Never Forsaken Or Forgotten

Never Forsaken or Forgotten

Isaiah 49:13-18 “Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. 14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. 17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. 18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.”

Israel has been severely punished by the Lord for her sins and for her idolatry. Her cities have been ransacked and her sons and daughters have been carried off into captivity. In this chapter, God promises to restore His people (v 13).

There seems to be no cause for rejoicing in Jerusalem. The people feel as though they have been forsaken and forgotten by the Lord (v 14). From Israel’s perspective, God had abandoned and ignored their plight. Their nation had been destroyed; their capital lay in ruins; their precious Temple had been utterly demolished. They were a broken people. God speaks to them in these verses and He lets them know that He has not forsaken, nor forgotten them.

This passage reminds us that God’s people are unforgettable to Him. In these verses, God gives His people some wonderful reasons for hope. He lets them know that He has not abandoned them and He cannot forget about them. God uses four vivid word pictures to give assurance to His people.

You may not want to admit it, but there are probably times when you have felt abandoned and forsaken by the Lord. We wonder why the circumstances in our lives are like they are. We wonder why it seems like life is one trial after another. We wonder where God is in the world and why things appear to be out of control. Sometimes we feel like we have been forgotten!

These verses are designed to teach us that God is faithfull. God cannot and will not forget about you. God cannot and will not forsake you. We are given four proofs of God’s devotion to us.

#1. GOD’S IMMUTABILITY – v 15. “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”

God’s compassion is greater than a mother’s love for their child. Nothing in this world can compare to the love of a mother for her children.

A mother’s love can fail (Andrea Yates, Susan Smith, abortion, children forced into prostitution).

God’s love is perfect and will never fail. His love is perfect, permanent, unconditional and eternal.

Ephesians 3:18-19 “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

God’s love is amazing!

• He loved us first.

1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”

• He loved us when we were unlovable.

Ephesians 2:4 “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

• He loved so much that He gave His Son to save us.

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

• He loves us eternally.

Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: there-fore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.”

• Nothing can diminish, destroy or defeat His love for us!

Romans 8:35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”