IN DIFFICULT TIMES, TOO

The children of Israel did not obey God's commandment "to be fruitful and multiply" just when it suited them, or only in good economic times. No, they obeyed, no matter what the circumstances.

During Slavery:

They obeyed when they were in slavery in Egypt. They multiplied in the face of persecution. Exodus 1:11,12 TJB tells the story, "they put slave drivers over the Israelites to wear them down under heavy loads...But the more they were crushed, the more they increased and spread..." Our mentality is that if we are going through persecution, difficult times, or money is tight, that we can't have children. The Israelites proved that God was able to keep them and provide for them,  even in the most difficult times - times of  "affliction" and "bitter with hard bondage." None of us have had to face the persecution and trials that they faced at that time, but they still kept multiplying.

During Captivity:

Even when God pronounced judgment on Judah and sent them into captivity as slaves of Babylon, He still didn't release them from His command to multiply. He told them through Jeremiah the prophet in Jeremiah 29:5,6, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives....Take ye wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished."

Yes, Even in the City:

Deuteronomy 28:2-4. "Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body..."  Sometimes we hear folks saying that it is too hard to have children when living in the city. It's okay for those who live in the country, but what about us who are squashed up in the city? God promises that He will bless us in the city as well as the country, immediately before He says that He will bless the fruit of our womb. Isn't that wonderful?