|
God's advanced loving and careful plan is confirmed by
Rom 8:29-30 where Paul says: “For those he foreknew he also pre-destined to
be conformed to the image of His son, so that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers.” The same notion of foreknowledge is revealed in
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians,
1:3-4:
“Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be
holy and without blemish before him.”
Love requires advanced planning. God’s plan for
life began before the world was made.
The beginning of the execution of God’s plan for life
is revealed in the Book of Genesis. When we read the book of Genesis,
we recognize the spiritual elements that are being taught by the
message. Adam represents man; Eve represents woman. He created
man in his likeness, Gen 1:27. Man has some amazing
capabilities. He has the ability to create, to have a sense of justice,
to intercede, to rescue, to show mercy, to forgive - these alone place him
far above the animals, perhaps even the angels. Man is, surprisingly,
quite Godly. Furthermore, man has the ability to have a relationship
with God. Man has the ability to receive the Holy Spirit - God
Himself. Finally, man is destined for immortality. There is
nothing more God-like than to be immortal!
The very first commandment in the Bible is “be fertile
and multiply”. This is soon followed by the commandment "Fill the
earth and subdue it". Gen 1:28. These are extremely important
elements of God’s plan for life. They take on fresh meaning in today’s
world. The earth is not yet filled and subdued.
There are lots of resources and
there is much unused land. God’s plan for life and the commandments
that go with it are still valid.
The importance of chastity, as part of God’s plan for
life, is contained in one of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not commit
adultery” Ex 20. Leviticus 18 is entirely devoted to various directives
on the sanctity of procreative powers. Men were ordered not to have sex
with mothers, in-laws, a neighbor’s wife or another male. Men and women
were ordered not to have carnal relations with animals. All
such defilement s is an abomination. God has, in
effect, decreed that all humans must be chaste.
Singles must be chaste. The married must be chaste. Widows must
be chaste.
Only marriage with one spouse provides the loving and
secure environment that fosters procreation and God’s plan for life. God’s
loving procreative plan is a mutual relationship with us wherein we follow
his directive to be chaste, fruitful and to multiply, fill the earth and
subdue it. Through marriage we procreate human beings that he has known
or foreseen before the foundation of the world. Chastity and marriage
work together to promote fertility.
God’s plan gets even bigger. Humans, through
Jesus Christ, become children of God. Filled with the Holy Spirit of
God himself, they fulfill the demands of chastity and generous
procreativity. They multiply with joy. Also, humans possess a
myriad of talents for achieving God’s plan for subduing the earth.
There are workers, engineers, farmers, accountants, doctors, craftsman and
scientists and people of many talents and persuasions all conceived and
designed by God. Humans take pride and rejoice in fulfilling God’s plan
to subdue the earth and in being one with Him.
Quite early in salvation history some important lessons
had to be taught. Many are familiar with the lesson of Sodom and
Gomorrah, Gen 19. The cities were destroyed by God as an everlasting
testament to the evils they contained, particularly sodomy, which was a
significant deviation from God’s plan for life. In the Onan account Gen
38), which is not too well known or understood, another important lesson
about procreation had to be taught. Onan was one of three sons of
Judah. The first son did evil in the sight of God and was killed.
We are not given the reason. Under the Levirate law at the
time, Onan was asked to marry his brother’s widow, Tamar, in order to
procreate offspring in his brother’s name. Onan married her but when he
had intercourse, he went through the motions, and then spilled his seed on
the ground. In medical terminology, this is called “coitus interrupts”.
More commonly, it is called “withdrawal” and is a form of contraception. Onan
did this because he did not want to have children under his dead brother’s
name. God killed him. It is clear that God killed him because he
defrauded the marriage of its procreative purpose. Tamar later went on
to have illicit sex with Judah, her father-in-law. Tamar bore
twins. Despite their sins, neither she, Judah, nor the twins were
killed. Only Onan was killed as an
everlasting testament to the evil of defrauding the marriage of its
procreative purpose. Onan was not killed because he did not want to
marry Tamar. The punishment for not marrying Tamar (see Deut 25) was not
death. If he chose not to marry Tamar, she could remove his sandal and
spit in his face publicly, thereby humiliating him. This is much less
than the death penalty. Onan was killed because his action of contraception
had far reaching effects and consequences. His action attacked God’s plan for
life. Children were supposed to be born who were not born. We see
from this account that contraception thwarts God’s plan for life and that God
repudiates contraception. God essentially says 'The plan for life and
creation is my plan.'
Children are a blessing; they are innocent and
joyful. Children enrich the parents, making them less selfish.
Children become adult inventors that solve the world’s problems.
Children become adult apostles to proclaim the Word. Large populations
raise the standard of living by providing a wide variety of goods and
services. Also, these services are provided at a lower cost per
person. For example, a small town with a population of 1000 people
cannot afford its own water sanitation plant. At least 100,000 people are
needed. Large populations are necessary to support a telephone industry or an
automobile industry. The United States is the third most populous
nation on earth, after China and India. Population and a free market
made it prosperous. Children grow up and create prosperity!
It is not for us to know. The earth has 6 billion
people. Based on the percentage of land surface currently used for
cities and farms (11%) it can hold 60 billion or more. The point is, we
are nowhere close to filling the earth and subduing it. God’s plan for
life is a loving plan and He can direct its fulfillment for our maximum
benefit and joy. Praise the Lord!!
|
Comments
Post a Comment