Babies

The gift of young children from God is usually seen as a blessing. The term is also used figuratively of those who are young or immature in the faith.

Babies as a blessing from God

Psalm 127:3 See also Genesis 1:28, Genesis 17:16, Genesis 24:59–60; Proverbs 17:6; Luke 1:41–42

Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

The promise of a baby

Genesis 17:15–19 See also Genesis 18:10–14; 2 Kings 4:14–17; Luke 1:11–24

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah. And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.” Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!” But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

Examples of biblical characters as babies

Genesis 21:1–7 Isaac; Genesis 25:21–26 Esau and Jacob; Exodus 2:1–10 Moses; Judges 13:2–25 Samson; Ruth 4:13–17 Obed, the father of Jesse; 2 Samuel 12:24–25 Solomon; Luke 1:57–66 John the Baptist

Babies as prophetic signs

Isaiah 7:14 See also Isaiah 8:3–4, Isaiah 9:6–7; Hosea 1:2–11; Luke 2:8–12

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

OT laws concerned with the birth of babies

Luke 2:21–24 See also Genesis 17:9–12; Exodus 13:1–2; Leviticus 12:1–8; Luke 1:59

When the eight days before His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived. And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

A mother's love for her baby

Isaiah 49:15 See also 1 Kings 3:16–28; Isaiah 66:12–13

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!

Babies are sinful from birth

Psalm 51:5 See also Psalm 58:3; John 9:34

Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

The death of babies

Exodus 1:15–22 See also Exodus 11:4–5; 2 Samuel 12:13–23; Lamentations 2:11–12; Matthew 2:16–18; Acts 7:17–19

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.” So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

Jesus Christ and babies

Jesus Christ's own birth and babyhood

Matthew 1:18–23 See also Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 2:1–23; Luke 1:26–38, Luke 2:1–40

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly. But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” ( which means, “God with us”).

Jesus Christ's response to babies

Luke 18:15–17 parallels Matthew 19:13–15, Mark 10:13–16

Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Babyhood used as a spiritual image

1 Corinthians 3:1–2 See also Psalm 8:2; Matthew 21:16, Matthew 11:25; Romans 2:20; 1 Corinthians 14:20; Ephesians 4:14; Hebrews 5:11–14; 1 Peter 2:2–3

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly — as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,