A Mothering God

Opening illustration: When I stuck my camera into the bush to take a picture of the baby robins, they opened their mouths without opening their eyes. They were so used to having mama robin feed them whenever the branches moved that they didn’t even look to see who (or what) was causing the disturbance.

That is the kind of trust that loving mothers instill in their children. That is the kind of mom I am blessed to have. Growing up, I could eat whatever food she put on the table without fear that it would harm me. Although she made me eat things I didn’t like, I knew she did so because they were good for me. If she cared only about what was easy for her, she would have let me eat junk food. No matter what Mom told me to do, or not to do, I knew she had my best interest in mind. She wasn’t trying to keep me from having fun; she was trying to protect me from being hurt.

That is the kind of relationship we have with God, who compared Himself to a mother: “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you” (Isaiah 66: 13). As His children, we have no reason to fear what happens to us nor to envy what happens to others: “Do not . . . be envious of the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 37: 1). When we trust His goodness, we are fed by His faithfulness.

Introduction: The Bible also calls God a -

Midwife: Psalm 22: 9

Mistress of a household: Psalm 123: 2

Birth giver: Isaiah 42: 16

Mother: Isaiah 66: 13

"As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you." (Isaiah 66:13)

How does God fulfill the role of our mother?

1. Birth-Giver - Creator (vs. 7-9)

Genesis narrates to us the creation story and we know God gave birth to Israel through Jacob. Number of years after Christ’s death on the cross, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the nation of Israel scattered to all the nations in the world. Hitler even tried his best to annihilate the Jews from the face of the earth … even today the president of Iran has articulated that desire. God knows better than us as to what he was doing. He gave birth to a new Israel in 1948 and even though people and nations may try to remove them from the face of the earth, God will always give birth to His nation no matter what! Where there is possibility of no birth, He has made it possible … how He does it, I just don’t know and it is not important for me to know … I just know but witness His glory daily … He makes streams in the desert, a way where there is no way, possibility where there is none … His hand is mightier than any other. Amazing God we worship.

Illustration: We know a lady (without a womb) who gave birth to a baby. In the medical field, this is impossibility but who can stop to give birth where ever he desires and whom so ever He desires.

2. Consoler (vs. 10-11a)

Careful listening

Moses stared at the burning bush with terror while God spoke to him: “’I have seen the plight of my people who are in Egypt,’ the Lord said,’ and I have heard their cry under their oppressors; for I know their sorrows and have come down to rescue them …’” (Exodus 3, 7-8). God reveals himself as one who is near, who listens attentively and watches closely. Consolation follows in the wake of liberation.

God consoles his people

There is a rich description of the consolation God provides in Isaiah 40-46. The Babylonian exile has caused profound grief and suffering for the people of Israel. The first Lamentation describes Jerusalem’s desperate situation. Desolation cries out for help. It asks the Lord to look on the desperation and agony of his people (1, 1-22). Humanly speaking hope is futile. There is only one possible remedy – call upon the Lord. Prayer does not disappear into a void. The Prophet’s words reveal God’s decision to intervene in history – as he had done during the captivity in Egypt. Isaiah calls this saving intervention of God, “consolation.”

A consoling presence

In a few words the Book of Job describes a rapid transformation in the protagonist’s life. Job After loses his material possessions and is struck with a sickness that disfigures his face and makes him an outcast. He experiences the loss of all those things men normally hope to possess. In this tragic situation wise men, moved by genuine friendship and compassion, come to him, share his sufferings and console him. Their response to Job is uncomplicated: “Then they sat down with him upon the ground for seven days and seven nights; and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his affliction was very severe” (Job 2, 13). Consolation involves simple and attentive listening, sharing and solidarity.