Week of Monday, January 17 – Sunday, January 23
Rescue – Man as Defender
They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. – Genesis 37: 18-22 ESV
On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court struck down virtually all state restrictions on abortion,[1] opening the door for our nation to murder pre-born human beings like never before. Over 62 million lives have been taken since.[2] Let the weight of that hit you. Just think of a catastrophic disaster where the entire populations of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington are wiped out. That is what we are talking about. Abortion is the American Holocaust, and it is a moral outrage that ought to make every Christian in this nation rise up in righteous indignation. As a matter of fact, men, we should be out front as the primary Defenders of the vulnerable innocents being murdered in the womb.
Joseph’s brothers wanted to murder him. They were tired of hearing about his dreams from the Lord. They came up with a plan to kill the young man and throw his body in a pit. Abortionists use various brutal means to kill innocent preborn babies, such as a saline solution injected into the womb that burns and scalds the baby, or poison injected via a needle into the baby’s beating heart, or a vacuum device that dismembers and sucks the preborn baby’s body parts out of the womb, or forceps that rip off the limbs, crush the baby’s head, and pull the body out of the womb. Just as Joseph’s brothers planned to throw his dead body in a pit, we have read stories of aborted babies unceremoniously ending up in the trash!
Joseph’s brothers even came up with a deceptive story to go along with their plot: “we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him.” Interestingly, abortionists have come up with their own deception to mask their murder. They talk about embryos, products of conception, and fetuses. Take the word “fetus,” which is the Latin word meaning “preborn baby.” But it is a Latin word, which most people do not understand. That’s why abortion activists use such deceptive terms to dehumanize the baby in the womb. Politicians even refer to surgical abortion as being essential for “women’s health.” Is abortion “health care?” Not hardly, but this is all a part of their great deception.
After they planned to kill Joseph and plotted their deception, the brothers concluded, then “we will see what will become of his dreams.” Remember Joseph’s big dream? That he would be elevated, and his family would one day bow before him? Think of all the dreams that have died with those babies who have been aborted. A girl who might have cured cancer. A boy who might have become president. What a tremendous tragedy that happens repeatedly every day in America’s abortion facilities.
Men, we need to have the heart of Reuben toward the preborn, who rebuked his brothers about their plan to “shed blood” but who intended to “rescue him out of their hand.” 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?” We need to speak out against this great evil and defend those who cannot defend themselves. We need to do what we can to “rescue those being led away to death.”
[1] Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S.; 113, 163-164 (1973).
[2] https://www.foxnews.com/politics/abortions-since-roe-v-wade
Rescue – Man as Defender
They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. – Genesis 37: 18-22 ESV
On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court struck down virtually all state restrictions on abortion,[1] opening the door for our nation to murder pre-born human beings like never before. Over 62 million lives have been taken since.[2] Let the weight of that hit you. Just think of a catastrophic disaster where the entire populations of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington are wiped out. That is what we are talking about. Abortion is the American Holocaust, and it is a moral outrage that ought to make every Christian in this nation rise up in righteous indignation. As a matter of fact, men, we should be out front as the primary Defenders of the vulnerable innocents being murdered in the womb.
Joseph’s brothers wanted to murder him. They were tired of hearing about his dreams from the Lord. They came up with a plan to kill the young man and throw his body in a pit. Abortionists use various brutal means to kill innocent preborn babies, such as a saline solution injected into the womb that burns and scalds the baby, or poison injected via a needle into the baby’s beating heart, or a vacuum device that dismembers and sucks the preborn baby’s body parts out of the womb, or forceps that rip off the limbs, crush the baby’s head, and pull the body out of the womb. Just as Joseph’s brothers planned to throw his dead body in a pit, we have read stories of aborted babies unceremoniously ending up in the trash!
Joseph’s brothers even came up with a deceptive story to go along with their plot: “we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him.” Interestingly, abortionists have come up with their own deception to mask their murder. They talk about embryos, products of conception, and fetuses. Take the word “fetus,” which is the Latin word meaning “preborn baby.” But it is a Latin word, which most people do not understand. That’s why abortion activists use such deceptive terms to dehumanize the baby in the womb. Politicians even refer to surgical abortion as being essential for “women’s health.” Is abortion “health care?” Not hardly, but this is all a part of their great deception.
After they planned to kill Joseph and plotted their deception, the brothers concluded, then “we will see what will become of his dreams.” Remember Joseph’s big dream? That he would be elevated, and his family would one day bow before him? Think of all the dreams that have died with those babies who have been aborted. A girl who might have cured cancer. A boy who might have become president. What a tremendous tragedy that happens repeatedly every day in America’s abortion facilities.
Men, we need to have the heart of Reuben toward the preborn, who rebuked his brothers about their plan to “shed blood” but who intended to “rescue him out of their hand.” 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?” We need to speak out against this great evil and defend those who cannot defend themselves. We need to do what we can to “rescue those being led away to death.”
- Elections have consequences. Presidents nominate and Senators confirm federal level judges who rule on abortion and other issues. State level judges are often elected. Consider how you vote very carefully. Evaluate each candidate on this most important of issues: Life. Oppose any effort to take the lives of preborn babies.
- Support your local Pregnancy Resource Center whose mission is to help young women choose life for their preborn babies. If you don’t have one, help organize one.
- Pray for God to have mercy on us as a nation for the great sin of abortion. Pray that God will enable us to stand courageous and be a voice for those who have no voice.
[1] Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S.; 113, 163-164 (1973).
[2] https://www.foxnews.com/politics/abortions-since-roe-v-wade