Isaiah 66: 12-13

12 For this is what the Lord says:

“I will extend peace to her like a river,

and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;

you will nurse and be carried on her arm

and dandled on her knees.

13      As a mother comforts her child,

so will I comfort you;

and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

A mother who had twelve children was asked which one she loved the best. Her answer: "The one who’s sick until he gets well; and the one who is away until he gets back home!"

That mother captured the picture of God’s grace as found in Isaiah 66:12-13.

In the story of the prodigal son, the son returns to his father.  In Isaiah 66, the child returns to his mother.  This passage is a passage of reconciliation and blessing. 

There is a forward look of the end times when during the millennial kingdom, Israel will be in Jerusalem and under God’s blessing.  God is working towards that end.  If you look at where the action is, it is always in the Mideast.  God is working to restore Jerusalem and Israel to prominence.

In this passage is also an historical foundation.  The people are in exile.  Soon Ezra and Nehemiah will rebuild a nation in a day.  The picture that Isaiah uses is one of birth.  God will give birth to a nation, the nation of Israel.  They will return to the land and be blessed.  They will be reconciled to God and to their homeland.

I don’t know why cities are called “she”, but when you see the “her” in this passage, it refers to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the mother that nurses the child, carries her on her arm and dandles the child on her knees.  I didn’t know what dandled meant, but I found it meant “to bounce” or “to sit on the knee.”

In the text of verse 13, the word “child” does not refer to a baby, but to a grown son.  The illustration switches from Jerusalem to God.  God will comfort the nation of Israel and bring them back to Jerusalem.

Parenting is hard.  “Bring up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  This is a proverb that is generally true, though there are some exceptions.  Too many people take this as a promise when in fact it is a proverb from the book of Proverbs. 

However, the influence of parents on children is undeniable.  And what greater influence can parents give than to give their children a godly home, a Christ-centered home, a home where the Bible is the guidebook and the Lord is Lord indeed.

In this passage the nation of Israel rebelled against their mother, Jerusalem and against their God.  That is why they were in exile.

One struggle of parents is rebellious children.  James Dobson, years ago, said that there is a difference between rebellion and childish irresponsibility.  Uncoordinated children will knock cups over.  Rebellious children will throw them at the wall.  Babies cry because they don’t know how else to communicate.  Children whine to manipulate parents into giving them their way. 

Israel had been rebellious.  As a result they were picked up and taken way to Babylon and Assyria in captivity.  As Isaiah writes this, he tells them that they are going home some day.

As our soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq know, that day cannot come too soon.  There is comfort in knowing that you are coming home.

Let me share some insights from this that I found interesting.

The first insight is that God uses the picture of a mother to explain his own behavior.

What a compliment to mothers.  The Holy Spirit, inspiring Isaiah to write these words, uses motherhood to illustrate a real spiritual truth about God.

This should not surprise us.  When God made man in his image, it was male and female.  Genesis 1:27 (NIV84)27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

We can take this two ways.  The first is that both men and women are made in God’s image.  The second that God’s image is found in both the ways men and women are alike and also in their very differences.

God choses to use this picture of a mother to explain his own behavior.  Some people use these pictures to talk about mother god.  But God here is not female, but rather uses the picture of a mother to make a point on how he will treat Israel.

God is portrayed in the Bible in masculine terms, but if we try to limit God to our concept of men, we are doing God a great disservice.  God is totally different from us.  He is not made in our image, we are made in his, male and female.  Take the best of both worlds and you will be closer to what God is like than if you take just one.

The second insight is that the pictures he uses are pictures of God’s expectations for mothers.

Three are used here.

First, the nursing or feeding of their own baby. 

There is a natural bond between a mother and her baby.  This is God-given.  Young mothers want to keep that bond. 

The baby is well served by the physical contact, the intimacy, the warmth of love that is associated with this feeding.

This is a picture of the comfort God gives to those who trust him.  You are coming home.  You are coming to a safe place.

With our new granddaughter I have noticed that when she is hungry or out of sorts, my daughter will take her and feed her.  Sometimes a noise will startle her and she will look up, look around, and then go back to feeding.  There is nothing to fear when you are in your mother’s arms.

Israel would return home to Jerusalem.  They would feel the comfort that a baby feels when they did.

You will feel God’s comfort when you return home.  Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in spirit.”

Second, the caressing or bouncing of a baby.

This pictures for me an enjoyment, a positive bond, a positive relationship between the mother and the child.  So often mothers can get caught up with the “no” syndrome, that they do not create positive experiences.  We have to always remember who the adult is in these situations.  The adult should take the initiative and show unconditional love to their babies.

Sometimes it is harder than at other times.  We are all aware that some babies have special needs.  Babies with special needs need special love.

I have watched mothers and grandmothers dandle their babies.  Often they do it to get a smile, to create a laugh, to make a positive moment.

When people return to Jerusalem they will do so with joy.  Nehemiah said to the people, Nehemiah 8:10 10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 

The songwriter said, “There is joy in serving Jesus.”  For many of you the happy times are when you return home to your parents house, get together with family, tell all the old stories, relive all the embarrassing moments and have joy.

In the presence of God is joy evermore.  Israel in captivity did not experience joy.  Their families were broken up.  They were humiliated.  They were torn from their own homes and force marched to a strange land where people spoke a strange language. 

But God says, “Look at the little child you bounce on your knee.  Someday that joy will return.”

Sin robs us of joy.  Come to Jesus and feel the freedom of knowing you are right with God.  Be set free from the pain that is caused by walking down the wrong road, making the wrong decisions.

 Third, the comforting of a man.

The third point is that these attributes of a mother that are reflected in God’s word not only bring blessing between a mother and her children, they also bring blessing to us when we feel this from God, himself.

Remember that Jerusalem brought comfort to the baby, but God brings comfort to the young man.

I have heard it said that sometimes the bond between mother and son and the bond between father and daughter are strong.  Having had only girls, I don’t know.  I would like to think that the bond is strong with both of us and it is.

When a man is emotional, when a man is grieved, would the natural act be to go and share the emotions with his father or his mother?  I step out on a limb to say that often the case of the mother is such that she would more easily identify with the son who needs comfort.  That may not be true, but in this passage, God comforts Israel as a mother comforts her son.

These men that God comforts appear to me to be those in exile.  He is promising them that they can return and that he will receive them.

Isn’t this the way mothers can be?  Good mothers feed their children, play with their children and provide help for them when they go through hard times.  One of the most gut-wrenching things for many people is to be at odds with their mothers.  In many families the mother is the true center of the family.  One reason is that they are like the glue that holds everyone together.

Some of you have had different experiences.  Your family life has not been great.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, during your time of exile, that you were able to come back and receive the support and comfort that only a mother can give.

Christian mothers are loving, forgiving and teaching.  Sometimes they have to put their foot down.  Sometimes they face the possibility of the prodigal child.  But when that child is ready to face what they are and ready to return, the Christian woman receives that child and gives them comfort and support.

God is like your mother in that way.  When as an adult, you are facing hard times, you may go home, put on some coffee, sit at the table and pour your heart out to your mother.  She listens and gives comfort.

God comforts those in exile.  The people who are wondering if this will ever end hear God say, “You will be here for awhile, but you will soon go home.”

Many people have written songs about this. One of the most famous is “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree…”  It was traditional for women to wear yellow ribbons in their hair when their husbands or boyfriends were away at war.  Stories were around and someone wrote this song to talk about an ex-convict who wasn’t sure what reception he would get when he came home.  When the train went by his home, the tree was full of yellow ribbons showing that the prodigal son was welcome home.

We are thankful for our mothers who fed us, bounced us on their knees and were willing to forgive and receive us back when we had gone astray.

Some of you are in the thick of the battle.  Remember that your children will see God in how you treat them.  From feeding to times of joy to bringing comfort, they will see in you what God brings on a much bigger scale.

And we are thankful to God for the riches of his grace and mercy to us.