1797) is credited with saying: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” A Believer who remains silent, when faced with sin or injustice, becomes a party to that sin or injustice. Elsewhere in this RR series, I have suggested ways to make your voice heard.
God’s Word tells us that the tongue (words) of the righteous is as choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is worthless (Proverbs 10:20). Guided by the Holy Spirit, your words are powerful. Do not silence your words. Speak for good! We are told that a most evil man– Satan’s chief demon, whom we call the Antichrist– will arise to great power in the Tribulation (Revelation, chapter 13). Before he is revealed, we will live in an antichrist spirit world, when wickedness will abound (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12). Many students of prophecy believe we now live in this wicked time, and the actual Antichrist is on the cusp of being revealed. Be wary!
The Proverbs passage (below) explains that the One who guards your life (that is, God) knows and will repay persons who fail to rescue those being led to slaughter. What a dilemma! I know where babies will be killed tomorrow, but I will do nothing about it. If I save a baby’s life from abortion through force, I will be sent to prison (which, at my age, would be a life sentence). I know how Germans may have felt during the Third Reich. It surely was widespread knowledge in Nazi Germany that Jewish neighbors who disappeared in the middle of the night, never to return, were being exterminated. What could the German people do against the powerful Nazis? Are we not equally powerless?
Please read the short essay by Penny Lea, “Sing a Little Louder:” http://www.repentamerica.com/singalittlelouder.html . During the Holocaust years in Nazi Germany, a small Christian church was located next to a railroad track. Train cars packed with “undesirables” being transported to extermination camps passed by the church. The screams of the tormented souls in the cars could be heard by the congregants inside the church. Congregants were greatly disturbed, but helpless. The only solution to drown out the Jews’ screams was: “Sing [the hymns] a little louder.” We (and I include myself) busy ourselves with our lives. Yeshua prophesied the last days would be as “in the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37-39), when our secular lives become more important than our spiritual lives. Our busy lives are our ways to “sing a little louder,” therefore, needing not to think about babies being led to their deaths.
If you, a Believer, have the opportunity to deal with a woman who has had or is contemplating an abortion, never condemn her or be judgmental. Understand she may be a victim (pregnancy following rape or incest; or, bullied by a boyfriend demanding she “prove” her love; or, bullied now by persons– even her own family– that she submit to an abortion; or, being lied to about the true nature of an abortion). An abortion is truly a life-changing event. Many women have extreme difficulty adjusting to the idea that they caused or are about to cause their babies’ deaths. Such an encounter is your chance to minister in love and empathy in Yeshua’s name to a troubled woman, a woman who truly needs to experience God’s love. If you cannot speak to her as tenderly as Yeshua would speak, walk away and do not even try to minister to her. You are unworthy to represent Yeshua. She does not need anyone else to cause her more pain.
** Read Isaiah 5:20a.
** Read Proverbs 24:11-12.
** Read James 4:17.
IS TODAY’S ABORTION A FORM OF A MOLECH OFFERING?
You may be offended by this section, but think whether it can be true. Molech (Moloch) was an ancient Canaanite god. To secure the blessings of this pagan god, the Canaanites– and, later, the Israelites (even King Solomon!) – worshiped Molech. Children were sacrificed to Molech to ensure financial prosperity for the family. This sacrifice was referred to as “passing a child through the fire.” The idol’s statue was in the form of a man with a bull’s head, with a hollow iron chamber belly and outstretched arms. A roaring fire in the idol’s belly heated it to great temperature, and the infant was placed in Molech’s arms to be consumed. God expressly forbade such sacrifice (an “abomination”) and commanded any offending parent to be stoned to death. We no longer “pass children through the fire” of Molech to ensure future prosperity. But, might God consider abortion to ensure future prosperity (school completion, job advancement, affordability of luxuries, etc.) a form of Molech offering? Approximately 99 percent of abortions are performed for convenience (a form of delayed birth control), not for rape, incest, or health of the mother.
** Read Leviticus 18:21 || 20:2-5.
** Read 2 Kings 23:10.
** Read Jeremiah 32:34-35.
IF THE MOTHER’S LIFE IS IN JEOPARDY AND OTHER QUESTIONS:
If the mother’s life is endangered by pregnancy and might be saved by aborting the pregnancy, is abortion the proper course of action? The husband (father), wife (mother), spiritual adviser, and competent obstetricians– heavily relying on guidance from the Holy Spirit– need to make this decision. Fortunately, advancements in medical care make this question increasingly less common.
Questions about aborting congenitally abnormal babies, some now detectable before birth, are more problematic. Some abnormalities, e.g., anencephaly, are more easily decided, because an anencephalic baby lacks an upper brain and will live only a short time. Although parents want a “normal” child, a child with Down syndrome (trisomy 21) will likely be the sweetest child they ever have. My wife and I have great affection for Down syndrome children. Children with other congenital abnormalities are equally lovable and tug at the heart. I greatly admire parents, often mothers, who care for disabled children. If parents who care for disabled children are so admired by even me, surely God must have a special reward awaiting them at their Bema Judgment. The present earthly life is but a blip in a Believer’s eternal life. Think long-term (plan for the afterlife)!
Questions about abortion following rape or incest are difficult to answer and evoke strong emotional views. In case of pregnancy following rape or incest, the pregnant woman should get to know the Holy Spirit very well because of her earnest conversations to God the Father, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
OTHER SCRIPTURES: I wish I had more space, but know this: God’s rich and abundant Holy Word has much more to teach us about life than I have been able to sample in this RR. As a child of God, please understand these truths:
** God loves you more than you can ever know…
** God inhabits your body as His temple…
** God, neither slumbering nor sleeping, is always available to you…
** Yeshua offers to help you carry any burden you have…
** Yeshua, your High Priest and Mediator, is seated by the throne of God…
** The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) has been sent to accompany you as your Counselor, Teacher, Comforter, and Paraclete. (Paraclete, from New Testament Greek Parakletos = One called to walk alongside you to aid you, to comfort you, to counsel you).
God in all three Persons is with you, a Believer, always:
** God the Father dwells in your body, making your body His temple;
** God the Son (Yeshua) makes it possible to receive God’s grace by covering your sins with His blood sacrifice; He hears your prayers and presents them as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to your Heavenly Father; and
** God the Holy Spirit never leaves your side, as He stands ready to counsel, teach, and comfort you in all matters.
You– and all other Believers– are richly blessed! Whatever problem you face, God has already heard that problem from others. No problem you can ever have is too big for God to help you solve. No sin you can ever commit is too big for God to forgive (except the unpardonable sin of rejecting the offer of salvation).
OPEN FOR BUSINESS: God’s throne in Heaven has an “Open for Business” sign attached to it. He now sits on His throne to hear from His children. If you need to talk to your Abba Father about an unplanned pregnancy or about guilt from a previously aborted pregnancy, just close your eyes and begin, “Dear Heavenly Father, ….” It may be just this easy. The words will come to you, as you talk to God (thank You, Holy Spirit). He will hear the words you are trying to say, even if your words might seem clumsy and halting to the rest of the world. God hears your heart, when you pray, not your lips. Shalom and Maranatha.