Breastfeeding Bible Study

How is breastfeeding praised in the Bible?
Luke 11:27

What level of importance is breastfeeding given in Scripture?
Genesis 21:7, 49:25

Does an infant need any other nourishment?
Hebrews 5:12-14

Is breastfeeding only for nourishment?
Isaiah 66:10-13

Think about the significance of the functions accorded
to "father" and "mother."
Isaiah 49:23

There are some basic needs that God gave babies:
Physical contact Numbers 11:12
Shared sleep Luke 11:7
Love and care of mother Exodus 2:1-10
Self-sacrificing love 1 Kings 3:16-27
(The situation in this story could have been SIDS or the mother may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sober mothers DO NOT pose any danger to their babies!)

Do you see ways in which breastfeeding encourages the meeting of these needs?

Does it seem right that a loving God would give babies needs that should not be met?
Philippians 4:19

What do these verses say about how a nursing mother feels about her baby? (Or should feel?)
1 Thessalonians 2:7, Isaiah 49:15

How does her baby feel about her/the milk?
1 Peter 2:2, Psalm 22:9

What does the Bible give as a reason for no milk?
Hosea 9:14

What does God think about a refusal to breastfeed (and those who would discourage it)?
Lamentations 4:3, 4, Job 24:9, 39:13-17

What does the Bible say about weaning? Are these accounts consistent with weaning a baby or young toddler? Perhaps an older child (age 3 or 4)?
Genesis 21:8, 1 Samuel 1:23, 24

Why did Job wish his mother had not nursed him?
Job 3:12, 13

Hopefully you began each portion of this study with prayer. I would ask that you pray again before you read the following Scripture. Please meditate on the significance of Christ's statement and how it relates to today's society:
Luke 23:26-31

copyright by Cyndi Egbert
Used by permission

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