Origin of Life
Lesson 5
Review:
In Its Wonder [139:14] (evokes great praise)
“I will give thanks to Thee,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul
knows it very well.”
When
David says “I am fearfully and
wonderfully made” he is not in any way
patting himself on the back, he is not focused on how great he is at all. His
statement is his praise of God for His magnificent creative activity.
The
unborn may yet be unaware of itself, but God is very much aware of the unborn child.
God's care begins with conception.
We as
Believers should focus on the direct involvement of God in all areas of life,
including prenatal.
God's
care of the developing unborn also points to man's first encounter with God's
common grace.
THE UNBORN REVEALS THE AWARENESS OF GOD (139:15-16a)
“My frame was not hidden from
Thee, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of
the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance."
God's Awareness Stated Negatively [139:15]
The word
translated frame is literally bones, skeleton, or support system of the body.
David is pointing specifically to God's awareness of the development of the
child's skeletal structure.
The verb
made, "when I was made in secret" places emphasis on the
orderly fashioning of something. (hf'[')
It is
also the word used in the Old Testament showing that God is near, not far
removed from His creation but is near in the sense of working and moving about with
respect to the one He is near.
This is
seen in the word used to describe the activity of God in the development of the
child, that is the verb translated skillfully wrought. (~q;r'))
It points
to the various parts of the body being carefully and intricately assembled
together by God.
The "depths of the earth" is a
Hebrew idiom, an expression for the deepest concealment, which refers to the hiddenness of the womb.
God's Awareness Stated Positively [139:16a]
The
expression unformed substance
comes from a simple verb meaning to roll up, to fold together. I take it to
refer to the rolled up position that we often call the fetal position.
The
all-seeing eye of God rests on the child before it is ready for the eyes of
men. The eyes of God express the idea of His omniscience and omnipresence that
is being involved in the development of the unborn.
THE UNBORN REVEALS THE PLAN OF GOD (139:16b)
“And in the book they were all
written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of
them.”
The word
“all” points forward to the days that were ordained for me.
He knows
all of our days before they are lived out. God's plan for us does not start at
birth; it starts at conception.
Need to
know something about the word ordained. It is used of the activity of a potter. [rc;y"]
It also
is used of what God forms and fashions in His mind; that is its use here!
THE UNBORN REVEALS THE LOVE OF GOD (139:17-18a)
“How precious also are Thy
thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If
I should count them, [thoughts and plans] they would outnumber the sand.”
The
Hebrew word used here for thoughts occurs only twice in this precise form in
the Old Testament, both of which are found in Psalm 139. [[;re]
This
makes God very personal--men have plans and purposes and so does
God, and those plans in this context include the unborn child.
Four things are said to be precious in the Old Testament.
#1. Proverbs
#2. The loyal love of God toward His
own is precious, for David exclaims, "How
precious is Thy loving-kindness, 0 God!" (Psa. 36:7)
#3. Psalm 116:15 speaks of the death
of the believer saying, "Precious
in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones."
#4. Finally, here in Psalm 139:17 the
plan and provision of God for His own is
precious. It extends to the minutest
detail and begins in the womb.
With vs:18b we arrive I believe at the moment of birth! From vs:13-18a David
has been emphasizing God's closeness to him during the nine months prior to his
birth. But even after his birth, his coming awake, the picture does not change.
The Lord is still his Sustainer, and Protector.
SOME MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS
1. At conception the sperm and egg unite into a
zygote. God completes the 23 pairs of chromosomes, and establishes all genes,
DNA, RNA, or genetic features at this time. Thus from conception He determines
the sex, size, shape, the color of skin, hair, eyes, and intelligence of the
child.
2. At the end of the 1st week after conception,
the zygote implants in the uterus; no more twinning takes place.
3. During the 2nd week, the first blood veins
develop; the unborn child has his own blood system, not mingled with his
mother's.
4. By
the 3rd week, the unborn's heart is beating.
5. In the 4th week, the unborn's
heartbeat can be detected on an electrocardiogram.
6. By the 8th week, his brain waves can be
detected on an electroencephalogram.
7.
Also in the 8th week, all his organs are present.
8. By
the end of the 8th week, the unborn's hair and
eyebrows are present.
9. In
the 9th week, his eyes have developed, but remain closed.
10. From that point
on, it is just a matter of growth; at no point does the unborn child change
into a person; he experiences uninterrupted growth from the beginning.
11. The unborn child can react to pain, show personality traits, exhibit individual variations, and try to make sounds as early as the 3rd month.