The Tenderness of God
In response to the Finding Truth blog entitled, “The Reason People are Delusional,” consider for a moment . . .
We read of the lovingkindness of our God and His long patience in giving us time to choose Him: “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts” (Isaiah 65:2). All the day. Israel is in the picture here. Just two chapters earlier, we read:
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and praises of the LORD,
according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us,
and the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
which He hath bestowed upon them according to His mercies,
and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. Isaiah 63:7
He goes on to say that in their affliction He was afflicted. The angel of His presence saved them. Let that sink in. And in His love and pity, He redeemed them and bare them and carried them. “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem,” He says (Isaiah 66:13).
The “as” in the verse is a metaphor, a comparison using the words like, as or similar to. Charles Spurgeon says of this particular comparison:
This is a peculiarly delightful metaphor.
A father can comfort, but I think he is not much at home in the work.
When God speaks of His pity, He compares Himself to their father . . .
But when He speaks about comfort, He selects the mother . . .
A mother knows by instinct how to do it.
It has been said that to be a mother is to forever have your heart walk around outside your body. I know this to be true. We feel every pain our children feel. What a beautiful picture of God’s love and care for us— such grace!
