One act of deliverance for which God is praised in Psalm 113 is for His liberation of oppressed women. In the ancient Middle-East, and in Israel in particular, motherhood was the crowning achievement of any woman. A woman without children was considered a social outcast (Gen 16:2, 20:18, 1 Sam 1:6, Luke 1:25). God’s people sensed His mandate in creation to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28), and when they could not do so, they sensed the disfavor of God on their lives. But God’s people often found themselves released from the curse and blessed with children (Ps 115:14, Isaiah 48:19, 54:1-3). Barren women were often redeemed in Scripture; we see a pattern where God often chooses and calls barren women to give birth to a significant heir through miraculous and inexplicable circumstances. Finally, the ultimate “barren” woman – a virgin – Mary, gave birth to the Messiah in what was the most miraculous conception.
The coming of Christ into the world changed everything with respect to our outlook on children and infertility. No longer are God’s children called “barren.” Being without a child is never mentioned in the New Testament as a curse; in fact, the New Testament actually praises the unmarried state (1 Cor 7:6-8). Mark 3:34-35 and Matthew 10:35-37 reveal Jesus’ teaching on family and children. In texts such as these we see what the creation mandate to “be fruitful and multiply,” as well as all of the examples of barren women in Israel, point to.
