Jump Start # 1725

Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.”

  Our verse today is one of many passages found throughout the Bible that describes the intimacy and closeness that God has for His people. God has a deep feeling for His people. He longs for us to be with Him. He desires the best for us. He never gives up on us. His patience, especially when we ignore and are rebellious toward Him, continues to give us chance after chance to return home to Him.

Here in Isaiah, there are two back to back passages that define this intimacy with God.

The first is a picture of a nursing mother. She is not going to forget her child. She will never forget her child. Get a group of people together, and a child will call out, “Mom,” and that mom recognizes her child’s voice. She knows. She not only recognizes the voice of her child, she knows how her child is wired on the inside. She understands her child.

We have a new granddaughter that was born Friday night. I got back from a trip just in time. It is amazing to watch my daughter look at her new daughter. There is a special look that is only found in the eyes of a mother. And I have seen the most dainty moms get furious if you mess with her child. The mama bear comes out!

In a contrasting and ironic statement, God is telling Israel that I will not forget you, even though you have forgotten Me. I remember my promises to you, even though you don’t keep your promises with Me. I have been good to you even though you have been rotten towards Me.

The next verse continues this thought, “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands”. The image presents God as trying to prove to Israel that He cares for them. Not only will He not forget them, but He opens up His hand and there we see Israel’s name, written on God’s hand. I remember girls in school writing the name of a boy that they liked on their hands. God is showing Israel how much He cares, loves and longs for them.

What is interesting is the opposite side of this relationship, our intimacy with God. That sounds odd to some. We believe in God. We follow God. We trust God. We love God. But to say, “intimate,” that’s going to far, some think. Yet, how many of our hymns reflect that idea. Song such as, “Nearer, still nearer,” or, “As a deer,” or, “Draw me nearer, nearer.” Close to God. To know God, more than academically. To want to be with God. This is Paul’s thoughts in 2 Corinthians 5, as he paints this dilemma of being here in this earthly tent, but wanting to be with God. Paul longed to be with God. He told the Philippians that to die is “gain.” It was considered an advantage.

Intimacy can carry the idea of being morally impure. It can sound sexual and wrong in some contexts. But that’s not the only  definition of intimacy. It means closeness. It’s going beyond just knowing a person’s name, it is knowing the person.

A parent is intimate with their child. They know their child.

Friends are intimate with each other. They understand each other.

Teammates, army buddies share a closeness and an understanding with one another.

Brethren ought to share a closeness, a fellowship with one another.

Sometimes, nothing has to be said. It’s just the look on the face. It’s the tone of the voice. Most wouldn’t recognize anything, but the close and intimate person does. They detect that something is not right. They can tell when you are tired. They know when you are upset even before you say anything. That’s intimacy. That’s how God knows you. He knows you in many ways, better than you know yourself. He understands you.

Our relationship with God is far beyond sitting in a pew on Sunday morning. It is hard for us to fathom that God is always thinking about us. God is always doing things for us. God is always there for us. He continues to bless us. He continues to listen to us. He continues to watch over us. Jesus is the good shepherd who knows His sheep.

What is more amazing is that God thinks about us more than we think about Him.

Blessed be our God. We are in good hands. He loves you and wants you to glorify Him this day.

Roger

Jump Start # 639

Note: Tomorrow is a holiday and we will not have a Jump Start. We hope to pick up again on Thursday. Thank you!

Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.”

Our passage today is set in the midst of God’s concern for Israel, His people. For many years the nation had been led away from God through the influence of kings who were not committed to the ways of God. But blame alone doesn’t lie with the kings, many of the prophets, priests and even the people themselves were willing to embrace idolatry and all that came with it. These things infuriated God. He sent warning after warning. Without any response, God would punish the nation by allowing other nations to attack.

The setting of our verse is the future. God would not forget the nation. They would be delivered, hopefully with a lesson learned. Our verse sets the tone and defines how God cares for His people. The relationship between God and the nation is set in the terms of home. God used this concept often. The prodigal son is another example of this. Here in Isaiah, God is placed in the role of a loving mother. Israel is her son. God is reminding the nation that He still loves them and will never forget them.

The image is of a mom toward her son. Moms are special about things like that. Get a group of people together and the kids can be off playing somewhere else. If one of the kids hollers, “Dad,” ever man there turns around and looks. But if one of the kids starts to cry, his mom recognizes that cry and comes running. Moms are like that.

Even when a nation has disappointed God, there remains compassion from God. The mother never forgets her child, and God never forgets His people. From that concept we learn:

1. God thinks of us often more than we think about Him. He never forgets. He remembers. As we age we tend to get dates, events and sometimes even names all jumbled up. My grandmother would often get the names of me and my brothers mixed up. She knew who we were, she just had to go through the list of everyone in the family before she got it straight. God’s not like that. He doesn’t forget you. Even the prodigal, who was away from home was not forgotten by his father. We take the Lord’s Supper so we will not forget. I fear that we would. God doesn’t need a reminder of us. He doesn’t forget. He doesn’t need a photo on the frig, a ribbon from our hair, a torn ticket stub as a reminder of our times together, who we are and what we mean to Him. His relationship is like a mother to her child. Moms never forget!

2. God loves us. He loved his nation, even when they were headed the other direction. God loves. He is compassionate. He is forgiving. God doesn’t love us just because we are good. The implication of that thought would be then God doesn’t love us as much when we are not good. Also, that thought leads to the conclusion that God loves us more when we do things to please Him—therefore we can earn God’s love, or make God love us, by doing what He likes. That is the way we operate, not God. God loves us when we do well. God loves us when we don’t. God loves us, not based upon what we do, but by His nature. We can’t make God love us any more than what He already does. That is hard for us to grasp. We would tend to love the son who stayed home more than the prodigal who left. Not God. We’d tend to love the family who gets up and comes to the church house on Sunday more than the family that sleeps in. We’d think the guy who contributes money ought to be loved more than the guy who gives nothing. We’d expect the guy who tried to be loved more than the guy who doesn’t care. Not God. He loves us all. He loves us all the same. Now, don’t allow God’s love for us to think that He tolerates or even doesn’t care about wrong. Oh, He does. He expects us to follow Him. He wants that. He has done everything to show us that. He warns. He reveals consequences. He leaves examples. He wants us to follow Him.

Israel was loved by God. Israel was punished when they refused to follow. Here is a very hard point for us to grasp. Most would think that God loves those who will be in Heaven, but does not love those that He sends to Hell. Not so. God loves those who will be forever lost. He loves, yet He punishes. Those are not opposites. Love and justice are not extreme ends from each other. God loves us when we are in the far country. Does He think it’s ok to stay there? No. Does He hope that we have a great time there? No. Does He wish that we’d just settle down and make a life there? No. He wants us back home with Him. Does our journeys to the far country mean that He no longer loves us? No.

These words were reminders to the nation and to us, about the nature and compassion of God. John reminds us in the New Testament, that we love because He first loved us. God won’t give up on you. He will not lock the door and keep you out. He will not turn off the porch light. Not God. As long as there is breath in your body, God is looking, longing and loving you. There is no one like God.

When a person finally gets this, and they take a deep look in their heart, it makes them realize how terrible we have treated God. There have been times that we ignored Him. There have been times that we have not even thought about Him, living as if He never existed. We disobeyed and broke His laws. He were selfish and rude. We may have even cursed His name or blasphemed His holy ways. There may have been times we should have worshipped Him, but we didn’t. There have been times when we were having too much fun to invite God into our hearts or our ways. God has every reason to toss us out. No one would blame Him for turning His back on us. But He doesn’t. He hasn’t given up. He’s looking. He’s hoping. He’s wanting you to run back to Him. There is no one like God.

Thank you, Lord.

Roger