God’s Encouraging Use of the Womb
Tracing the thematic element of how God uses the womb throughout the Bible
Introduction
As a child who comes from a destructive and tumultuous childhood experience, I have always been fascinated with the grace the Lord brings. I have seen in my own life that it is almost impossible to have grace on those who have hurt you the most when in fact they are supposed to love you the most. For me, this was my mother. Her supposed disdain for my care started when I was in her womb. She continually did destructive things against me, like drinking and doing drugs. Yet God had grace on me. He protected me from the very starting point of my life and has continued to do so ever since. The older I get, and the more nearer to having my own children I come, I recognize the responsibility one carries when carrying a child in her womb. Not only are you growing another life, you are giving your child meaning and showering grace and mercy upon them in their most weakened state. But even when earthly mothers supposedly fail at this job, God steps in and imparts grace and mercy in a way a mother never can.
We see God using the theme of the womb for his glory throughout the entirety of the Bible. In each situation, the Lord uses the womb, as well as the child it may bear to bring implications for his Kingdom and how it is to be viewed. It is in this paper that we will examine a few of those passages as well as what we can learn from God’s use of the womb throughout his writing.
Job 1:21
Job is a man afflicted with great trouble, yet he is a man of great character. It is made evident from the beginning of the story that Job is a man who is pleasing to the Lord. Job does not deny the fact that it is God who has brought him the blessing of many livestock, servants, and a large family. It is only when Satan enters the picture does Job come to be tested. The Lord in fact offered Job as a test to Satan because God knew Job’s faith. What is interesting to note is that also, the Lord knew Job’s faith so well and so intimately, that God boasted about him to the enemy and offered Job up to Satan to test him. When Satan expresses his interest, it is not he that tests the servant, it is the Lord.
In Job’s first test, he looses everything most precious to him, including his livestock, servants, and family. But the most remarkable thing here is Job’s response to the utter devastation. He does not cower in fear, nor does he overly lament his loss. We see that Job, “got up, tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’” (Job 1:20-21)
First and foremost the remarkable thing is that Job does not curse the Lord as Satan had assumed and hoped he would. Instead, Job falls to the ground in an utter sense and awe in worship. As an outward sign of this worship he tears his clothes and shaves his head. He is marking forward that he is a new man. He doesn’t want people to see him as they did before, one who received many blessings from the Lord. He wanted now, people to see him as one who is in worship of the Lord.
Secondly, Job identifies correctly who brought the torment upon him. Job knows who has brought him the blessings of the past, so he is correct in assuming that they are being taken away from that same person. So often one is quick to jump to the conclusion that all tests are coming from the enemy, when in fact God also puts his followers to the test, as exemplified by Job.
In Job’s lament he mentions coming from his mothers womb naked, as well as departing (in some translations “return there”) as such. The implication of the term naked used in describing his exit from his mothers womb and his entrance into the world, is that he will enter and exit the world with nothing. Job is stating that we leave the comfort and protection of a mothers womb with nothing, and everything that happens to us in our lifetimes, whether good or bad, is from the Lord and only the Lord. He also provides us with the assumption that when it is our time to exit the world, we will return to the safety and comfort of a womb, but this time, it is under the protection and watchful eye of our Creator. And while all might be taken from us on this earth, we are going to a place where much more will be given.
Psalm 139
When speaking of the womb, one of the most popular and creative passages in the bible can be found in Psalm 139. In this Psalm, written by David, God is described twice as one who works with cloth or thread. In verse 5, God is described as “hemming me in – behind and before” and in verse 13, God “knit me together in my mothers womb”. Ironically enough, a similar wording can be found in Job 13:27, yet they are both used in very different contexts. We see here in Psalms that when God hems in and puts his hand upon David, it is looked at as a good thing. In Job, however, he feels the hand of God is oppressive and does not appreciate it in the same way.
Both of above descriptions show a more feminine side of the Lord, since the women in Jewish culture were the ones who took care of the house and home, including any clothes making. In seeing a more feminine side to the Lord, it should be no surprise that He is described as “Creating my in my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The idea of knitting is an interesting concept. Those who knit or work with thread and needle know that there is a sense of intimacy that comes from what you create. You must be inspired by what you see and create something out of what was once lifeless. Knitting takes a skilled and diligent person to create something that is beautiful and worthwhile. Also, in knitting, every piece is unique. Even with a pattern, no two items end up coming out exactly identical as each other. Often, you will have small irregularities within the created item, but those irregularities make each item more interesting and unique in it’s own way.
When looking at this passage and seeing the Lord creating someone in their mothers womb, we cannot help but view this as a prequel to how the Lord will go about creating God’s own son in Mary’s womb. When an angel of the Lord comes to Mary and tells her that she will be touched by the Lord, we are right to infer that the Lord is also knitting his son Jesus together in Mary’s womb. So not only are David and Jesus created in their mother’s womb, God was in fact knitting together the entire lineage of Jesus.
According to Wycliff Bible Commentary on Psalm 139, we find “an individual who has had an intimate knowledge of an experience with God and offers his personal prayer. From this standpoint of Old Testament theology, this is the climax of thought in the Psalter on God’s personal relationship to the individual. The psalmist does not engage in abstract philosophy or speculative meditation; he merely describes his humble walk with God and shares his experiential knowledge of the Lord” (Wycliffe 547).
Jeremiah 1:5
For many, Jeremiah is considered to be the “weeping prophet”. While this is true, Jeremiah is also a person who is intimately known by his Creator. We see in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 1, verses 4 through 5, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’”
When the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, the boy is not ready. He tries everything possible to escape this call from God. Jeremiah tries to tell God “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But God will have none of Jeremiah’s excuses. In fact, the Lord gives Jeremiah a sense of the Lord’s own strength in all his areas of “weakness”.
As we have seen before in the passage in Psalms, the baby in the womb is one who is known to God. In fact, God knows the his created beings even before they have been created. Often times, the translations record God as either “knowing” Jeremiah before he was in his mothers womb, or “choosing” Jeremiah before he was in his mothers womb. In either translation, we are given the picture that God knows exactly who Jeremiah was, who he is, and who he would become.
Wycliffe states that “Knew…sanctified…ordained are verbs that are roughly synonymous. Jeremiah’s task was to be a difficult one; these words assured him of God’s choice and support. Know, when used of God in Scripture has an active connotation. Sanctified could mean set about to the prophetic office. Prophet, or the Hebrew term used seems to mean a ‘speaker,’ which is a good characterization of the Hebrew prophet. He was God’s spokesman” (Ibid 659).
This should give readers the confidence that God knows us in our inmost beings, mostly because it was he who created us. Not that we are allowed to get away with our failings, because as soon as Jeremiah tried to do so, God rebuked him and gave him the skills necessary to accomplish God’s lofty task. But this should be an encouragement to us that God knows who we are and chooses to use us anyway. He sees beyond who we are in our own human frailties to who we can become for God’s Kingdom.
Also, we see once again that our God is a creative God. Not only do we see a picture of God creating the Heavens and the Earth in Genesis, He stops creating on a large scale, to mysteriously create on an intimate level. The thought of God skillfully and craftily forming us in the womb is one of encouragement. God knows how many hairs are on our heads because he made each follicle. He knows the size and shape of our bodies because he made them that way. He knows how many times our heart beats per minute because he made it to do so. For those who are constantly struggling with their own self doubt and self image, this passage should be an encouragement in that God formed you the way you are for a reason and to accomplish a purpose.
Lastly, we see that not only did the Lord create Jeremiah, he created him with a purpose in mind. All people are not created haphazardly; the passage illuminates to us that we are created in order to be chosen by the Lord. We were set apart for his work, even before we were made. Not all of God’s created take advantage of this choosing. But we do see that God creates all with a purpose nonetheless. Our God is not a God of random creation, but a God of knowledgeable, skillful, and purposeful creation.
Luke 1:44
In many ways, a child in the womb has great power over the mother that carries it. In the case of John the Baptist, we see that even from the time he was in the womb, he had the ability to be used as a conduit for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:39-44 says, “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child that you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for job. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!’”
This passage is remarkable when we consider what the unborn baby can do within the womb. The first thing that is most obvious is recognize distinguishing sounds and voices. This being Elizabeths first pregnancy, one could assume that the first time she felt her baby moving within her, she would be filled with excitement. But as the baby continued to grow, she would have most likely become accustomed to the movements. However, she was able to recognize something different in the way this baby reacted within her at this time. The baby was able to differentiate between the voice of his own mother and the voice of the one who was to be the mother of the Most High.
Secondly, the baby’s leap for joy has an amazing affect on Elizabeth; she is filled with the Holy Spirit. Even from being in the womb, John the Baptist was being used by God in order to bring about the indwelling of God’s own spirit. Often times, pregnant women are recognized as having a glow about them. It is almost unimaginable to the think of the glow that Elizabeth must have had when her baby filled her with the Holy Spirit. She was so full that she had to exclaim in a loud voice how she was blessed by the sound of Mary’s voice. She tells Mary that she is blessed for believing in what the Lord has told her. So this is also a confirmation for Mary that what God has told her is also true. And the Lord uses an unborn baby to confirm this.
Finally, we recognize that the task of announcing and preparing the work of Christ is begun while still inside the womb. Of course, we see the preparations being made throughout the bible, but here, it happens in a very tangible way. We see here that God has provided John the Baptist with a task he completes on behalf of the Kingdom of God. God chose him before he was born and used him in that way as well.
In Mission in the Old Testament, Walter Kaiser discusses the use of the term, “called me from my womb” that is found in four Servant Songs in the book Song of Solomon. He says, “It is interesting to note that in the four Servant Songs mentioned above, many of the individual’s title or descriptions are matched by an identical ascription made of Israel elsewhere in the book of Isaiah” (Kaiser, Loc. 660). Now while we are not discussing the same passage, the idea of being called from the womb is evident in this passage in Luke as well. We see that John is being called from the womb, as well as being chosen to work out the faith of Israel through the coming of it’s Savior Messiah.
John 3:4
As we have seen, the womb can be a mysterious and powerful place. When we come to passages that discount the work of the womb, and the work that can be done from the womb, we must take note. We find one of these passages in John, chapter 3. The section begins with a man named Nicodemus who is a member of the Pharisees coming to speak with Jesus one evening. Nicodemus begins talking with Jesus and says, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him. In reply, Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying ‘You must be born again.’’” (John 3:2-7).
Here we see in Nicodemus a man who does not understand the power that the womb, or being born has. He is confused by Jesus’ sayings, as most were in that time, and he is taking him at Jesus’ literal word. But as we’ve seen previously, the womb can be a mystical place. In this passage, Jesus is not referring to re-entry into a physical womb in order to be born again, but instead, Jesus speaks of being born from the womb of Heaven. He is leading Nicodemus to think outside the box that he has grown up in, and think outside the physical world, into a world that is spiritual and everlasting.
Oddly enough, when Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again of water and the spirit, the water could have two meanings. Of course, Jesus could be speaking of a water baptism, similar to the ones that had recently been performed by John the Baptist. On the other hand, Jesus could simultaneously be speaking of the water that is released from the womb in a physical birth. In both cases, the person within the water is being created into a new being, one who has never existed before. And as each are released from the water, they take on their mantle of creation and become who God has now knitted them together to become.
Also, Jesus implies that this idea of being born again must happen if someone wanted to enter the Kingdom of God, or in other terms, live. If a child is to continue to live, it must at one time exit the safety of the womb and become fully alive in the world outside. If we are to continue to live, outside of the world as we know it, we too must choose to be born, to leave the womb and truly live the life of Christ with him into eternity.
In the book of John, Arthur Glasser quotes Webber when he says, “John’s Trinitarian perspective means that the rule of God extends to all areas of life. When Jesus called people to accept this rule, he was saying in effect: ‘As ruler of the universe, I desire to establish My control over your life. Turn away from all other demands for its ownership and enter into My reign. Let me rule in the life of the world through My rule in you’” (Glasser: 244). We see how God is using the idea of being born again to establish his reign. Someone will not only be born again, they will be born into the Kingdom of God, where they are expected to become an active participant.
Spiritual Implications
We see that God uses all people, from the start of their journey to life, from within the womb until their death to accomplish what he has set out to do upon this earth. We can see the thread of how the womb is used throughout the passages provided in the Old and New Testaments. But what does this mean for us today?
I was confused about why God brought this idea to mind when choosing a topic for this paper. However after going through the passages and unpacking them a bit, the spiritual implications for how God has used the womb, and how he will continue to use it are astonishing.
First we see most evidently that God knows those he creates. It is ever apparent in these passages that he knows his children intimately, even from before the time he has created them. He knows how he wants them to act, how he wants them to look, and more importantly, how he wants to use them for his Glory. In the story of Job, God knows Job so intimately, and knows his heart so well that he offers him as a sacrifice because he is confident in Job’s faith. And the Lord’s faith in Job is proved right by Job’s faith in the Lord. What beautiful picture of intimacy.
We also see the the Lord is creative! He is the one who has crafted each person individually together in the womb. He is the one who brings uniqueness and distinction to each person. He is the one who created me, flaws and all, and above all else, he is proud of what he has created. We know that God enjoys all of what he has created and calls it good. Yet it is only humans that he distinguishes to be “very good” as found in the Genesis creation story. To think that Gods creativity extends to all the people on earth and how there are no two people exactly alike is mind-boggling. It is should be our good and perfect joy to use our own creativity that God has so intricately placed in each one of us to create things that are in turn pleasing to him. If we happen to be blessed with an area of creativity, which all of humanity is, we should offer those gifts back to the Lord as thanks for his creating us in a purposeful and meaningful way.
Lastly, we can see throughout these stories that God chooses to use who he sees fit to accomplish his tasks. In proven in the story with Mary and Elizabeth, the calling on John was evident even from before his birth. He used John while still in the womb to encourage the life of two women that needed confirmation that God was the one who was bringing blessing upon blessing to them. In my own life, I have seen how God has chosen me and has a special calling on me to accomplish things for his Kingdom. While I might not know what they are, I know they are going to be powerful things, because he protected me from quite a bit during my adventure in the womb.
As I said, at first, this topic seemed questionable but I have seen the Lord at work through these passages and he has brought about encouragement into my own life from them. I know that my Creator knows me. I know my Father has Chosen me. I know that my Savior will use to me to accomplish many things for his Kingdom. And as I draw nearer to having my own children, I cannot wait to see how God will use my womb to bring forth new creations of handiwork to benefit my God’s Kingdom.