Bible Reading: Joshua 8; Psalm 139; Jeremiah 2; Matthew 16
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalms 139:13-16)
Is a child in his mother's womb a human being? The Bible says so in this Psalm. David says the LORD 'possessed his reins' while in his mother's womb. This possession is one of a craftsman who owns that which he is making. Reins refer to the innermost being of a person. The Lord made David as a craftsman would fashion something beautiful in his mother's womb. In the most secret place on the earth – the womb of a mother – God 'wrought' a human being. However, even though no human could watch this making, the eyes of God watched every facet of the making. He watched as the child, though fully human, was not perfect. In other words, the child was not finished in the growth process. With tiny hands and feet having fingers and toes that were nothing more than little buds, David was not yet ready for life outside of the womb.
God not only watched this, but he caused it. Twice in this Psalm, David says he was 'made'. He also says he was 'curiously wrought'. God is the Master Craftsman who fashions babies in the wombs of their mothers. God also knew David before he was born. He had a book in which he knew the number of David's days. These days were fashioned in the mind of God before one of them had been lived out.
If God knew the number of days of David's life while he was still growing inside his mother's womb, how could anyone say that a fetus is not a child? Can you imagine the grief in the heart of God when he knows that the mother of the child he is 'making' inside her womb will choose to murder the child even before the Lord is finished making that little baby? A mother and father should be praying as that baby is growing to seek God's will for the child's life. They should be asking wisdom from God to train up the child in the way that he should go. God knows those little ones. He is intimately involved in their 'making'. Would you just sit back and be amazed with David at the work of God. His work is marvelous! Let's praise God for life and cherish it, for it is precious!
In Christ,
Rody
