Psalm 113:9

'He maketh the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.'

I am starting to study the passages in the Bible that refer to women and mothers to learn what God has to say specifically to us. I find this verse very counter cultural. It is completely different than the world's idea of what a blessed woman looks like.

God blesses the childless woman by making her to keep house. A woman who has no children but chooses to stay home and take care of the home is doing the Lord's work; she is living according to His word. A woman who stays home caring for the house is blessed by the Lord. It is a gift from God that she has a home to care for and presumably a husband who provides for her material needs. She is not lazy because she stays home. She is not wasting her time or squandering her husband's money by not working for a paycheck. She is working for the Lord and doing His will.

After she stays home and keeps the house then the Lord blesses her by giving her children. That is plural. God doesn't give her just one child, he gives her children. Moreover, when she is given children she becomes 'a joyful mother.' The children give her joy. They are not a drain on the household budget. They are not in the way, keeping her from more important things. They are too precious for her to put their care in another's hands to watch or to teach. She receives joy from them. They delight her. She would rather the house suffer a little than that she neglect one of these little ones the Lord has given her.

I think that it is interesting that in our culture many woman are voluntarily barren. I wonder how different our world would be if women wanted to stay home and raise children rather than bring home a paycheck. How would our world be if men were willing to bear the burden of providing for their families without their wife's paycheck. Many people I know claim they couldn't make ends meet without a second income. I wonder what they are spending their money on. My husband brings in about $20K annually and supports a family of five on that. We do not receive welfare and we are comfortable with our means. Our lives would be so empty without our children. We would have more toys and more entertainment. Perhaps we could travel more and have a regular date night. Is that what people avoid having children to gain? How very very sad.

Truly the Lord knows what satisfies, what lasts, what is worthwhile. Let us conform our lives to the precepts taught in His Word, the Bible.