One reason why God commands us to be fruitful and multiply is for His people to become mighty in the land. "He wants the godly seed to be a threat to the devil. . . The devil is frightened of the godly seed, for it is they who will destroy his works in this world." Campbell also says,
The enemy knew that God would need an army in this hour to fulfill His great purposes. He knew that if he could diminish God's army, he could thwart God's plans. It is the strategy of Satan to minimize the holy seed. The sad thing is that the Christian church has unconsciously fallen into this trap. As Christians in the last few decades have decided to have fewer children, they have limited the power of God on earth. God's plan is to fill the earth with His glory. God calls the increase of children our "glory" (Hosea 9:11).
What is the highest blessing God gives? Look at Deuteronmy 28:11, "And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock and in the produce of your ground. . ." The thing He blesses before the increase of property or increase of the fruit of the ground is to increase the fruit of the body.
God is glorified through the increase of the womb. Jeremiah 30:19b says, "I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small." When Christians multiply and grow, God receives the glory!
One of the greatest reasons for marriage is to represent the picture of Christ and the church. What does God want for the church? He wants the church to grow and multiply. "When we are fruitful in our marriage, we are revealing a true picture of Christ and the church to the world."
Christians are called to live as Christ. Jesus was part of a big family. According to Mark 6:3, Jesus had four brothers and "sisters". If we even go with the minimum meaning of "sisters" and count only two, that means there were seven children in the family. God could have created any type of family for Christ and He chose a large family!
Why have we seen a decrease in the number of people standing for God's will? It is because Christians are not multiplying enough to even replace themselves. Many will argue that by having two children, people are doing their "job"; however, what about those who are naturally childless or never marry? According to Theodore Laetsch, "At least four children to a family to prevent this dying out, five children to bring about an increase in population."
The issue that I have struggled with for a while and still struggle with is the issue of barrenness and miscarriages. The Word of God shows us in many different places that barrenness is a curse. What I struggle with is that I know many strong, devoted Christian women who experience barrenness and/or miscarriages. I just can't believe that God is cursing them.
A few thoughts I have on the topic is that it could be the consequence of something as simple as not eating the right foods (example: gluten can cause sterility in celiacs), or from taking hormone based birth control (either currently or in the past), or even a side effect to a disease. The problem with these thoughts is that they still don't explain the situations of all the women I know who suffer with an empty womb.
I will continue to seek God's wisdom in this matter, but it might just be something I won't know until I reach Heaven. One thing I do know is, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." ~ Romans 8:28.
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