Where do babies come from? Some children are given the most weird and wonderful stories as to where babies come from. I was told by my dad that he caught me on Table Mountain, shave my hair off and chopped off my tail. Naturally, all these stories are to distract the child from the parents “making love” and the mother falling pregnant. They would wait until the children are much older to tell them where babies come from. Keep in mind the question … “Where do babies come from?” Today we start Genesis chapter 4. Please read:
Ge 4:1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
1) Human history to date. God had created the man and woman as the pinnacle of His creation. Man was totally innocent and pure. To him, God gave a Probationary Command. Should he fail this command he would die. He failed and God banished him from Paradise, the Garden of Eden, for now he was a sinner. Together with being expelled from the Garden, he and his wife died spiritually. Their relationship with God was seriously damaged and as the representative head of the race that would come, all of their offspring would be born with sinful natures, shrouded in total depravity. The consequences of sin was banishment from the Garden, spiritual death with ensuing physical death.
2) Starting to fulfil the Procreation Command. From this chapter we see the human race starting to increase numerically. What is noteworthy is, as discussed yesterday, Adam’s sinful nature, being imputed to his offspring, meant that all babies born to them and their offspring, which includes us, would be sinners, without any relationship with God and without any access to God.
3) The first human offspring. In our text we read of four things.
(1) Adam lay with his wife Eve. The word “lay” here is provided as “made love to” in the updated New International Version of the Bible. Older commentators refer to “lay” or “made love to” as connubial intercourse, meaning sexual relations between a legally married man and woman. Today we live in a world where Biblical marriage is ignored with a man and woman living together, a man and women (polygamy), a woman and men (polyandry), man and man, woman and woman … and just about every other mix possible of people engaging in sexual intercourse. At this point it is right to repeat that God ordained marriage and flowing from marriage, sexual intercourse, to be between one man and one woman in a faithful, heterosexual, monogamous relationship for life, or until death dissolves the union. Just because men and women have become homosexual, bisexual and participate in LGBTQ+, divorcing and remarrying, and are accepted in most countries of the world, does not legitimize such unions and relationships. God has a strict rule. His Word cannot and may not be tampered with. What we see all around us is due to man’s sinful nature. One of the most drastic statements by God with regard to sexual perversion as we see today (and throughout the life of the race) is:
Ro 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
(2) She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. We do not know whether there was sexual intercourse before the fall as we are not told. Some might say that:
Ge 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh
implied sexual union before the fall, but the way chapter four verse one is presented, it seems as though this was their first intimate union. This union resulted in pregnancy. This was God’s intention from creation. We read of this in:
Ge 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
As we have said before, God’s will is that a husband and wife bring children into the world, within the confines of a stable, loving family. Too often children are born out of wedlock or into a family where there is little love and concern for what the child or children grow up to be. What chance do children have in a wicked world when they are not groomed to live a life with God’s worldview and values in place?
(3) She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man. There is so much in this sentence. A woman cannot fall pregnant unless the Lord allows it. Just because so many women, especially out of wedlock are having children, does not mean God has not permitted that pregnancy. Pam Stenzel is an American speaker known for lecturing to young people about abstinence-only sex education. She has been described as “one of the country’s most established abstinence-only lecturers,” and speaks to more than half a million young people every year around the world. In speaking against abortion she tells the story of her biological father being a rapist. Her mother loved her so much she refused an abortion. She rather gave her up for adoption. In telling her story she explains how her mom’s pregnancy was God’s will and she loves her mom so much for not aborting her because God willed her to be born. Every pregnancy is of God. He permits it. He wills it and He enables it. Without God no woman can fall pregnant! You are God’s will before you are a parent’s desire. You are intended by God. You are not an accident or a mistake!
(4) Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Eve would be the mother of the race. She birthed Cain, Abel and those mentioned in:
Ge 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
After Can and Abel, we find a new lineage starting with Seth and other sons and daughters. What is significant from here onwards with human history is that the race is a sinful race. A decrepit history of evil and wickedness will be man’s course because of Adam’s sin! We shall see this later in chapter four and from there onwards we find the rapid decline of the race’s morals and ethics until we arrive at the pre-flood account of:
Ge 6:5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
Before we progress, even before Cain kills Abel, it will be good to note that Biblical Education for the whole family, with special focus on the children is important to do our part in preventing unwanted pregnancies, one parent (the mother) households, unloved children who grow up to repeat the sins of the fathers. I find no better instruction than Moses’ to parents, especially fathers.
Dt 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
It is good and right to have children if you are able. But they need proper nurture. The parents will answer one day to God for how they raised their children. Do it right from the start.
Father, thank You for the precious gift of children. Help Christian parents to love their children so much that they educate them in the things of God. Amen.