I was inspired to write this post on Mother's Day.
Putting children's needs and interests ahead of one's own is in a word "selfless." Mother's are instinctively selfless. But being protective and providing for a family is something we associate with Father's and those are selfless behaviors as well. Behaviors which Mother's perform too.
So in certain respects Mother's Day is sexist. And that is the point! The biological ability to give birth is what differentiates a woman from a man. We are celebrating the WOMB.
Only a biological woman can be a mother. A man cannot carry an unborn child and give birth. And a woman cannot father a child. Men do not have a uterus and woman don't produce sperm. Which is why we also have Father's Day when we will celebrate biological male parents.
In Hebrew the word for womb is rechem. Rechem is the root for the Hebrew word Rachamim which means mercy and compassion.
The womb's purpose is to nurture and protect a life in order to prepare it for the world. Before the womb can prepare a conceived life for 40 weeks it must recieve a fertilized egg. But first the egg needs semen.
The Hebrew word for semen is שֶׁמֶן "shemen." SHEMEN is also the word for "ointment(s)." Shemen (Hebrew: שמן) is the most commonly used word for "oil" in the Hebrew scriptures. Shemen can also mean fertility in Hebrew.
Shemen is almost certainly the origin for the Latin word "semen" meaning "seed," from which we get our English word "semen."
Oil is used for anointing. So you might say that in order for a womb to produce life, an egg must be anointed. A life is the result of a successful anointing. I can only think of two Biblical stories of a woman having a child without an anointing by a man. One is in Luke 1:-26-38
Once an egg is anointed, that Life is nurtured in the womb for 40 weeks before he or she is ready to go out to find and fulfill their destiny. There are a few other situations in the Bible when a person who was anointed by God needed a period of "40" to prepare.
Oil is used to produce Light. Both the Jewish Nation and Yeshua was chosen by God to be a Light to the world.
Speaking of roles for men and woman, we often associate the man's role with being a protector. The Hebrew word for protector is Magen (מָגֵן). Magen is also literally a shield. The Star of David is called the Magen of David. Magen comes from the root ganan (גנן) which is a verb meaning to defend, cover or surround. The word Magen, shield/protector, is used over 60 times in the Old Testament.
Before God made his unconditional Covenant with Abram, God told Abram in Genesis 15.1:
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward”
In Moses final blessing to the Children of Israel before they went into the Promised Land (Eretz) of Israel, Moses said to them in Deuteronomy 33.29:
“Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your majesty!”
I will wrap up this post with this conclusion:
- The womb (woman) protects an egg annointed with semen and transformed into a life.
- Man protects the womb (woman).
- God preserves and delivers us all.
Psalm 138.7 - "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me."
Amen.
P.S. I have written some posts related to abortion that may be of interest:
