“…I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead.” Amos 1:13
Dear Ones:
The Bible specifically tells us what God hates. One of those things is the unjust, and inhuman, treatment of children, even in the womb. In God’s words through His servant Amos, He is very clear about this. His declaration to those who “…ripped women with child,” was certain, devastating, and long-lasting. We might think, because we judge things by how we see and perceive them, that God is “slow” in responding to the cry of those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, or those whose only “crime” is being conceived in the womb. But let us remember Abel, who was killed by Cain his brother. The Lord confronted Cain after the event, saying to him, “The voice of thy brother’s blood CRIES unto me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10) God does not forget that which is not forgiven. In the story of Abraham, Lot, and the events of Sodom and Gomorrah, we read what the angels of God said to him, when the came to save him: “For we will destroy this place, because the CRY of them has become great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Gen. 19:13) The issue of the cry of the just or innocent is a very real thing, one which the Lord does not neglect or not hear. Even in the book of Revelation, we read where the martyrs who had been killed during the Great Tribulation, “…cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?'” (v.10) God hears, and remembers, the cry of the just and innocent, even the blood of the innocent.
Why is the cry of those who suffer so important to God? When Saul of Tarsus was met by the Lord on the road to Damascus, the Lord asked him: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4) “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” (v.5) Those who belong to Christ are not only His, but He belongs to them. There is a union between the two that is inseparable, and incomparable. To afflict Christ’s beloved, those for whom He came to save, is to afflict Him.
With regard to children, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to, “…let the little children come unto Me.” There was to be no barrier between the child and Christ. In Matthew’s gospel, the Lord Jesus tells His disciples on the subject of children: “Whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receives Me.” (18:5) The eternal value of the child is revealed by what follows: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (v.6) The magnitude of receiving a child in Jesus’ name, is amplified when we realize that, “…whosoever shall receive Me, receives not Me, but Him that sent Me.” (Mark 9:37) What then is the weight and worth of the soul, even the smallest or youngest one?
Man has not the right to take the life of another person. That right belongs solely to the Creator, at His discretion and in His way. He alone created the life, and He alone has the right to take it. Those who would deliberately take the life of another, whether that person be born or unborn, sins against God, and is thus answerable to God alone. David would confirm this by writing: “Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight.” (Ps. 51:4)
In summation, the blood Abel cried out from the ground for justice. The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah was that of the just who had suffered at the hands of the unbelieving. The cry of the martyrs was a call to God for the justice that was to come. Judgment will come for those who kill the just and innocent.
Dear Father, Give us grace to honor Thee by truly loving others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad