Week of Monday, March 4 - March 10
Life Matters – Man as Defender
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech. If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.” - Leviticus 20:1-7 ESV
The name “Molech” either refers to an ancient Canaanite deity associated with child sacrifice or the practice of offering child sacrifices. Those who “gave their children to Molech” (i.e., killed them in a sacrificial ritual) likely did so believing their sacrifice would appease the divine and accrue some sort of spiritual and material benefit.
The ancient practice of giving children to Molech is not so very different from the modern-day practice of abortion. Innocent unborn children are killed, oftentimes because the parent(s) have been led to believe their own lives will be better off as a result.
When I read the verses from Leviticus 20, I was reminded of these words in FRC’s The Washington Stand:
How can we live in the greatest country in the world and allow abortionists to kill babies? How can we mourn the loss of an unborn child through miscarriage and stand idly by as Planned Parenthood actively takes millions of lives through abortion? How has the place where a baby is meant to be safest—her mother’s womb—become the place where she is most in peril? … Perhaps the evil of abortion is so great that none of us can clearly comprehend it. Perhaps we allow ourselves to be blind to the truth because if we truly understood that abortion kills a sweet, innocent baby, we would be forced to live our lives differently.
God places great value on life. The Bible plainly declares that God created human life and made us in His image, breathing into us the very breath of life (Gen. 1:27, 2:7). God told the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer. 1:5). To God, Jeremiah was already a person for whom He had plans. The same is true of every little preborn baby in the womb (Ps. 139:13-16).
The Lord told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” Now, choosing life doesn’t just involve forming an opinion about the value of human life (even though that’s foundational). It also involves protecting life. Proverbs 24:11-12 says, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?”
Here’s the point: We are to value, respect, and defend human life. We must never capitulate to a modern-day equivalent of giving our children to Molech. We can never allow those in our churches or communities to be led astray in thinking that abortion is merely a “political issue.” We must not allow ourselves to be desensitized to the horror of abortion. Neither should we stand idly by when others devalue, disrespect, or destroy God’s precious gift of life. In fact, doing nothing invites judgment from God. Men, the warning God gave centuries ago to Israel still applies today!
God has entrusted us with the stewardship of this critical moment in history. Looking upon a culture that has been led astray, barren of biblical truth, and starved of God’s love, we know it needs Jesus. But it also needs men like us to stand for these little ones for whom Christ came to save. May we here and now rise to the occasion, sound the alarm, and make a difference by defending human life!
- Are you aware of the continued organized efforts worldwide to make abortion available on demand, even up to the moment of birth? Those same forces may be at work in your state legislature.
- How can you be involved in standing for life, locally in your town and community? Learn more at standcourageous.com/sanctityoflife and frc.org/prolifemen.
- Pray for God’s wisdom and strategy to stand for life.
Life Matters – Man as Defender
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech. If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.” - Leviticus 20:1-7 ESV
The name “Molech” either refers to an ancient Canaanite deity associated with child sacrifice or the practice of offering child sacrifices. Those who “gave their children to Molech” (i.e., killed them in a sacrificial ritual) likely did so believing their sacrifice would appease the divine and accrue some sort of spiritual and material benefit.
The ancient practice of giving children to Molech is not so very different from the modern-day practice of abortion. Innocent unborn children are killed, oftentimes because the parent(s) have been led to believe their own lives will be better off as a result.
When I read the verses from Leviticus 20, I was reminded of these words in FRC’s The Washington Stand:
How can we live in the greatest country in the world and allow abortionists to kill babies? How can we mourn the loss of an unborn child through miscarriage and stand idly by as Planned Parenthood actively takes millions of lives through abortion? How has the place where a baby is meant to be safest—her mother’s womb—become the place where she is most in peril? … Perhaps the evil of abortion is so great that none of us can clearly comprehend it. Perhaps we allow ourselves to be blind to the truth because if we truly understood that abortion kills a sweet, innocent baby, we would be forced to live our lives differently.
God places great value on life. The Bible plainly declares that God created human life and made us in His image, breathing into us the very breath of life (Gen. 1:27, 2:7). God told the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer. 1:5). To God, Jeremiah was already a person for whom He had plans. The same is true of every little preborn baby in the womb (Ps. 139:13-16).
The Lord told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” Now, choosing life doesn’t just involve forming an opinion about the value of human life (even though that’s foundational). It also involves protecting life. Proverbs 24:11-12 says, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?”
Here’s the point: We are to value, respect, and defend human life. We must never capitulate to a modern-day equivalent of giving our children to Molech. We can never allow those in our churches or communities to be led astray in thinking that abortion is merely a “political issue.” We must not allow ourselves to be desensitized to the horror of abortion. Neither should we stand idly by when others devalue, disrespect, or destroy God’s precious gift of life. In fact, doing nothing invites judgment from God. Men, the warning God gave centuries ago to Israel still applies today!
God has entrusted us with the stewardship of this critical moment in history. Looking upon a culture that has been led astray, barren of biblical truth, and starved of God’s love, we know it needs Jesus. But it also needs men like us to stand for these little ones for whom Christ came to save. May we here and now rise to the occasion, sound the alarm, and make a difference by defending human life!
- Are you aware of the continued organized efforts worldwide to make abortion available on demand, even up to the moment of birth? Those same forces may be at work in your state legislature.
- How can you be involved in standing for life, locally in your town and community? Learn more at standcourageous.com/sanctityoflife and frc.org/prolifemen.
- Pray for God’s wisdom and strategy to stand for life.