Chapter 12 “The Fruit of the Womb” 🇯🇵 Japanese

When we look around at our world today and see abortion, child abuse, and even incest, our hearts ache. It’s natural to ask—when did our nation lose its love for children? 

世界を見渡すと、中絶や児童虐待、そして時には近親の悲しい出来事まで目にし、心が痛みます。思わず問いかけたくなります――いつから私たちの社会は子どもを愛せなくなってしまったのだろう、と。

The Bible tells us there are only two foundations we can build our lives upon—one strong and immovable like the Rock, and one that shifts and sinks like sand. Dear sisters, we are standing on the sand, and the collapse is already all around us.

人生を築く土台は二つしかありません。ひとつは堅く揺るがない岩のような土台、もうひとつは移ろいやすく沈んでいく砂のような土台です。愛する姉妹たち、今の私たちは砂の上に立っていて、その崩れはすでに目に見える形で始まっています。

Blessed are the barren. The Lord warned there would come a day even more sorrowful than His crucifixion. That day, I believe, is here. When the women of Jerusalem wept for Him, He turned and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and especially for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ”

Blessed are the barren.（子を産まない者は幸いだ）
主はご自身の十字架の苦しみよりもなお深い悲しみの時が来ると警告されました。私は、その時代がすでに来ているのだと思います。エルサレムの女性たちがイエスのために泣いたとき、彼は振り向いて言われました――「泣くのはわたしのためではなく、自分自身と、そして自分の子どもたちのために泣きなさい」と。やがて人々はこう言うようになる、と。「Blessed are the barren ― 子を産まない者、胎の実らなかった者、乳を飲ませなかった者は幸いだ」と。

How many times have we heard a woman, upon learning someone is expecting, say lightly, “Better you than me”? Or have you heard a weary mother—yes, even a loving one—declare, “No way! I’m not having any more!” These words may seem harmless, but they echo the very spirit of a culture that has forgotten that children are blessings, not burdens.

誰かが妊娠したと聞いたとき、女性が軽い調子で「よかった、私じゃなくて！」と言うのを何度耳にしたでしょうか。あるいは、疲れ切った母親が――そう、愛情深い母親であっても――「もう無理！これ以上子どもはいらない！」と口にするのを聞いたことがあるでしょうか。これらの言葉は一見すると無害に思えるかもしれませんが、実際には「子どもは祝福であり、重荷ではない」という真理を忘れた文化の精神を映し出しています。

And God blessed them.（そして神は彼らを祝福された） Even as He walked through His darkest hours, the Lord said there would come a time that would be worse. Look around: the rise of a movement that rejects God’s design, the push to redefine family, and the steady decline in welcoming children—it’s all pointing to the days He spoke of. Are we grieving, as He urged the daughters of Jerusalem to do? Or have we quietly accepted the world’s deception? “And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ ”

主がご自身の最も暗い時を歩まれていたときでさえ、「さらに悪い時が来る」と語られました。私たちの周りを見渡してください。神の秩序を拒む動き、家族のかたちを作り替えようとする流れ、そして子どもを歓迎する心の衰退――それらすべてが、主が語られた時代を指し示しています。私たちは、イエスがエルサレムの娘たちに求められたように、心から嘆いているでしょうか？それとも、世界の偽りを静かに受け入れてしまっているのでしょうか。

Why do you call me Lord?（なぜ、わたしを主と呼ぶのか？）

How did the “anti-children” movement take root? It began decades ago when birth control became widely available, and from that point, our foundation began to crumble. Birth control speaks a language of self-will:

「子どもを歓迎しない風潮」は、どのようにして根を下ろしたのでしょうか。
それは数十年前、避妊が広く普及し始めたときからです。そこから少しずつ、私たちの土台は崩れ始めました。
避妊が語るのは、自分の意思を最優先にする声です。

• I don’t want children yet.
  
• まだ子どもはいらない。
• I don’t want too many children—one, two, three, or maybe four, but no more.
• 子どもは多すぎない方がいい――1人、2人、3人、せいぜい4人まで。
• I don’t want them too close together.
• あまり間をあけずに生まれるのは困る。

If, and only if, I want children, I will choose when, how often, and how many. God is no longer in control—I am! I tell myself I know what’s best for my life and what I can handle. I claim to follow the Lord, but in truth, I am choosing my own way.

もし、子どもが欲しいと思ったとしても――それは私が決めること。いつ欲しいか、何人欲しいか、どのくらいの間隔で持つか、すべて自分で選ぶ。神さまが支配しているのではなく、私が支配しているのだ！
「自分の人生に何が最善か、何が可能かは私が一番よく知っている」と言い聞かせながら。口では主に従うと言いながら、実際には自分の道を選んでいる。

“Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say?”
（なぜ、わたしを主と呼びながら、わたしの言うことを行わないのか？）

Be fruitful. If the Lord is truly Lord of our lives, we must follow His teachings—not just in the areas that feel comfortable, but in every area. “And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ ”

Unless the Lord builds the house. We must be willing to have as many—or as few—children as God sees fit. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” It is His hand, not ours, that knows the perfect number and timing for our families.

Because you are lukewarm. When we began to accept the “gray areas” in matters of family planning, we took the first step toward compromise. First came “natural” methods, then the pill and the IUD, and from there it was a small step to the unthinkable—abortion. “So because you are lukewarm [using birth control], and neither cold [which is abortion] nor hot [trusting God entirely for your fertility], I will spit you out of My mouth.” If we ourselves are refusing God’s blessing, how can we possibly convince a frightened woman considering abortion that the child within her is a gift from the Lord?

They may multiply abundantly. Mary Pride, in The Way Home, writes, “Family planning is the ‘mother of abortion.’ Once couples look upon children as ‘creatures of their own making,’ all reverence for human life was lost.” She’s right. When children are seen as products of our own will instead of miracles from God’s hand, we feel free to control, limit, or even destroy them. “Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you… that they may multiply abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

Populate the earth abundantly. God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply” is not a passing thought—it is His repeated blessing and instruction, spoken over and over again. More than 14 times. He meant for the earth to be filled with life, with families, with the joy of children.

“And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”
“God also said to him, I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you.”

“Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock… and they will be fruitful and multiply.”

Fill the earth. The world speaks often of overpopulation, but the truth tells a different story. Experts have shown that the entire world’s population could fit in the state of Texas with room to spare. Far from being overfull, many nations are shrinking, their birth rates too low to replace the generation before. Nations are "importing" different nations of people as a result. “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’ ”

A gift of the Lord. Some women hesitate to trust God with their fertility because they fear He might give them “too many” children—twenty, perhaps! But do we really believe what God says? “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.” We gladly accept bigger houses, better cars, and promotions with all their extra responsibilities, but when it comes to more children—true blessings from God—we shrink back. He calls them a reward, not a burden. Yet, the world and its feminist voices have worked hard to convince us otherwise. The question is—whom will we believe? God, or the world?

Opened her womb. Statistics show that without birth control, most women in developed countries naturally have five or six children—not twenty. Even in Bible times, large families were rare and often seen as especially blessed. Noah had three children, Sarah only one, Rebekah and Rachel each had two. Leah bore six sons and a daughter, while Rachel had just two sons. “Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” “Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.” Each child was given in the perfect number, order, and timing—God’s timing. Have you, in trying to control your fertility, perhaps closed the door to a blessing He intended for you? “God also said to him, I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you.”

Closed fast all the wombs. Scripture also reveals that the closing of the womb can be a curse or punishment. “They will play the harlot, but not increase.” “For the Lord closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” It is God—not us—who opens and closes the womb. “And He opened her womb.”

God shall supply all your needs. But what if we fear we cannot provide for more children? Often, the problem isn’t a lack of provision—it’s a lack of faith. “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ the Lord.” Sometimes what we label as “needs” is really “wants.” As Mary Pride points out, “We are the richest people in history, yet are the most fearful about the costs of child-rearing.” God calls us to live “…free from the love of money.”

She who remains at home. God’s Word offers encouragement to the homemaker: “…And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!” Many mothers of large families have testified how God has provided abundantly—often through others who have chosen to limit their children and then bless them with clothing, toys, or household items.

With these we shall be content. The desire to give our children more things—more toys, more clothes, more space— backfires. Too often, the children who “have it all” become the most spoiled, ungrateful, and unhappy, and in later years, may be more vulnerable to destructive choices. God reminds us, “And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare…”

Being content. Are we raising sons and daughters to be content with simple blessings, or to expect abundance, and only then can we and they be happy? Are we modeling lives free from the love of money? We may not be refusing children because of actual inability to meet their needs, but rather because we fear we cannot provide a certain level of material comfort. Yet God says, “Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have…”

Love of money. It seems children today remain financially dependent on their parents far longer than in past generations. Where once young people contributed to the household through work—helping in the fields, sewing, preserving food, or learning a trade—many now spend their teenage and young adult years focused on leisure and schooling, with little thought to becoming an asset to the family. We see many still living at home well into their twenties, even after costly college degrees have been paid for.

We must ask ourselves: why do we push so strongly for our children to go to college? Is it truly for godly character, or have we absorbed the world’s idea that success comes through credentials and income? Scripture warns, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.”

Fear. Instead of fearing “too many” children, perhaps we should fear what we miss when we cut off God’s blessings. Not only do we forfeit joy, but we also risk harm through the very methods we use to prevent life. “God is not mocked, what you sow this also you shall reap.” Why would we plant seeds through the intimacy God designed, and then refuse to gather the fruit He intended? And when abortion is chosen, the root itself is ripped from the soil.

Beloved, how can we trust God with our eternal salvation, yet hesitate to trust Him with the number of children He gives us?

Multiply your seed. The dangers of stopping our fertility are not only spiritual—they are physical. The pill, for instance, can act as an abortifacient by preventing a tiny, newly conceived life from implanting in the womb, causing that child to die before a mother even knows he or she existed. It can also bring health risks—hypertension, blood clotting, and diabetes—effects now so common that screenings are routinely recommended. “Indeed, I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.”

They labor in vain who build it. Many of us once believed in “Natural Family Planning,” convincing ourselves it was responsible and God-approved. But if we are the ones setting the plan, we are still taking the role of Lord over our own lives. Oh, the peace that comes when we hand this area over to Him! Some who have surrendered this have found themselves blessed with more children, while others had no more at all—but both could rest, knowing the Lord Himself was building their house. “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…”

Wasted his seed. The Bible does not shy away from addressing contraception. It speaks even of when a man “wasted his seed” to avoid producing offspring, and how it displeased the Lord. These are sobering words, reminding us that God sees life—even the potential for life—as precious.

Was barren. As women began to “play God” with their own bodies—deciding not only when but if they would bear children—they stepped into territory never meant for human hands. This same thinking, “I can do whatever I want with my own body,” is the very argument used by those who defend abortion. It is a mindset that leads down a dangerous path.

Sterility. Many women today find themselves unable to conceive—sometimes because of the long-term effects of birth control, sometimes due to multiple partners, and sometimes from the damage of previous abortions. This has fueled a desperate longing for children “at any cost.” “Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.”

This has led to:

• Abortion. We’re told it is wrong to allow “unwanted” children to be born. But the truth is, those children are wanted—desperately—by couples waiting for years to adopt.
• In vitro fertilization (IVF). This procedure, while offering hope to many, often involves the destruction of fertilized eggs—human lives—either in the lab or later in the womb through “selective reduction.” In some tragic cases, even doctors have used their own sperm without consent, fathering children without the parents’ knowledge.
  • In some countries, they found an epidemic of children, thousands fathered by the same donor, and the danger of these children not realizing the person they're with is a sibling, and the risk of accidental inbreeding, which greatly increases the risk of recessive gene disorders plua lower intelligence and higher incidence rates of being affected by an intellectual disability.
• Surrogate mothers. This practice is not new. We read of Hagar, who bore Abraham’s child for Sarah, and see the jealousy, heartache, and lasting conflict it caused. History and Scripture both testify—this path brings pain.
• Unpaid prostitution. The so-called “free love” of the feminist era has left deep scars: sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, unplanned pregnancies, infertility, depression, shame, suicide, and the erosion of self-worth. True freedom is not found in casting off God’s design but in living within it.

Homosexuality. You may wonder how birth control and sterilization relate to homosexuality. Scripture says, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural…” When women despise children, when the fruitfulness of the womb is rejected by choice, we are in essence declaring that the union between a man and a woman is only for pleasure—not for God’s purpose of creating life. This message is noticed, absorbed, and imitated. And today, we are witnessing the tragic consequences.

Let’s sum up what God has been telling us so far in His Word, since “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness…”

• Children are blessings.
• Our children are our rewards.
• God opens and closes the womb.
• God commanded us to multiply and fill the earth.
• The earth is not filled; we are not overpopulated.
• We are not to give wants to our children or it will lead to their destruction.
• God supplies all our needs; we don’t have to worry.
• Not everyone will be blessed with a large family; some will only have one or two without “helping God” with birth control or sterilization.
• By using any form of birth control or sterilization, we are imposing a curse or punishment on ourselves, as God did on those in the Bible.
• We cannot truly claim to be Pro-Life if we use birth control, for it is the very root from which abortion grows.

Happy is the man with a quiver full. But what if your heart longs for more children and your husband does not? Begin with prayer. Ask God to reveal and forgive anything in your own heart that may have discouraged your husband from embracing the blessing of more children. “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them…”

Do you ever find yourself murmuring about the “work” your children bring? “Do all things without murmuring and complaining.” When your husband comes home from work, do you expect him to pick up your load rather than being his helper and encourager? “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a help meet for him.’ ” Are your children respectful and a joy to be around, or unruly and difficult? “A child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”

Hearts of the fathers to children. Pray these three Scriptures with faith:

1. Ask the Lord to speak to your husband’s heart about future children: “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.”
2. Ask God to restore your husband’s heart to your children and to any children yet to come: “And He will restore the hearts of the fathers to children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”
3. Ask the Lord to turn your husband’s heart: “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

If your husband insists on birth control or watching for signs of fertility, submit your heart to prayer rather than resisting his authority. Trust God to direct him. Your husband is accountable before God; your role is to walk in the covering God has given you through him. “But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”

Every thought captive. If you are the one who has decided to limit or space your children, pause and examine your motives and fears. Is it selfishness? A desire for more material comforts or more time for yourself? If so, you’ve been sold a lie. Remember the Lord’ words: “But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.”

Motherhood—especially of many children—is a calling of servanthood, and God calls such service greatness. This was the message the Lord lived and taught, though it is often forgotten today. Cast down the false reasoning that rises against God’s truth: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Makes flesh his strength. Feeling overwhelmed with the children you have? First, seek God’s wisdom in His Word for training and guiding them. Don’t lean on the advice of “experts,” whether Christian or secular. Go straight to the Author of life. “Blessed is the man who trusts the Lord.” “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength…” Look closely at your family schedule—are you overburdened with activities that have little eternal value? Cut back ruthlessly if needed. the enemy loves to wear out parents in order to stop more Christian children from being born.

Fear brings a snare. Is it childbirth itself you fear? Consider how God designed your body perfectly to carry and deliver the children He creates within you. Will the One who knit that child in your womb abandon you when the hour of birth arrives? “The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.”

There is a wonderful and POWERFUL book I recommend—Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize. I first heard of it from a mother of six whose last three births were PAIN FREE. Her story, and those of others, show that God’s design for childbirth can be experienced without fear and without pain, when approached in faith.

My people perish. “My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” Many marriages suffer because of a lack of submission or a rebellious spirit, which cuts off God’s protection. Whether your husband desires more children or not, the call is the same: “Wives, be subject to your own husbands.” Submission is not weakness—it is a position of trust under God’s covering.

Workers at home. When mothers leave the home to work, children—both those they have now and any they might have in the future—often become a burden instead of a blessing. For many, after paying for childcare, there’s little left from a paycheck. “To be sensible, pure, workers at home…” A home empty of its keeper begins to crumble. Even returning to school can open dangerous doors, pulling a mother’s heart and time away from her children.

Preserved through the bearing of children. God has a promise for those who trust Him in the bearing of children: “But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.” I’ve heard countless testimonies—from marriages restored, to dangerous medical procedures avoided, to situations where a child’s birth changed the course of a family’s future for the better.

In Conclusion

Who is the enemy in all of this? Ultimately, it is the enemy—the one behind every lie that distorts God’s good design. The feminist voices of our time have worked hard to pervert the calling of women, to reject fruitfulness, and to promote self above sacrifice. When we refuse the command to “be fruitful and multiply,” we align ourselves with their message, whether we realize it or not. May God forgive us for listening to their lies, “for they are of their father,” the father of lies.

Then obey Him. If we say we believe God, then we must trust Him—fully. “Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say?” If children are a blessing, then let us live like we believe it. Trust Him with your fertility, as you trust Him with your eternity.

May God bless you!

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine,
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.

Personal commitment: To trust God in all areas of my life, including the bearing of children. Based on what I have learned from God’s Word and from observing the fruits of this generation’s disobedience, I commit and surrender my body to my Lord. If I am past childbearing years or permanently unable to conceive, I commit to spreading the Truth and confessing my faults to others in order to discourage them from making the same mistakes.