Christians who justify birth control say that the Bible does not speak directly about the issue, so it is a matter of Christian liberty. Is this true? The clearest passage cited by birth control opponents is the account of Onan and his late brother’s wife, Tamar. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; wherefore he slew him also (Genesis 38:8-10). Christians proponents of birth control contend that God did not punish Onan for birth control, but rather for refusing to raise up seed to his brother through the Levirate marriage. However, the Levirate marriage was not yet instituted. It came later, in the law of Moses (Deuteronomy 25:4-10). In addition, a Levirate marriage could be lawfully refused. The man simply had to loose his shoe (Ruth 4:1-8). The Biblical punishment for refusing the Levirate marriage was to have the widow spit in his face – not the death penalty. Genesis 38:10 tells us exactly why God killed him: “the thing which he did displeased the Lord.” Onan’s motive is not impugned – his act is what God punished. Three short verses in Genesis 38 make a strong case against birth control.
Why would God react so strongly against Onan for spilling his seed on the ground? In the Bible, when God’s punishment for a seemingly small sin seems harsh from a human perspective, it often involved the corruption of a foreshadowing or picture of Christ. For example, Moses was banned from entering the Promised Land because he struck the Rock a second time. The Rock was a picture of Christ, who In that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God (Romans 6:10). Marriage is a picture of the union between Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). This is the reason why homosexuality is an abomination to God and why he hates divorce. They are corruptions of the foreshadowing of Christ’s relationship with Believers. In addition, God’s view of the human seed places more value and emphasis on it than modern biology does. Levi is credited with the tithes of his grandfather Abraham because he (and his progenitor) were yet in the loins of his father (Hebrews 7:9-10). God told Jeremiah that he knew him before his conception (Jeremiah 1:5). To God, man’s seed is something very special.