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Birth as a Symbol or a Spiritual Pattern
by Carol Balizet
The word "birth" refers to far more than the delivery of a baby. It also means a method of bringing something from one realm of existence into another, through a veil. Some of these are sin, salvation, the end of the world. |
Contents:
What is symbolism?
One of the most important things to learn about the Bible is: in addition to the natural, logical and commonplace meanings of what we read, there is also a symbolic or representative meaning. Like this sight-realm, sensible world, one of the reasons the Bible has been given to us is to show us the reality of the spirit world, the kingdom which is behind the veil.
One of the reasons God made this world and all the things in it, is to give us a glimpse of the actual, factual, real things which are not of this world. The first chapter of Romans explains this. Paul says, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse..." (Romans 1:20). We look at what we can see and we get information about what we cannot see.
God created the sun to teach us about His Son (the only source of true light, essential for life and growth, faithful each day); the moon instructs us about the church (female with a twenty-eight day cycle, no light of its own but shines with light reflected from the sun, etc.). God made a lamb to show us something of the nature of Jesus; He also made a lion, to show us more of the nature of Jesus.
Each element in Scripture has a consistent typology, though there may be more than one. Throughout the possibly 1,600 years of writing, with at least 40 different human agents used in the writing, this consistency prevails. Some examples of this: rain reveals something about God's blessing; drought demonstrates its absence. Gold always refers to the divine nature; trees represent humanity; Egypt symbolizes the world; horns denote power or rulership and insects refer to demons. The fact that these "types and shadows" - and hundreds more - have the same symbolic meanings from Genesis to Revelation is just one proof of the divine inspiration of the Scripture.
Now I said all that to say this: birth is also a type, a symbol, an illustration. Of course it refers to the "giving birth to young alive" which all mammals do, but it is also a picture of a process that is so much more than natural. Birth is also a demonstration in the natural realm of the process (the procedure, the means, the mechanism) by which we convey something (transport it, deliver it, bring it forth) from one realm of existence to another.
Human birth is an eternal act, concerning an eternal being. It's creative, because God is involved. It's the means through which the female element of humanity will work out her portion of the curse in Genesis 3, and Timothy 2:15 says it is also her solution, "Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." Birthing is bringing something through a veil. It can be a natural baby through natural flesh, or it can be a spiritual entity coming out from spiritual enclosures. It is the same process, with the same elements, activities, stages, problems, promises, possible complications, potential victory. The more we know about birth, the more we know about how the spirit realm operates.
One example of this typology is: the Bible uses birth to describe how things will be at the end of the world. "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as... travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:3). This means there will be contractions: painful upheavals which - just like physical labor - grow stronger, longer lasting and closer together. Mankind, nature and the spirit realm will all be "in travail" for the delivery of a new era.
An even more significant typology of the birthing process is that of our Salvation. We don't walk into the kingdom of God, we aren't picked off a tree like a peach: we are born again. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3).
Another way the Scripture uses the illustration of birth is in regard to sin. "Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood." (Psalms 7:14). We see conception, travail and birth, bringing forth sin. Another reference to this is: "They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit." (Job 15:35) They conceive, the "belly prepareth" - which sounds like pregnancy, doesn't it? - then they bring forth. That's the birth. We see that James 1:14,15 has the same message: the process of committing sin is the same as the process of birth. "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:14,15). Temptation comes in as the seed, the sperm. Thoughts of evil via the senses or the emotions of the old nature, that "body of death" which Paul says "dwells within his members" and which he resists and bemoans in Romans 7: that compares to the ovum - the egg. We're "drawn away" as we entertain the temptation; lust thrives as we delight in our thoughts. Our will is weakened, a decision is made and finally we agree with the temptation. The sperm has penetrated the egg and sin is conceived. We commit the sin - it is birthed. And it the new thing which is born is death. The mother is the fallen nature of sinful man, and the daddy is probably a demon; they cohabit and the monster they produce is death.
Another viewpoint of birth, which also transcends just the physical delivery of a baby, is: it parallels death. Our birth and our death stand as the two parentheses setting apart the period of our eternal existence which is spent within a body, walking on earth. This might properly be called our "incarnation", since that word means "in a body". Both these events, our birth and our death, involve the transport, the relocation, of our being from one plane of existence to another. In each case, we move through a veil from one realm to another. From the womb into the world, from the world into our eternal destiny. In some lives, we can see the parallel, and it can illustrate cause and effect in what may be a new way. For example, Julius Caesar. He was allegedly the first human delivered surgically - that is by a knife. And he was killed by assassination; he was stabbed, killed by knives.
Sometimes the method of dying parallels some significant event in the person's life, rather than showing a direct correlation to the birth itself. For instance, how about the Pharaoh who stood as Moses' adversary? He died by drowning, remember? Why? Well, after the midwives refused to kill the Israelite babies, Pharaoh instructed the Egyptian soldiers to throw them in the river - to drown them. And one result of this horror was: the Egyptian king and his soldiers drown. Another insight from this account concerns how Pharaoh's son died - destroyed by the death angel. Why? His father had loosed that force; Pharaoh himself had decreed that first-born sons should die. He sowed it and he reaped it. King Saul ended his life by falling on a sword, and his body - and that of his son Jonathan - were pinned to a wall in the palace at Bethshan. Why? Maybe this ending (a harvest, a birth) had its seed sown (conception) when Saul threw javelins at David.
I seem to be getting pretty far afield here; but all these illustrations indicate that when we consider the importance of birth, planning the when and the how of birth, and deciding who will be truly Lord of birth, then there is more to think of than just what's happening in the natural realm. That's possibly the least significant factor of all. In birth as God designed it, we bring forth natural babies by natural strength, by the contraction and effort of our physical muscles. On the other hand, in birth which is controlled by man, we have the additives of drugs, knives, instruments, technology and other such forces which pervert and distort the original plan. But in God's original design, the force behind the delivery of a baby was to be the physical strength of a woman. In the spirit realm, the process through the veil is accomplished not by physical muscles but by spiritual forces: by faith, patience, warfare, the word of our testimony, prayer, praise, death to self will, etc, etc. By these means we bring forth new life in the spirit.
Components of birth
Three statements of truth for the women in labor:
"This is a good thing"
Of course it is! Children are a blessing, not a burden; God says so and He is always right. And our American concept that we are never to suffer is counterproductive to the Christian life. Suffering is a good thing; it is the route to reigning. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny [him], he also will deny us..." (2 Timothy 2:12); and "... if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together..." (Romans 8:17). Jesus was perfected through His suffering and so are we.
Two of the greatest Christians who ever lived show us this pattern: their call was to suffering. After Peter's denial and his restoration to fellowship, the Lord spoke to him of the future. He told Peter that he would suffer martyrdom: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry [thee] whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me." (John 21:18,19).
We all know the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus; how he was stricken blind on the Damascus road, surrendered to the Lord, and became Paul the Apostle. When Ananias came to pray for him three days later, the message he carried from God was, "But the Lord said unto him... he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (Acts 9:15,16).
We are no different; there is no new, non-suffering covenant for twentieth century Americans. We have been raised without discipline, conditioned to believe that punishment is abusive, deceived by the world's lie that we are supposed to be perfectly comfortable and free to fulfill our own will at all times; that we can have it all, and it we don't get it, we can sue somebody. It's no wonder the idea that God calls suffering good is so foreign to us. But He makes it clear that suffering (and that includes physical pain) is a route to the throne.
And it's the way to acquire "the anointing". We all want to be anointed: to preach, to sing, to write, to witness. Whatever we do, we want that shimmer of divine glory to surround and energize it. So how do we become anointed? Do we simply pray? According to Scripture, probably not. In Exodus 30, we find the recipe for the anointing oil. In brief, it is compounded of myrrh (a resin which flows when the plant is pierced); cinnamon (acquired from the inner bark, obtained only after the outer bark is stripped away); cane (sweet only after the sharp edges have been burned away and the inner core is crushed); cassia (procured from leaves which have been mashed and pulverized). This is mixed with olive oil and used to anoint the tabernacle, the arc, the vessels and the priests. It's what's required to make the holy anointing oil. So, we want to be anointed? We must be pierced; have the rough edges burned off and the inner being stripped; be crushed and pulverized; then immersed in the Holy Spirit. Sounds chock full of suffering. But it's God's plan and He changes not. We either line up with His methods or we miss His provision. Suffering is a good thing; it drags self off the throne of our lives and makes room for the Lordship of Jesus. And that's a good thing. A Christian who is in labor, either natural or spiritual, needs to hold on to the fact that this thing, like everything else, works together for our good."This is temporary!"
There is nothing surer than the fact that babies do eventually come out. If we're pregnant, and we want to have that baby, the only thing we really need to do is wait. The miracle would be if the baby stayed inside! So we must follow our Lord's example, and keep our focus on "the joy which is set before us." The end result is always worth whatever it costs; the labor is temporary but the reward is eternal.
"I can do it"
Of course we know that we are never given a test or battle without also being given the grace and ability to achieve victory. "... God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]." (1 Corinthians 10:13). The very fact that you're in the situation is proof that you can endure, you can win. God promises that "way of escape", which actually means "find a mountain pass". I sometimes say to a woman in labor, if she is overwhelmed and losing confidence: "There are several billion people on earth, and each one of them had a Mama. You're every bit as able and as empowered by God for the job as any of those other women. And think about this: some of them actually have more than one baby! They do it again!" We try to encourage the optimistic and faith-filled point of view. Don't look at the labor, look forward to the baby! Don't consider the problem, believe the promise! Don't murmur and complain, speak forth the praise and glory of your God! Don't focus on your flesh, behold Him, whom to know is life eternal! Don't waste this precious time; get every bit of benefit you can from the opportunity to do it right!
Spiritual birth
Sometimes it's easy to follow the pattern from conception to delivery of a spiritual baby; sometimes it's difficult. The thing that makes it kind of tricky is the fact that we're involved in multiple births. We may be nearly ready to deliver one baby, just "feeling life" with another, and still having a touch of morning sickness with yet another. But these spiritual pregnancies do follow the exact order of physical pregnancies. (Or I really should say the physical follows the spiritual. That's the location of reality; the sight realm is merely following its pattern.) So you have been intimate with your heavenly Bridegroom and you've conceived something in the spirit. (Sometimes you can know this at the time of conception; there is an assurance that you have touched God in some area, and things will never be the same.) And so it grows; bone joining bone, sinew added. It - this thing you've petitioned God for - is being knit together in secret. And the substance it's nurtured by, the resource from which it is constructed, is faith. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1). Feed your faith by the Word; speak it out and bathe your mind in it! It feeds and matures your "baby".
Then at some point, it's "time to be born" as promised in Ecclesiastes 3 and labor begins. There are contractions which grow stronger, closer together and longer lasting. Maybe your car breaks down; your roof begins to leak; your dog gets sick; you have a tooth ache, there's trouble at work and although you're innocent, you're being blamed. Contractions! Handle them in the spirit because remember, the goal of this stage is to get the flesh out of the way!! Don't fight it; yield to the Lord, die to the flesh and dilate! Efface!
Then transition comes. In physical labor, this is the worst stage. The contractions are wracking, the flush of hormones causes nausea, sweating, emotional upheavals. And the worst part is: there is absolutely nothing you can do about any of this. You can't quit but you aren't sure you can continue. You're rude to the people who are there to help you, and you may even yell at your husband, "Don't touch me!" If ever you cry out to God, it's right here. And it's really far better to ask His help than to fuss at Him, but like most husbands, He understands if His laboring wife gets a bit upset.
And this stage passes. (Remember, "It's temporary!") Now things are different. The contractions change and you can push; you can finally do something. You have at least a measure of control.
In spiritual births, this is comparable to the time when you begin to understand a little of what's going on, maybe have a bit of insight as to why things are in such turmoil. You can "push". You can forgive someone, or repent, or drop a bad habit, or obey a word from God, or give away a car - whatever it is. You can finally do something! You can use other "muscles" to help the sovereign, uncontrollable "uterus" of the Spirit do its work.
And in addition to your human suffering and travail, you begin to sense the power of the atoning Blood, and the presence of the water of the Holy Spirit, and in cooperation with these powerful "muscles" you produce new life. Praise God! Your daughter is saved! Your bondage is broken! Your finances are restored! Your eyes are healed! Your ministry is established! Your spirit of lust is defeated! Whatever it was that you saw in the Word, asked God for, and believed in faith, has now been brought through the veil from the realm of faith into the realm of sight and you forget the suffering for joy than a manchild has been born. The weeping endured for a night but your joy has come in the morning! You did it!!! Whee!!!
Of course, you don't have to have babies. Not just birth control but also abortion are now available, so we don't have to go forth and multiply. We can stay sterile and barren. But the Lord says children are a blessing and a reward. Why would we say "No" to such a good thing? Because we can't handle the labor? But that's easy. Remember: "It's a good thing! It's temporary! I can do it!" Position yourself as comfortably as you can to endure this travail, plant your feet firmly, and grasp your Husband by the hand. Then enter into submission and praise, and in the fullness of time, bring forth this new life. The travail is temporary; the reward is eternal!
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