Musing – Does the Bible say anything about Abortion?

Hebraic Musing – Does the Bible say anything about Abortion?

I have heard people say that the Bible does not say anything about abortion or fetus.  And they point out that the words “abortion” and “fetus” do not appear in the Bible.  I did a word search and that is true.  However, in doing that word search I also noticed that “womb” appears 56 times and with recognition that the womb is a special place where offspring are created, developed, nurtured and recognized.

In Mosaic law God deals with the issue of injury to the baby in a pregnant woman’s womb.  "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined …  But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,…” Exod. 21:22-23 NIV

And the murderous crime of “ripping open the pregnant women” is condemned during the era of Kings:

·         In Amos 1:13  The Lord says: "For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath].  Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead…” 

·         2 Kings 8:12   "Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites, … kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women." 

·         2 Kings 15:16   “At that time Menahem, … attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city … because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.”

Pregnant women are said to be “with child”; i.e. “As a woman with child and about to give birth” Isa. 26:17

Matt 1:23   "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel…"   This is referencing Isaiah 7:14  “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”      Note that there is a child in the womb that later comes forth as a son. 

The most profound recognition of a life in the womb occurs when Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, refers twice to John, the Baptist, as the baby in her womb -- “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  …  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’”   Luke 1:41 & 44   NIV

One of the classic commandments is “Do not kill, or murder”.  Why is it not surprising that murder has become acceptable for our own pleasure and convenience when we have a thriving entertainment culture built on the feeding of a love of murder and killing?  Do we get upset about our culture ignoring “Biblical Marriage” and resorting to the fleshly pleasure of free sex, which created the underlying justification for those supporting abortion?

 Point to ponder

What other plans of Almighty God are we ignoring? 
Like Biblical Marriage?
Like the sin of Sodom & Gomorrah?

 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.” Ps 139:13 

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                            May 1, 2018

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing - "God is in Control", or is He?

Hebraic Musing - "God is in Control", or is He?

All too often we hear people say with a shrug of the shoulders "God is in Control".  Johanna Hocker described their attitude this way – “If God is in control, I am free to do whatever, because what God wants to happen will happen.  I'm off the hook, so to speak. I can be as irresponsible as I chose, because I have no voice in the matter.”  But is that what Scripture says? 

In the creation account God said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26 NIV   And to reinforce that responsibility, He gave mankind an assignment – “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:28   Some versions say “have dominion”. 

It sounds to me like God gave us control and put us in charge.  What else does Scripture say about our span of control, responsibilities and choices?

In Genesis 4 God holds Cain responsible for the death of Abel.  Man is his own “brother’s keeper”.

Joshua’s oft quoted challenge to the Israelites puts their future squarely on their own shoulders.  “…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15   The choice is theirs, not God’s.

We are the ones to make choices.  “Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?  He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.” Ps. 25:12   Note – God said He would instruct them, but the man has to choose.

God knew people would call on Him for answers, but He made it clear – the choice is theirs.  “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.  Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord.  Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.”  Proverbs 1:28-31  They will eat the consequential fruit of their choice(s).

The LORD wants to bless His people.  This is clear when He tells us what He wants us to do. “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.  Blessed is the man who does this— the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hands from doing any evil.” Isaiah 56:1-2    The LORD clearly wants us to do right and make the right choices.

J. Martin Kohe, a psychologist, authored a book I read in the 60’s – “YOUR GREATEST POWER” which concludes that our greatest power is our power to choose; from a psychologist’s viewpoint! A must read!

SUMMARY – We are responsible for our own life and our choices each day.  We will reap what we sow.

 Points to ponder

What is Your Greatest Power?

There is something God won’t do since it would be counter to His character…
He will not take away our freedom of choice.

God wins the war.  We choose our own fate, and the consequence(s) to others around us.

Let’s rethink Flip Wilson’s famous line – “The Devil made me do it.”

“Choose for yourselves whom you will serve, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                  April 24, 2018

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by Johanna Hocker’s blog "God is in Control", I don't think so - March 27, 2018

Musing - Don’t Follow the Herd!

Hebraic Musing - Don’t Follow the Herd!

A quick research of “herds and herding” reveals many descriptions and even more reasons.  In summary, animals (& mammals) look for friends who share needs together; and they become bound to the group for protection and direction.

Rabbi Eckstein posted – “Several years ago, Christian blogger Veronica Partridge caused quite a stir. She wrote a controversial post that had been shared more than 100,000 times ….  What was the contentious topic …?  She wrote a piece about why she chose to give up wearing tight-fitting pants.  Partridge described how the conviction weighed heavily on her heart for a long time before she made her decision. After a conversation with some friends and corroboration from her husband that such tight-fitting pants were a stumbling block for most men, Partridge decided to forgo such clothing. She believed that dressing more discreetly was a way to honor her husband and God.”

Whether we agree with her conviction is not the issue.  She took a stand for what she believed God wanted; but because of her stand she was hit with considerable negative public feedback.  Her position was viewed as opposed to widely accepted values of today’s society.  If we are truly God-centered people, will we base our behaviors on what God deems acceptable and not upon the whims of fluctuating societal norms?

Early in the book of Leviticus we hear God tell us “If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect.” Leviticus 1:3 NIV   I’ve learned that every word in the Bible is there for a reason, so why does the sin offering come from a “herd” animal?

Jewish sages note that these animals are known for their herd instincts.  They follow the crowd because everyone else is doing so.  Do we need to learn to sacrifice our tendency to follow others, the flock, the herd, etc.?  Should we listen to and follow God instead?  Can we learn to overcome our instinctive desire to conform?  Can we stand up and speak the truth even if we are standing alone.

I can’t help but recall “When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.” Luke 8:33    BTW - The herd did not fare too well!

Now if any one of those pigs had decided to not run with the herd but decided to go in the opposite direction, that pig would be thought of as crazy.  When we take a stand for what we know to be right, we might look crazy to the world around us who have simply chosen to follow the crowd. 

Who is in the “hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11?  Abraham, Moses, “Judges”, etc. and what do they all have in common?  They were deemed great and are recognized because they were brave enough to stand alone.

 Points to ponder

How can we learn to overcome a mind-less desire to conform?

Are we more concerned with how we look in the eyes of people,
or in the eyes of God?

When we stand apart for what is right, are really alone?

What will people think?   Or maybe they will think!

♫   Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross… ♫ 

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      April 17, 2018

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by Rabbi Eckstein’s “Don’t Follow the Herd” – IFCJ  March 13, 2018

Musing – How to Sell a Large Intangible, like the Gospel?

Hebraic Musing – How to Sell a Large Intangible, like the Gospel?

What is an “intangible”?  By definition – adjective: unable to be touched or grasped; not having physical presence.  When preaching the Gospel to unbelievers (those who do not understand) are we trying to sell an intangible?  The wonderful product we call “The Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ” has to be classified as an intangible – one of the more challenging products to sell.

I see a striking similarity here to the technique we used when selling high dollar consulting projects.  Our approach followed a pattern from Spin Selling by Neil Rackham 1988.  “SPIN” was the acronym for Situation, Problem, Implication, Need.  The stepwise approach can be summarized by posing and processing four questions in series –  (S) What is the Situation?; (P) What is the Problem or what’s wrong?; (I) What are the Implications or costs of that problem?; (N) What do we Need to do to fix it; what’s the reward for fixing it?

Interesting – If the sales process went according to plan, by the time we got to Need, we did not have to ask a classic “closing question”; because the client would ask us “How soon can you start?”  

Does this approach apply to preaching the Gospel and the need for salvation?  How could we unfurl these questions into a Salvation message?   Italicized answers are mine, but you can and should use answers appropriate to your audience.

(S) What is the Situation?   All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  We have a sin nature.  What happened in the Garden of Eden?

(P) What is the Problem?  Or what’s wrong?   God is perfectly righteous and cannot tolerate sin.  We have offended God by our actions.  Have you ever sinned?   We do have eternal life, but where?  Is that good news or bad news? 

(I) What are the Implications or costs of that problem?   Sinners are not allowed in heaven to live with a perfectly righteous God.  The cost or implication is we are doomed to eternal damnation (Unless we accept “Christ Crucified” for our sins).  Why did God allow His son, Jesus, to be crucified?

(N) What do we Need (Reward) or how can we fix this problem?  Acknowledge Jesus as your Savior and make Him Lord of our life.    What are the payoffs or rewards if we resolve the problem?  ♫The joy of the Lord is my strength… He gives me living water And I thirst no more…♫

After completing the SPIN cycle with the unbeliever, we might find them answering the “Need” question themselves!  Remember what the Jailer said after listening to Paul and Silas overnight in jail?  “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”   And Paul closed the sale easily but saying “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.” Acts 16:30-31 NIV

 Points to ponder

What words would you use to help an unbeliever go through the SPIN cycle?

Was the SPIN process intended by Jesus when He told us to
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  Mark 16:15

♫   I NEED Thee, oh, I NEED Thee;   Every hour I NEED Thee;…  ♫ 

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                            April 10, 2018

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”