Origin of Life
Lesson 3
Review:
THE BIBLE GRANTS LEGAL PROTECTION FOR THE UNBORN; Why?? Ex. 21:22-25
Background;
the context is the giving of laws for
The word
for strike is quite strong and usage shows it may refer to anything from a
serious injury up to, and including, death.
[struggle
- Lev. 24:10; kill - 2 Sam 14:6]
Thus
what is in her womb is every bit a human being as what will be born to her -- a
fact established in part by this passage also.
The
translation of the verb yatsah by the word
miscarriage is therefore an interpretation, not a translation. [and its
unfortunate]
- The
verb is used many places for a normal delivery.
Gen. 25:25,26
Also
Gen. 38:28-30; Eccl. 5:15; Jer. 1:5;
- Each of these passages uses the word miss translated
miscarriage in Exodus
Thus in
keeping with normal word usage, the woman had a premature, but live birth; not a miscarriage.
As a consequence
of the baby being delivered because of the blow, two things may occur.
There
may be injury or there may be no injury.
What are
the penalties to be in each case?
First in
the case of no injury to mother or baby, verse 22 says that the woman's
husband may demand a fine;
for mental & emotional stress of the mother. And the fine is to be reviewed by a
judge.
One
further question should be asked, Was the blow
accidental? or intentional?
The
accidental death [manslaughter] was handled by the cities of refuge where one could flee for
protection (Numbers 35:9-15).
Now the
next verse, vs:23, addresses a totally different
circumstance.
The 2nd
case “If there is injury, that is loss of life, then you shall appoint as a
penalty life for life.”
The
injury is physical, and it could be as minor as a bruise (vs. 25c), or as
severe as death (vs. 23b). Also note that verse 23 makes no distinction between
injury done to the mother, or to the baby.
The
penalty ‘life for life’ is capital punishment, whether for the death of the
unborn child or for the woman, since the blow was considered intentional.
The
Mosaic Law never required death for
unintentional murder, only for premeditated murder.
The
principle of lex talionis
is that the penalty, or judgment exacted must be in balance with the violation
committed.
Note
then that scripture here grants full legal protection to the unborn child as
well as the mother.
To sum up
at this point:
1. There is no permission here for abortion. Absolutely
none!
2. The premature child is given the same protection under
the law that the mother has, including life for life!
3. Since the full protection of the law applies to the
unborn, to kill an unborn child is to commit murder.
We might
ask at this point, why is there no explicit prohibition against abortion in the
Old Testament?
1. They believed childlessness to be a curse, for the
husband it meant that he could not perpetuate the family name (Dt. 25:5-6 referred to as a Leverite
marriage; Ruth 4:5; Jer.
2. They recognized children as a gift from the Lord (Gen. 33:5; Psa. 113:9; 127:3).
3. It is God who
opens the womb, granting conception (Gen. 29:33; 30:22; 1 Sam.
4. Abortion was not
the practice of any people in that day, thus no prohibition was necessary. By the time of the
5. To say that, because there is no direct prohibition
against abortion in scripture, one may abort, is to argue from silence.
Psalm 139 PRESENTS THE LORD'S ACTIVITY IN THE WOMB
THE UNBORN REVEALS THE CHARACTER OF GOD.
In the
first 16 verses of Psalm 139, David surveys his life in four stages: (1) past,
(2) present, (3) future,
and then (4) before birth.
Thus
from his unborn status in the womb to adulthood he has the same personal identity. In this way he affirms a direct continuity
between his pre and post-birth existence.
As you
read this Psalm don't miss the sense of intimacy here! David is focused on
God's personal involvement with his life, in the same way that we noted in Psa. 51:5b. David begins his life with conception, not with
his birth.