Israelite Christians Believe in The Protection of the Babies.

What the Scriptures Say

Within Israelite Christian teaching, few convictions run deeper than this: children are not accidents, burdens, or property — they are a direct inheritance from God, and their protection is a covenant obligation, not an optional kindness. This belief is not built on sentiment. It is built line by line on the King James Bible, from Exodus to the Gospels.

Children Belong to God First

Before a child belongs to a mother, a father, or a nation, they belong to their Maker. The Psalmist is direct about this:

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." — Psalm 127:3

"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine..." — Ezekiel 18:4

If the child is God's own possession, then harming, neglecting, or discarding a child is not a private matter between adults. It is trespassing on what God has claimed as His.

Formed and Known Before Birth

Israelite Christian teaching places heavy emphasis on the idea that a child's identity and protection begin before birth, not at birth:

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee..." — Jeremiah 1:5

"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made... My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." — Psalm 139:13, 15

This is the theological root of why protection of babies is treated as sacred duty rather than social policy — the child is already known and named by God while still in the womb.

The Hebrew Midwives: A Model of Defiance for Life

One of the clearest Old Testament examples of believers protecting infants against a hostile system is the account of Shiphrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives who refused Pharaoh's order to kill the newborn sons of Israel:

"But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive." — Exodus 1:17

"Therefore God dealt well with the midwives... And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses." — Exodus 1:20-21

This passage is often cited in Israelite Christian teaching as proof that protecting children can require standing against unjust authority — and that God rewards that defiance rather than punishing it.

Jesus and the Value of a Child

In the Gospels, Christ Himself treats harm toward children with unusual severity, and He treats their nearness to God as a model for everyone else:

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." — Matthew 19:14

"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." — Matthew 18:10

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." — Matthew 18:6

That last verse is frequently preached as one of the strongest warnings in scripture — harsher, in tone, than warnings given for many other sins. It signals how seriously the protection of children is treated in the New Testament.

Herod, Egypt, and the Flight to Save a Child

The nativity narrative itself is a protection-of-the-babies story. When Herod ordered the killing of infants in Bethlehem, Joseph was warned in a dream and fled with Mary and the child:

"When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod..." — Matthew 2:14-15

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under..." — Matthew 2:16

Israelite Christians often point to this as evidence that God Himself intervened — through direct warning — to protect an infant from state violence, and that fleeing to protect a child is an act of faith, not fear.

A Covenant Responsibility, Not a Suggestion

Taken together, these passages form the backbone of the belief: children are God's property, known by Him before birth, worthy of severe warnings against harming them, and worth defying unjust power to protect. For Israelite Christians, "protection of the babies" is not a slogan — it is scripture read plainly, from Exodus through the Gospels.

"Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry." — Exodus 22:22-23

That warning closes the circle: God does not treat harm to a child as a minor offense to be overlooked. He treats it as a cry that reaches Him directly.