Not forgotten
Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.” “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away. Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display... Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these descendants?...Where did all these people come from? Who bore these children? Who raised them for me?’” This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I will give a signal to the godless nations. They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms; they will bring your daughters on their shoulders. Isaiah 49:14-22 NLT
From the text, the Israelites accused God of forsaking them while under the rule of the Babylonians. This was despite Isaiah reminding them that it was not the case. We often tend to blame God when circumstances happening in our lives are not favorable to our satisfaction. We look around at our problems and we complain that God has abandoned us. This is despite the continued assurance that God is carrying us in His everlasting arms toward the promise of life eternal in His presence. How difficult it is to please us inspite of the salvation that God gave us even if we do not deserve to receive it. “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). Is not the good news enough to make us smile and be grateful? Once again, Isaiah reminded the Israelites that God has not forgotten them and compared God to a mother nursing her child. “Never can a mother forget her nursing child.” In fact, when God spreads out His hands, we will find that our names are carved there. “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). We are loved by God and if His coming through our Lord Jesus Christ and His dying on the cross will not assure us, what else could God do to prove it? Then Isaiah provided them an image of what they should anticipate in the future. “Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display” (v. 18). God will continue to manifest His love and by faith, there will be those that will respond and will be a part of His expanding Kingdom. It will not be by of our efforts that people will come to know Christ but by His convicting power through the Holy Spirit. “Where did all these people come from? Who bore these children?” (v. 21b). Even in the midst of our stubbornness, God’s plan will not be hindered.
Blessings,