God's Original Design For The Family

God's
Original
Design
For The
Family
By
Gene Humphrey

Genesis 1:28, And God blessed them, and God said
unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 9:1, And God blessed Noah and his sons, and
said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth.
The home in America is breaking down. Where once
the term family was defined as a unit comprised of a
husband, a wife, and children. Today that is no longer the
case. The push is on to legalize same sex marriages;
fornication and adultery are common occurences. Since
1970 the number of single parent families has doubled.
Harold Voth, formerly of Menninger Clinic, estimates
by the year 2,000 one-half of young Americans will not
have grown up in traditional families. Dr. Voth emphasized
that strong families build strong nations. He warned that the
ideas of the Equal Rights Amendment would propel us into
a "gender free" society. Differences between men and
women will be erased and the heterosexual bond will be
weakened.¹
What is the problem, what has brought America into
such a terrible condition? I believe a major contributor can
be found in the fact that mankind today has departed from
God's original design for the family. God's design cannot
be improved upon, but I am afraid that the blueprint of the
design has been lost today. I am afraid that many pastors
have failed to reveal it to their people, because many of
them have abandoned the plan themselves. God's plan will
work, we must search out what it is and follow it.
God's Original Design For The Family
Is Found In Genesis 1:28 And 9:1 In the beginning God created male and female, and
formed the institution of marriage. This union was blessed
of God and stamped with His approval. To this couple He
commands "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
The implication is that they are not only to have some
children, but a number of children. The marriage relation-
ship was designed to have offspring.
God again gives this command to Noah and his sons
after the flood. cp. Genesis 9:1 This command is given to
Noah, and his descendants, that is you and me, and it has
never been rescinded.
Some have viewed these commands as "Emergency
Commands" saying, because there was no one else, they
must be prolific in reproducing. That is, no one but Adam
and Eve, and no one but Noah's family. But you must
realize that the whole world is just one generation from
extinction. If one generation bears no children mankind
ceases to exist.
God's command was to replenish the earth and subdue
it. Replenish means to fill.
04390 male' {maw-lay'} or mala' (Esth. 7:5) {maw-law'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 1195; v
AV - fill 107, full 48, fulfil 28, consecrate 15, accomplish
7, replenish 7, wholly 6, set 6, expired 3, fully 2, gather 2,
overflow 2, satisfy 2, misc 14; 249²
Do you realize that this command has not yet been fulfilled?
Let me ask you, is the world now facing the threat of

overpopulation?
Let The Facts Speak For Themselves. I quote from a booklet titled, How to Understand The
Purpose Behind Humanism.
Those who talk about over population are propagating
a destructive myth. It may serve the purpose of justifying
abortion, sterilization, infanticide, and euthanasia; however,
it is totally contrary to the facts.
Actually the world is comparatively empty. There are
52.5 million square miles of land area in the world, not
including Antarctica.
If all the people in the world were brought together
into one place, they could stand, without touching anyone
else, in less than 200 square miles. 10 by 20 miles = 200
sq.miles.
The city limits of Jacksonville, Florida contains 841 Sq.
miles. Each square mile contains 27,878,400 square feet.
The total number of square feet in the city is
23,445,734,400. The world population is four and a half
billion people. By allowing an average of 2.6 feet for each
person from babies to adults, every person in the world
could stand shoulder to shoulder in just one-half of the city.
A further fallacy in the population explosion myth is the
assumption that the greater the population the lower the
standard of living. This is not true.
Japan has a population density of 798 people per
sq.mile, yet they have a higher per capita gross national
product ($4,450) than India, which has 511 people per sq.
mile ($140)
China has a population density of 232 per sq.mile.
West Germany has 636 and the United States has only 60³.
Population and prosperity have no correlation.
While we are here and have mentioned India, the idea
of over population and famine in India needs to be ad-
dressed. Does India have widespread famine because of the
lack of food???? The answer is absolutely not.
India does not have a hunger problem because of the
lack of food. It has a hunger problem because of their
religious beliefs contrary to the Word of God. The Hindu
religion teaches that people who die are reincarnated in the
form of animals; thus it is against their laws to kill rats,
mice, cows, or other animals. Every cow eats enough food
to feed 7 people, and there are two hundred million "sacred
cows" in India.
The mandate for the home today is be FRUITFUL,
multiply and fill the earth.
In the world today, where the very concept of a home
is under attack, people see children as an accident, some see
them as a curse. Many see them as a disposable embryo in
the womb. But God's word paints them as a blessing.
The Psalmist declares the blessings of children. Psalms
127:3-5, Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the
fruit of the womb is his reward. 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: they shall not be
ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Psalms 128:3-4, Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by
the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round
about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed
that feareth the LORD.

The People In The Bible Rejoiced In Children. When Sarah had Isaac in her old age, she rejoiced with
laughter over his birth. (Genesis 21:6-7) When Rebekah
departed from her family to go to Isaac, the blessing given
to her of her father, was not to be successful in trade. It
was not that she would live for many years. But it was "be
thou the mother of thousands of millions." (Genesis 24:60)
Though Rachel was the favorite of Jacob, it was not
enough for her, and she cries to her husband, "Give me
children or else I die." (Genesis 30:1) Though Elkanah was
a great husband to Hannah, better than 10 sons, Hannah
still wanted a baby.
Why? Because the most natural thing in the world,
is for a woman to want a baby.
At least on one occasion God was very angry when a
man refused to have children. In Genesis 38:8-10, we have
the account of Er, one of Judah's sons. Because of his
wickedness God slew him. According to Deuteronomy
25:5-10 the next brother in line was to marry Er's widow
and raise up children to which the inheritance would go.
There were laws for getting out of the marriage and
allowing someone else to marry her, as the case in the book
of Ruth where the near kinsmen lets Boaz have Ruth.
However, Onan, Er's brother, agreed to marry Tamar, but
he refused to give her children by not letting his seed
fertilize the egg. In refusing to give Tamar a child God
killed him.
The area of Birth Control is sensitive and personal
indeed, and I will not write on it in this article, but suffice
it to say something is wrong when a wife wants a baby and
the husband prevents that.
Children Are A Blessing. The Bible Example
Is That Those Who Had Children Rejoiced. Would it not be foolish to tell God, "I am so sick of all
this money you are giving me, Lord, don't give me any-
more of your financial blessings." Or, "Lord I am tired of
you blessing me with such good health, let me get sick so
I can take up some of my sick time at home." No, we
would rejoice in the blessings of God upon our lives.
Yet I hear time after time, things like, "You got 7
kids!! OH my, how do you stand it?" Just fine thank you.
"Seven kids, how do you afford it?" Well I can't
really explain that but I know I've not seen the righteous
forsaken nor his seed begging bread.
Children Are a Reward from God. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of
the womb is his reward. (Psalms 127:3)
Large families are a blessing. John R. Rice in his book
The Home gives a number of reasons why large families are
desirable. I give you two of those reasons below.
1. Every reason for having one child is a reason for
having another. The happiness, the joy, in having one, is
even more in having two. God provides for the one as
much as he provides for the 7. The Psalmist said: "Happy
is the man who hath his quiver full of them, they shall not
be ashamed. They shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
(Psalms 127:5)
2. Larger families are happier families. Children of
large families learn to share, and work together with others.
They learn to play together, there is always someone to

read and someone to listen. There is always someone who
has time for checkers or chess. In families of one or two
children the parents must be much more diligent in teaching
the children to work, in learning to cooperate, in learning
to share and get along with others. In large families of
necessity some children must help in the dishes, the
cleaning, the laundry. I think it is fair to say that the child
from a single child family, has far more adjustments to
make in life, than does the child from a large family.⁴
A Departure From God's Design For The
Home Brings Serious Consequences. The book of Romans warns us of violating God's
original design for the home. 24 Wherefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts,
to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who
changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served
the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affec-
tions: for even their women did change the natural use into that
which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving
the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward
another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and
receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which
was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in
their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do
those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all
unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity;
whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the
judgment of God, that they which commit such things are
worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in
them that do them. (Romans 1:24-32)
This passage warns against those who leave God out of
there lives. And gives to us the pattern we can observe in
society when they do.
Note the pattern
a. 21 They knew God but would not glorify him as
God.
b. 24 They dishonor their own bodies.
c. 25 They worship God's creation more than the
Creator (Materialistic).
d. 26 The women did change the natural use into
that which is against nature.
This passage is well known for documenting the
decline of mankind into the pit of sins, among them the sin
of homosexuality. But I want you to carefully note the
wording here. The women's departure from the natural
use is documented first and not the men's. The women
are mentioned first, for it says "Likewise also the men
leaving the natural use of the woman." Why are the women
mentioned first? Historically it has been the men who turn
to homosexulaity first. It is the men that are mentioned in
Sodom and not the women. Perverted homosexual activity
originates in the males; why then are the women mentioned
first? Nothing in God's word is insignificant, and neither is
the order given here.
The key to this passage is the word "women" in verse

26. There are 4 words in the Greek language translated
women in the Bible.
1135 gune {goo-nay'} probably from the base of
1096; TDNT - 1:776,134; n f
AV - women 129, wife 92; 221
1) a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married,
or a widow 2) a wife 2a) of a betrothed woman
This is used in the vast majority of the time.
1133 gunaikarion {goo-nahee-kar'-ee-on}
a diminutive from 1135;; n n
AV - silly woman 1; 1
1) a little woman: used contemptuously
This is used in 2 Tim. 3:6 and as you can see is a form
of the above.
4247 presbutis {pres-boo'-tis} from 4246;; n f
AV - aged women 1; 1 1) an aged woman⁵
This is used once and that is in Titus 3:2
But none of the above is the word used here in the
Romans passage. The word here is (Thelus) {Thay'-loos).
2338 thelus {thay'-loos} from the same as 2337; adj
AV - woman 2, female 3; 5
1) of the female sex 2) a woman, a female
This word is used only five times in the Bible, twice
here in verses 26 and 27 of Romans 1, once in Galatians
3:28 to distinguish the sexes of male and female, then in
Matthew 19:4 and Mark 10:6, where it refers to God
creating Adam and Eve, male and female.
This word "Thelus" takes us back to the beginning
where God made them "male and female" and said "Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth."
It is most important to understand that this word "Thelus"
comes from the Greek word (Thelazo) {thay- lad-zo} which
means to give suck, to give the breast to suckle.
Now let me read Romans 1:26 in the light of above.
For even their women (those who should give the
breast to suckle their young) did change the natural use into
that which is against nature; (that which is instinctive, that
which is inborn).
The Most Natural Thing In The World For
A Young Girl To Become Is A Mother. When girls leave that which is against nature, society
will be affected. When women are no longer seen by men
as mothers, when women want to be men in a men's world,
when the hearts' desire of societies young ladies are to be
business women then we are in trouble.
When I was a senior in High School I went to work for
a lumber company to earn money for college over the
summer. I had worked every summer from 13 in farming
jobs, fencing, hauling hay, cleaning horse stalls, etc. The
saw mill job was the first time in my life that I had been
exposed to working along with women. I was amazed, and
shocked at the attitude the men had toward the women.
They were no longer seen as someone's mother and wife,
they were not even seen as co-equal laborers, but they were
seen as sexual objects to be joked about and used.
The feminists in trying to live in a man's world, have
taken women lower than they have ever been. A girl

walking down the street is no longer seen as someone's
mother, or someone's prospective mother, but as a sex
object to be exploited. Young boys have not been taught
the high and holy calling of women to motherhood.
Fatherhood has been lowered because motherhood has.
Young girls are no longer seen as the one to raise your
children, but as sex objects to be exploited.
Could it be that it is the women who have sparked
the moral decline in America? Could it be true that as is
the home so is the nation? Could it be a mothers love,
and being home when junior comes home is far more
important than being able to buy junior a new bicycle
and new clothes?
You may call me a male chauvinists pig, or a bigot.
But the best vision of a woman is not Marsha Clark
cross-examining O.J. Simpson while someone else is taking
care of her children and her husband is filing for divorce.
It is not Connie Chung on CBS. It is not the cashier
working in the bank. But it was running home from school,
finding my mom elbow deep kneading bread, ready to give
me a hug. It is not the woman about town, it is not the one
who has finally made it into the man's world. But to me it
is my wife, homeschooling 5 kids, being available, and just
being there, when being there, meant all the world to my
children.
Not Only Does Departure Of God's Design For The
Home Effect All Of Society, It Affects The Word
And Work Of The Lord. Titus 2:3-5 This passage relates that the older women are to teach
the younger women to (a) love their husbands, (b) love
their children, (c) be keepers at home, and (d) obedient to
their husbands. That the word of God be not blas-
phemed. The word "blaspheme" speaks of personal
mockery and abusive speech. When the home is out of
order in relation to the woman then God's word is mocked.
I am not totally against women working but, in a home out
of order, God's word is blasphemed. Listen!! When a
married woman works in the work force, and some one else
is taking care of her children, when the laundry is not done,
the house uncleaned, the family unfed; when bringing in
part of the income, develops a Spirit of independence, a
spirit of shared authority and not submission to the au-
thority of the husband; then I would tell such a woman,
please for the sake of the Lord's work don't tell them
you are a Christian, don't witness to them and invite
them to your church. Because by that woman's very
actions she causes the word of God to be blasphemed, they
will mock God's word.
Not Only Will It Bring Serious Consequences For
Society But Individually Also. 1 Tim. 2:9-15 Not every women who so desires to have children can.
Those who do, can find a real joy and purpose in life by
being a mother. In this passage Paul is telling of the role
of women in the church. He mentions proper dress, being
in silence and subjection, and that a woman cannot teach
men or be over men. It might be asked, well what can a
woman do??? She Can Be A Mother. The words "saved
in childbearing" (1 Tim. 2:15) do not mean salvation from
sin, but is of the same construction as in 1 Tim. 4:15-16,
where it refers to the salvation of our lives, that is, in doing

it, our lives will take on purpose.
The greatest thing a women could ever be is a mother.
The hardest work a woman will ever do, is to be a
full-time mother. I believe it is a job that cannot be done on
a part time basis, without some catastrophic effects upon the
children.
Listen!!! Only a child's real mother can really mother
that child. No one will care for it naturally as she will. It is
a high and holy work. It must not be lowered, it must not
be left to another.
Though many things have contributed to the moral
decline in America, the departure from God's plan for the
home must be ranked as one of the major contributors.
Prior to World War II, the USA was much more of a
moral nation. The role of the mother was exalted, there
were many large families, and few women were in the work
force. But with the coming of Rosy the Riveter to the ship
building yards in WW II things changed. Momma left home
to work while another raised her child. The bearing of
children was seen as restrictive, the size of familles de-
clined. With it all, America began a great moral decline.
Sad to say but we have many women today who are looking
for a purpose in all kinds of places, when it is at home
waiting for them. God's pattern for the home is being
violated today more than at anytime in our society. We are
reaping the moral decline in our nation as never before. I
believe people are looking for a better way. We as God's
people know the way. Will we commit ourselves to lead
the way?? It will take work, it will not be easy, we may
have to give up some of our TOYS, we may have to buy
clothes at Salvation Army. But we cannot afford the other
option.
We live in a day when the need for sound, Baptist,
local church missionaries has never been greater. But the
supply seems to be less than ever. I am wondering what
Baptists of the 1950's, 60's and 70's could have contributed
to the world, if they had obeyed God's command to "Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (fill) the earth." Maybe the
Catholics were right after all when it comes to having
children. Search the Scriptures, and argue with them if you
want.
__________________________
¹Gus Walton, Biblical Principles of Importance to Godly
Christians (Plymouth, 1984) p. 140
²Larry Pierce, Online Bible For Windows, (Ontario 1996)
Strongs #04390
³Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts, How to Understand The
Purpose Behind Humanism (Oak Brook 1983) p. 6
⁴John R. Rice, The Home (Murfreesboro 1974) p. 172-180
⁵Pierce Strongs # 1135, 4247, 2338
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