September 16, 2025 • 21 mins
A favorite tactic of pro-abortion activists is to claim that, "the Bible doesn't say anything about abortion" - this is not the flex they think it is. Another avenue of attack is to claim that in Numbers 5:11-31 God prescribes abortion as the penalty for adultery. Nothing could be further from the truth. Stick with us today as we work to refute these two assertions using proper exegesis.
Scripture References in this episode include:
Leviticus 17:13-14 Genesis 9:6 Psalm 72:14
Exodus 20:13 Genesis 3:7, 21 Genesis 22:8
Leviticus 17:6-11 Exodus 29:21 Exodus 12:23
Genesis 15 Jeremiah 31:31-34 Luke 22:19-20
I Corinthians 11:24-25 I Peter 3:18 I John 2:2
Isaiah 59:2 Hebrews 9:15 Ephesians 2:14-16
John 3:16 Romans 6:23 Romans 10:13
Revelation 22:17 2 Corinthians 9:15 Numbers 5:11-31
https://www.ppl.org/baby-chris
Abortion is never medically necessary
Abortion Pill Reversal https://abortionpillreversal.com 24/7 Helpline at 877.558.0333 Email: help@apr.life or Chat at the weblink above
Post abortion recovery for both women and men at https://www.rachelsvineyard.org
Life Training Institute https://www.prolifetraining.com
Charlotte Lozier Institute https://lozierinstitute.org
Guttmacher Institute https://guttmacher.org
Compelled by the gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage. PPL.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Host (00:21):
Welcome back to the table, where we share resources from
the almost 50 years worth ofarchived pro-life material
created by Presbyteriansprotecting life.
I'm Deborah Hollifield, aformer PPL board member and past
executive director, and yourhost for these podcasts.
PPL's intention for thesepodcasts is to equip
(00:42):
Presbyterians and really allpro-life Christians of all
denominations to be able to haveintelligent conversations about
life issues from fertilizationto natural death with an
emphasis on making abortionunthinkable.
A key strategy in being able torespond to the objections of
pro-abortion activists is tokeep our responses focused in
(01:04):
the same category as theirobjections.
By that I mean if theirargument is coming from the
point of view of medical scienceand biology, then keep your
response in the focus of medicalscience and biology.
Don't divert to religion orethics.
If their argument is comingfrom the point of view of
humanity and personhood, don'timmediately appeal to the Bible,
(01:27):
especially if you are having aconversation with a secular
atheist.
I once participated in asurvey of national pro-life
leaders where one of thequestions involved how often
pro-life leaders invokedreligion and scripture.
The result was nearly unanimousthat Christian pro-life leaders
never invoke God's scripture oreven religion in general in
(01:50):
most pro-life conversations anddebate.
But it was also true that thesecular or atheist pro-abortion
activists were the ones who werethe first to bring up God,
scripture, and religion inpro-life exchanges with
Christians.
So today I want to cover aresource that addresses some of
the supposed ammunition in thepro-abortion gotcha arsenal.
(02:13):
The first one they like to go tois the Bible says nothing about
abortion.
And the second one is that Godprescribes an abortifacient as a
penalty for adultery in thebook of Numbers, chapter five.
First, what about the claim thatthe Bible doesn't say anything
about abortion?
The Bible has stories about,and get ready for a long list,
(02:38):
romance, prostitution, rape,incest, cohabitation, marriage,
divorce, polyamory, polygamy,adultery, infertility, teenage
pregnancy, unwed mothers,illegitimacy, surrogacy,
childbirth, death duringchildbirth, birth anomalies,
(03:00):
homicide, suicide, patricide,fratricide, depression, economic
deprivation, bodily autonomy,women's rights, racial
discrimination, spousalabandonment, and every other
reason that we hear about everyday as a reason for abortion.
And yet, in this comprehensive1,500-year record of human
(03:24):
sexual relationships and socialand economic oppression, there
is no story about abortion.
Now this is not the flex thatpro-abortion lobbyists think it
is.
It's that abortion is neverconsidered to be a solution to
any of these issues.
Because to God, abortion isunthinkable.
(03:44):
No murder is God's law againstabortion in the sixth of the Ten
Commandments.
Scripture is very clear thatGod is the author of life and
sovereign over it.
God creates life, God createsdestinies, God protects,
rescues, delivers, provides forwomen and children, fights for
(04:05):
the voiceless, and lifts up theoppressed.
In Matthew chapter 22, versesthirty six through forty, Jesus
teaches that the greatestcommandment is to love the Lord
your God with all your heart andall your soul and all your
mind, and the second greatestcommandment is to love your
neighbor as yourself.
Certainly women and children,both born and preborn, are our
(04:27):
neighbors.
God hates hands that shedinnocent blood.
Those being led to slaughterare to be delivered to safety.
The innocent, weak, oppressed,and especially children are
deserving a special protection.
The idea of abortion iscompletely incompatible with
(04:47):
what we know of the attributesof God.
The thread that runs throughoutScripture is life.
In the call stories of theprophets and Paul, in the
destiny stories of Isaac andIshmael, Jacob and Esau, Samson,
John, and Jesus.
In Genesis chapter 1, verse 28,God commands human beings to be
(05:08):
fruitful and multiply.
It's childbearing, not abortionor infanti that is considered
women's God given right.
And being childless issometimes considered a fate
worse than death.
But wait, exclaims the eager proabortionist.
What about Numbers chapter 5,verses eleven through 31?
(05:30):
Well, if you are familiar withthis Old Testament text, I'm
going to read it first, but youwill want to read it on your own
later as well.
I'll be reading from the ESVversion.
"Hear the word of the Lord,beginning at verse eleven.
And the Lord spoke to Moses,saying, Speak to the people of
(05:50):
Israel, if any man's wife goesastray and breaks faith with
him, if a man lies with hersexually and it is hidden from
the eyes of her husband, and sheis undetected, though she has
defiled herself, and there is nowitness against her, since she
was not taken in the act.
And if the spirit of jealousycomes over him and he is jealous
(06:11):
of his wife who has defiledherself, or if the spirit of
jealousy comes over him, and heis jealous of his wife, though
she has not defiled herself,then the man shall bring his
wife to the priest and bring theoffering required of her, a
tenth of an epha of barleyflour.
He shall pour no oil on it andput no frankincense in it, for
(06:31):
it is a grain offering ofjealousy, a grain offering of
remembrance, bringing iniquityto remembremembrance.
And the priest shall bring hernear and set her before the
Lord.
And the priest shall take holywater in an earthenware vessel,
and take some of the dust thatis on the floor of the
tabernacle, and put it into thewater.
(06:54):
And the priest shall set thewoman before the Lord, and
unbind her hair, and place herhands in the grain offering of
remembrance, which is the grainoffering of jealousy, and in his
hand the priest shall have thewater of bitterness that brings
the curse.
Then the priest shall make hertake an oath, saying, If no man
has lain with you, and if youhave not turned aside to
(07:16):
uncleanness while you were underyour husband's authority, be
free of this water of bitternessthat brings the curse.
But if you have gone astray,though you are under your
husband's authority, and if youhave defiled yourself and some
man other than your husband haslain with you, then let the plea
priest make the woman take theoath of the curse and say to the
(07:36):
woman, The Lord make you acurse and an oath among your
people, when the Lord makes yourthigh fall away and your body
swell, may this water thatbrings the curse pass into your
bowels and make your womb swelland your thigh fall away.
And the woman shall say, Amen,amen.
Then the priest shall writethese curses in a book and wash
(07:59):
them off into the water ofbitterness, and he shall make
the woman drink the water ofbitterness that brings the
curse, and the water that bringsthe curse shall enter into her
and cause bitter pain.
And the priest shall take thegrain offering of jealousy out
of the woman's hand and shallwave the grain offering before
the Lord and bring it to thealtar, and the priest shall take
(08:20):
a handful of the grain offeringas its memorial portion, and
burn it on the altar, andafterward shall make the woman
drink the water.
And when he has made her drinkthe water, then if she has
defiled herself and has brokenfaith with her husband, the
water that brings the curseshall enter into her and cause
bitter pain, and her womb shallswell, and her thigh shall fall
(08:42):
away, and the woman shall becomea curse among her people.
But if the woman has not defiledherself and is clean, then she
shall be free and shall conceivechildren.
This is the law in cases ofjealousy, when a wife, though
under her husband's authority,goes astray and defiles herself,
(09:04):
or when the spirit of jealousycomes over a man and he is
jealous of his wife, then heshall set the woman before the
Lord and the priest shall carryout for her all this law.
The man shall be free frominiquity, but the woman shall
bear her iniquity." Thanks be toGod.
(09:25):
Pro abortion activists will tryto tell you that God here is
prescribing abortion as apenalty for adultery.
At first reading, even mostChristians think this text is
problematic.
Well, I have good news for you.
Once you know how to read theBible in context, it's not
difficult to understand.
Sadly, this common confusionhas been exacerbated by
(09:46):
mistranslation andmisunderstanding of this
isolated text outlined above.
Part of the correction to thisis to remember what we already
learned about abortion beingincompatible with what we know
about the character of God.
In context, this Old Testamentaccount describes something
known as the jealousy offeringor the trial by ordeal.
(10:09):
When a husband suspected thathis wife had been unfaithful,
but when there were no witnessesto the act except the accused
couple, the husband of theaccused woman could bring her to
a priest who would mix up someunpleasant ingredients.
Those ingredients are believednot to be poison or an
abortifacient, but just ordinarywater mixed with the dust from
(10:30):
the temple floor.
The wife would drink it, and ifthe wife was guilty of
adultery, it was believed shewould get sick and her belly
would swallow.
If the wife was innocent, Godwould protect her.
There is nothing magical aboutthe concoction.
Regardless of the outcome, Godwas the woman's righteous judge,
affirming the truth that besure your sin will find you out.
(10:52):
Some suggest that the judgmentof adultery involved causing the
woman to abort as herpunishment.
A particular mistranslation inthe 2011 edition of the New
International Version Biblemistakenly states that the drink
will cause miscarriage.
However, this is not what thepassage is talking about.
Pregnancy is nowhere mentionedor even hinted at in the text.
(11:16):
The only thing that even soundslike pregnancy is the guilty
wife's stomach becoming bloated.
But even in that instance, ithas nothing to do with
pregnancy, because as I saidbefore, pregnancy is not
mentioned in the text, andfurther the passage doesn't say
that drinking the concoctionwould cause an abortion or a
miscarriage.
Because wait for it, pregnancyis not mentioned in this text.
(11:40):
Leviticus chapter twenty verseten states that if a woman was
found guilty of adultery, herpunishment would be death.
But in Deuteronomy 17, verse 6,we also read that the death
penalty requires the testimonyof two witnesses.
As we read earlier in thiscircumstance in Numbers, there
are not two human witnesses,only the accused woman.
(12:03):
If the accused woman was foundto be innocent, verse 28 says
she would be clear cleared ofguilt and able to have children.
But without two witnesses, theguilty woman could not be killed
by human judges, but ratherwould be rendered barren by a
holy God instead.
In this case, God himself isthe only witness against the
(12:25):
woman, and God, not a husband,is the only one against whom the
woman has sinned.
One of the reasons we know thisis that in 2 Samuel chapter
twelve, when the prophet Nathanconfronted King David about his
adultery with Uriah's wifeBathsheba, King David exclaimed,
"I have sinned against theLord." And then he goes on to
(12:46):
write to the Lord in Psalm 51,that "against you and you only
have I sinned and done what isevil in your sight, so you are
right in your verdict andjustified when you judge."
So in Numbers five, the womanhas a completely truthful
witness and a completelyrighteous judge in God.
If she is innocent, her husbandcannot carry his suspicions
(13:10):
into their future relationship.
Because God has judged herrightly, her reputation as a
faithful wife will bemaintained.
But if she is guilty, that samecompletely truthful witness and
completely righteous judge willnot violate his own law and
sentence her to death without asecond witness, but will instead
(13:30):
render her barren, childless,and she will know that her
childlessness will be thejudgment of God and a fate worse
than death for a woman in thattime and culture.
So I hope that this explanationwasn't too complicated and that
it made sense to you.
And if it's not, I encourageyou to listen a second time or
(13:51):
go to the show notes and readthe transcript for the podcast.
But whatever, it's important tounderstand that when we are
interpreting scripture passages,we must always keep in mind
both the cultural context, theattributes of God, and the whole
canon of scripture, and notjust interpret texts in
isolation and come tomisunderstandings and
(14:12):
misrepresentations about God.
And now it's a good time for abreak.
Or maybe a short minute to prayand thank God for both who He
is and for giving us guidancefor life in His written word.
Announcer (14:40):
Until she experiences the healing, renewing, and
restorative love of Jesus Christin a most unexpected and
unusual way.
Presented by a five-memberensemble cast, Viable leads the
audience through a journey ofhealing and restoration for
post-abortive women and menthrough the love of Jesus
Christ.
Viable is endorsed by theNational Right to Life
(15:01):
Committee.
You can find out how to presentViable to your church or
pro-life group atViablePlay.org.
Host (15:22):
Hear the word of the Lord.
"For the life of all flesh, itsblood is its life.
Therefore, I say to theIsraelite people, you shall not
partake of the blood of anyflesh, for the life of all flesh
is in its blood." Leviticuschapter 17, verses thirteen and
fourteen.
(15:42):
At twenty-five weeks, babyChris's nostrils open.
He moves freely in the womb andfrequently changes position.
His skin is pinker becausecapillaries are forming.
These are the smallest bloodvessels, only one cell thick,
and they are transferring oxygenand other nutrients throughout
(16:03):
the body and collect wastematerial to return to the veins.
The capillary is the site ofcellular respiration, helping
tissue use oxygen and returningcarbon dioxide to the lungs for
expiration.
Here's a note to those whoclaim the Bible teaches that
life doesn't begin until firstbreath.
(16:24):
Our cells are the site ofrespiration long before birth.
The human body contains morethan a billion capillaries with
a thousand square miles ofsurface area for exchange of
gases, waste, and nutrientsbetween blood and tissue fluid.
Interestingly, a mother and herchild in the womb do not share
(16:45):
the same blood type.
The baby's blood type isdetermined by the genes of both
parents.
The mother's blood carriesoxygen and nutrients to the
placenta, which then filters themother's blood for nutrients
and oxygen for the baby, butdoes not mingle their blood.
At the same time, the baby'sblood travels up the umbilical
(17:08):
cord to the placenta and carriesthe nutrients and oxygen back
to the baby.
That is amazing.
All of this proves by designwhat we know to be true by
experience.
Human beings can't live withoutair, water, and food in the
blood that carries it all to ourorgans and tissues.
(17:28):
Life is indeed in the blood.
As the author of life, our bloodis precious to God.
Life is to be protected, so weare instructed not to commit
murder.
Because humans are made in theimage of God, there is a death
penalty for those who murder.
Blood purifies and atones.
When Adam and Eve sinned in thegarden, they tried to hide from
(17:52):
God and cover their shame usingfig leaves.
In God's economy, though, theshedding of blood, death, is the
penalty required for humans'sins against God.
But in loving faithfulness Godrescued them with a sacrifice by
taking the life of an innocentcreature, animals who do not
(18:12):
know sin and which do not bearGod's image, in substitution for
their lives.
God clothed Adam and Eve in itsskin as evidence that
righteousness had been fulfilledon their behalf.
Throughout the time of the oldcovenant, the blood of the
animals sacrificed as sinofferings continued to expiate
(18:33):
the sins of God's people,purifying them from the
corruption of their sin.
The priest sprinkled blood onhis own robe before serving in
the temple as part of hispurification rite, and the blood
was splashed on the fourcorners of the altar.
Blood protects.
The blood of the sacrificeprotected God's people from the
(18:54):
wrath of God.
The blood on the doorposts ofthe Hebrew homes protected God's
people from the destroyer sentby God to punish Egypt.
Blood testifies to God'sfaithfulness.
God made a covenant with Abram,promising him a son and a land
to call his own, the child ofthe promise and the promised
(19:16):
land.
God sealed this covenantpromise with the lifeblood of
five of his creatures, andrequired no blood from Abram,
for the fulfillment of thepromise would be by God alone.
On the night he was betrayed,Jesus ate with his disciples and
announced to them that therewould soon be a new covenant
which would be sealed in hisshed blood.
(19:37):
He offered them the common cupof wine and explained that it
represented the new covenant inhis blood, which would forever
after serve as a reminder tothem of God's faithfulness in
providing Christ's blood ontheir behalf.
Jesus is our substitute.
Once again, God provided thesacrifice for our sin when
(19:58):
Jesus, the God man who knew nosin, offered his lifeblood in an
all-sufficient atonement forthe sins of the whole world,
once for all and for all time,removing forever the barrier
between God and human beings.
This forgiveness of sin andreconciliation with God is
offered as a free gift to anyonewilling to receive it.
(20:22):
The precious blood of ourSavior was stored up for us
while he was in his mother'swomb.
The blood shed for the sins ofthe whole world was unmingled
with the blood of any other.
It remained his alone pure andundefiled.
Now all people who claim thename of Christ as their Savior
have their doorposts of theirhearts marked with the same
(20:45):
blood that circulated in thecapillaries and veins of the
pre-born Jesus.
Their shame is covered.
They are protected from thewrath of God and purified with
the blood of the child of thepromise.
The resurrected life in hisblood restores us to eternal
life.
Thanks be to God for hisindescribable gift!
Announcer (21:12):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share itand join us next time on Pro
Life Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
Welcome back to the table, where we share resources from
the almost 50 years worth ofarchived pro-life material
created by Presbyteriansprotecting life.
I'm Deborah Hollifield, aformer PPL board member and past
executive director, and yourhost for these podcasts.
PPL's intention for thesepodcasts is to equip
(00:42):
Presbyterians and really allpro-life Christians of all
denominations to be able to haveintelligent conversations about
life issues from fertilizationto natural death with an
emphasis on making abortionunthinkable.
A key strategy in being able torespond to the objections of
pro-abortion activists is tokeep our responses focused in
(01:04):
the same category as theirobjections.
By that I mean if theirargument is coming from the
point of view of medical scienceand biology, then keep your
response in the focus of medicalscience and biology.
Don't divert to religion orethics.
If their argument is comingfrom the point of view of
humanity and personhood, don'timmediately appeal to the Bible,
(01:27):
especially if you are having aconversation with a secular
atheist.
I once participated in asurvey of national pro-life
leaders where one of thequestions involved how often
pro-life leaders invokedreligion and scripture.
The result was nearly unanimousthat Christian pro-life leaders
never invoke God's scripture oreven religion in general in
(01:50):
most pro-life conversations anddebate.
But it was also true that thesecular or atheist pro-abortion
activists were the ones who werethe first to bring up God,
scripture, and religion inpro-life exchanges with
Christians.
So today I want to cover aresource that addresses some of
the supposed ammunition in thepro-abortion gotcha arsenal.
(02:13):
The first one they like to go tois the Bible says nothing about
abortion.
And the second one is that Godprescribes an abortifacient as a
penalty for adultery in thebook of Numbers, chapter five.
First, what about the claim thatthe Bible doesn't say anything
about abortion?
The Bible has stories about,and get ready for a long list,
(02:38):
romance, prostitution, rape,incest, cohabitation, marriage,
divorce, polyamory, polygamy,adultery, infertility, teenage
pregnancy, unwed mothers,illegitimacy, surrogacy,
childbirth, death duringchildbirth, birth anomalies,
(03:00):
homicide, suicide, patricide,fratricide, depression, economic
deprivation, bodily autonomy,women's rights, racial
discrimination, spousalabandonment, and every other
reason that we hear about everyday as a reason for abortion.
And yet, in this comprehensive1,500-year record of human
(03:24):
sexual relationships and socialand economic oppression, there
is no story about abortion.
Now this is not the flex thatpro-abortion lobbyists think it
is.
It's that abortion is neverconsidered to be a solution to
any of these issues.
Because to God, abortion isunthinkable.
(03:44):
No murder is God's law againstabortion in the sixth of the Ten
Commandments.
Scripture is very clear thatGod is the author of life and
sovereign over it.
God creates life, God createsdestinies, God protects,
rescues, delivers, provides forwomen and children, fights for
(04:05):
the voiceless, and lifts up theoppressed.
In Matthew chapter 22, versesthirty six through forty, Jesus
teaches that the greatestcommandment is to love the Lord
your God with all your heart andall your soul and all your
mind, and the second greatestcommandment is to love your
neighbor as yourself.
Certainly women and children,both born and preborn, are our
(04:27):
neighbors.
God hates hands that shedinnocent blood.
Those being led to slaughterare to be delivered to safety.
The innocent, weak, oppressed,and especially children are
deserving a special protection.
The idea of abortion iscompletely incompatible with
(04:47):
what we know of the attributesof God.
The thread that runs throughoutScripture is life.
In the call stories of theprophets and Paul, in the
destiny stories of Isaac andIshmael, Jacob and Esau, Samson,
John, and Jesus.
In Genesis chapter 1, verse 28,God commands human beings to be
(05:08):
fruitful and multiply.
It's childbearing, not abortionor infanti that is considered
women's God given right.
And being childless issometimes considered a fate
worse than death.
But wait, exclaims the eager proabortionist.
What about Numbers chapter 5,verses eleven through 31?
(05:30):
Well, if you are familiar withthis Old Testament text, I'm
going to read it first, but youwill want to read it on your own
later as well.
I'll be reading from the ESVversion.
"Hear the word of the Lord,beginning at verse eleven.
And the Lord spoke to Moses,saying, Speak to the people of
(05:50):
Israel, if any man's wife goesastray and breaks faith with
him, if a man lies with hersexually and it is hidden from
the eyes of her husband, and sheis undetected, though she has
defiled herself, and there is nowitness against her, since she
was not taken in the act.
And if the spirit of jealousycomes over him and he is jealous
(06:11):
of his wife who has defiledherself, or if the spirit of
jealousy comes over him, and heis jealous of his wife, though
she has not defiled herself,then the man shall bring his
wife to the priest and bring theoffering required of her, a
tenth of an epha of barleyflour.
He shall pour no oil on it andput no frankincense in it, for
(06:31):
it is a grain offering ofjealousy, a grain offering of
remembrance, bringing iniquityto remembremembrance.
And the priest shall bring hernear and set her before the
Lord.
And the priest shall take holywater in an earthenware vessel,
and take some of the dust thatis on the floor of the
tabernacle, and put it into thewater.
(06:54):
And the priest shall set thewoman before the Lord, and
unbind her hair, and place herhands in the grain offering of
remembrance, which is the grainoffering of jealousy, and in his
hand the priest shall have thewater of bitterness that brings
the curse.
Then the priest shall make hertake an oath, saying, If no man
has lain with you, and if youhave not turned aside to
(07:16):
uncleanness while you were underyour husband's authority, be
free of this water of bitternessthat brings the curse.
But if you have gone astray,though you are under your
husband's authority, and if youhave defiled yourself and some
man other than your husband haslain with you, then let the plea
priest make the woman take theoath of the curse and say to the
(07:36):
woman, The Lord make you acurse and an oath among your
people, when the Lord makes yourthigh fall away and your body
swell, may this water thatbrings the curse pass into your
bowels and make your womb swelland your thigh fall away.
And the woman shall say, Amen,amen.
Then the priest shall writethese curses in a book and wash
(07:59):
them off into the water ofbitterness, and he shall make
the woman drink the water ofbitterness that brings the
curse, and the water that bringsthe curse shall enter into her
and cause bitter pain.
And the priest shall take thegrain offering of jealousy out
of the woman's hand and shallwave the grain offering before
the Lord and bring it to thealtar, and the priest shall take
(08:20):
a handful of the grain offeringas its memorial portion, and
burn it on the altar, andafterward shall make the woman
drink the water.
And when he has made her drinkthe water, then if she has
defiled herself and has brokenfaith with her husband, the
water that brings the curseshall enter into her and cause
bitter pain, and her womb shallswell, and her thigh shall fall
(08:42):
away, and the woman shall becomea curse among her people.
But if the woman has not defiledherself and is clean, then she
shall be free and shall conceivechildren.
This is the law in cases ofjealousy, when a wife, though
under her husband's authority,goes astray and defiles herself,
(09:04):
or when the spirit of jealousycomes over a man and he is
jealous of his wife, then heshall set the woman before the
Lord and the priest shall carryout for her all this law.
The man shall be free frominiquity, but the woman shall
bear her iniquity." Thanks be toGod.
(09:25):
Pro abortion activists will tryto tell you that God here is
prescribing abortion as apenalty for adultery.
At first reading, even mostChristians think this text is
problematic.
Well, I have good news for you.
Once you know how to read theBible in context, it's not
difficult to understand.
Sadly, this common confusionhas been exacerbated by
(09:46):
mistranslation andmisunderstanding of this
isolated text outlined above.
Part of the correction to thisis to remember what we already
learned about abortion beingincompatible with what we know
about the character of God.
In context, this Old Testamentaccount describes something
known as the jealousy offeringor the trial by ordeal.
(10:09):
When a husband suspected thathis wife had been unfaithful,
but when there were no witnessesto the act except the accused
couple, the husband of theaccused woman could bring her to
a priest who would mix up someunpleasant ingredients.
Those ingredients are believednot to be poison or an
abortifacient, but just ordinarywater mixed with the dust from
(10:30):
the temple floor.
The wife would drink it, and ifthe wife was guilty of
adultery, it was believed shewould get sick and her belly
would swallow.
If the wife was innocent, Godwould protect her.
There is nothing magical aboutthe concoction.
Regardless of the outcome, Godwas the woman's righteous judge,
affirming the truth that besure your sin will find you out.
(10:52):
Some suggest that the judgmentof adultery involved causing the
woman to abort as herpunishment.
A particular mistranslation inthe 2011 edition of the New
International Version Biblemistakenly states that the drink
will cause miscarriage.
However, this is not what thepassage is talking about.
Pregnancy is nowhere mentionedor even hinted at in the text.
(11:16):
The only thing that even soundslike pregnancy is the guilty
wife's stomach becoming bloated.
But even in that instance, ithas nothing to do with
pregnancy, because as I saidbefore, pregnancy is not
mentioned in the text, andfurther the passage doesn't say
that drinking the concoctionwould cause an abortion or a
miscarriage.
Because wait for it, pregnancyis not mentioned in this text.
(11:40):
Leviticus chapter twenty verseten states that if a woman was
found guilty of adultery, herpunishment would be death.
But in Deuteronomy 17, verse 6,we also read that the death
penalty requires the testimonyof two witnesses.
As we read earlier in thiscircumstance in Numbers, there
are not two human witnesses,only the accused woman.
(12:03):
If the accused woman was foundto be innocent, verse 28 says
she would be clear cleared ofguilt and able to have children.
But without two witnesses, theguilty woman could not be killed
by human judges, but ratherwould be rendered barren by a
holy God instead.
In this case, God himself isthe only witness against the
(12:25):
woman, and God, not a husband,is the only one against whom the
woman has sinned.
One of the reasons we know thisis that in 2 Samuel chapter
twelve, when the prophet Nathanconfronted King David about his
adultery with Uriah's wifeBathsheba, King David exclaimed,
"I have sinned against theLord." And then he goes on to
(12:46):
write to the Lord in Psalm 51,that "against you and you only
have I sinned and done what isevil in your sight, so you are
right in your verdict andjustified when you judge."
So in Numbers five, the womanhas a completely truthful
witness and a completelyrighteous judge in God.
If she is innocent, her husbandcannot carry his suspicions
(13:10):
into their future relationship.
Because God has judged herrightly, her reputation as a
faithful wife will bemaintained.
But if she is guilty, that samecompletely truthful witness and
completely righteous judge willnot violate his own law and
sentence her to death without asecond witness, but will instead
(13:30):
render her barren, childless,and she will know that her
childlessness will be thejudgment of God and a fate worse
than death for a woman in thattime and culture.
So I hope that this explanationwasn't too complicated and that
it made sense to you.
And if it's not, I encourageyou to listen a second time or
(13:51):
go to the show notes and readthe transcript for the podcast.
But whatever, it's important tounderstand that when we are
interpreting scripture passages,we must always keep in mind
both the cultural context, theattributes of God, and the whole
canon of scripture, and notjust interpret texts in
isolation and come tomisunderstandings and
(14:12):
misrepresentations about God.
And now it's a good time for abreak.
Or maybe a short minute to prayand thank God for both who He
is and for giving us guidancefor life in His written word.
Announcer (14:40):
Until she experiences the healing, renewing, and
restorative love of Jesus Christin a most unexpected and
unusual way.
Presented by a five-memberensemble cast, Viable leads the
audience through a journey ofhealing and restoration for
post-abortive women and menthrough the love of Jesus
Christ.
Viable is endorsed by theNational Right to Life
(15:01):
Committee.
You can find out how to presentViable to your church or
pro-life group atViablePlay.org.
Host (15:22):
Hear the word of the Lord.
"For the life of all flesh, itsblood is its life.
Therefore, I say to theIsraelite people, you shall not
partake of the blood of anyflesh, for the life of all flesh
is in its blood." Leviticuschapter 17, verses thirteen and
fourteen.
(15:42):
At twenty-five weeks, babyChris's nostrils open.
He moves freely in the womb andfrequently changes position.
His skin is pinker becausecapillaries are forming.
These are the smallest bloodvessels, only one cell thick,
and they are transferring oxygenand other nutrients throughout
(16:03):
the body and collect wastematerial to return to the veins.
The capillary is the site ofcellular respiration, helping
tissue use oxygen and returningcarbon dioxide to the lungs for
expiration.
Here's a note to those whoclaim the Bible teaches that
life doesn't begin until firstbreath.
(16:24):
Our cells are the site ofrespiration long before birth.
The human body contains morethan a billion capillaries with
a thousand square miles ofsurface area for exchange of
gases, waste, and nutrientsbetween blood and tissue fluid.
Interestingly, a mother and herchild in the womb do not share
(16:45):
the same blood type.
The baby's blood type isdetermined by the genes of both
parents.
The mother's blood carriesoxygen and nutrients to the
placenta, which then filters themother's blood for nutrients
and oxygen for the baby, butdoes not mingle their blood.
At the same time, the baby'sblood travels up the umbilical
(17:08):
cord to the placenta and carriesthe nutrients and oxygen back
to the baby.
That is amazing.
All of this proves by designwhat we know to be true by
experience.
Human beings can't live withoutair, water, and food in the
blood that carries it all to ourorgans and tissues.
(17:28):
Life is indeed in the blood.
As the author of life, our bloodis precious to God.
Life is to be protected, so weare instructed not to commit
murder.
Because humans are made in theimage of God, there is a death
penalty for those who murder.
Blood purifies and atones.
When Adam and Eve sinned in thegarden, they tried to hide from
(17:52):
God and cover their shame usingfig leaves.
In God's economy, though, theshedding of blood, death, is the
penalty required for humans'sins against God.
But in loving faithfulness Godrescued them with a sacrifice by
taking the life of an innocentcreature, animals who do not
(18:12):
know sin and which do not bearGod's image, in substitution for
their lives.
God clothed Adam and Eve in itsskin as evidence that
righteousness had been fulfilledon their behalf.
Throughout the time of the oldcovenant, the blood of the
animals sacrificed as sinofferings continued to expiate
(18:33):
the sins of God's people,purifying them from the
corruption of their sin.
The priest sprinkled blood onhis own robe before serving in
the temple as part of hispurification rite, and the blood
was splashed on the fourcorners of the altar.
Blood protects.
The blood of the sacrificeprotected God's people from the
(18:54):
wrath of God.
The blood on the doorposts ofthe Hebrew homes protected God's
people from the destroyer sentby God to punish Egypt.
Blood testifies to God'sfaithfulness.
God made a covenant with Abram,promising him a son and a land
to call his own, the child ofthe promise and the promised
(19:16):
land.
God sealed this covenantpromise with the lifeblood of
five of his creatures, andrequired no blood from Abram,
for the fulfillment of thepromise would be by God alone.
On the night he was betrayed,Jesus ate with his disciples and
announced to them that therewould soon be a new covenant
which would be sealed in hisshed blood.
(19:37):
He offered them the common cupof wine and explained that it
represented the new covenant inhis blood, which would forever
after serve as a reminder tothem of God's faithfulness in
providing Christ's blood ontheir behalf.
Jesus is our substitute.
Once again, God provided thesacrifice for our sin when
(19:58):
Jesus, the God man who knew nosin, offered his lifeblood in an
all-sufficient atonement forthe sins of the whole world,
once for all and for all time,removing forever the barrier
between God and human beings.
This forgiveness of sin andreconciliation with God is
offered as a free gift to anyonewilling to receive it.
(20:22):
The precious blood of ourSavior was stored up for us
while he was in his mother'swomb.
The blood shed for the sins ofthe whole world was unmingled
with the blood of any other.
It remained his alone pure andundefiled.
Now all people who claim thename of Christ as their Savior
have their doorposts of theirhearts marked with the same
(20:45):
blood that circulated in thecapillaries and veins of the
pre-born Jesus.
Their shame is covered.
They are protected from thewrath of God and purified with
the blood of the child of thepromise.
The resurrected life in hisblood restores us to eternal
life.
Thanks be to God for hisindescribable gift!
Announcer (21:12):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share itand join us next time on Pro
Life Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
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