14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
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.
16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17 “Your [h]builders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
18 “Lift up your eyes and look around;
All of them gather together, they come to you.
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will surely put on all of them as [i]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
19 “For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 “The children of [j]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 “Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Behold, I was left alone;
[k]From where did these come?’”22 Thus says the Lord [l]God,
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My standard to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 “Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And lick the dust of your feet;
And you will know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.24 “Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of [m]a tyrant be rescued?”25 Surely, thus says the Lord,
“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will save your sons.
26 “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Previously in this chapter, God spoke of a coming Messiah, but now He gives ear to one of their rebuttals. Specifically, that some thought God had already forsaken them–or possibly it was speaking of the future in captivity, where the Israelites would have even more cause to think they were forsaken (v. 14).
God reassures His people in the following verses, telling them of the multitude of people that shall come together once more in a land that was barren and empty (vv. 19-21). In doing so, God puts a couple interesting “bookends” around this assurance.
First, we see in v. 15 an incredible idea, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb?” They all would have said, “Surely not!” To which God says, sadly it is a thing, but He will not forget them. It is difficult for us to remember that a God whom we too easily forget, as we cannot see Him physically, does not and cannot forget us.
On the other side, God gives another incredible statement in v. 24, “Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?” Again, as unlikely as that is, God assures them it can and will happen. Why? Because God is mightier and stronger than the mighty man or any tyrant on this earth (physical or spiritual).
So in these two examples, we see the fallibility of mankind juxtaposed with the infallibility of God. We would do well to remember that God is not human. Though we use human examples like Father and Mother to show the compassion of God, He is lacking in their weakness. That is, though they may have weakness in their mortal flesh, God does not. Thus God is like them, but even better, and not just better, but perfectly good.
Likewise, He is not just stronger than any other, but is the strongest that could possibly be. So strong, in fact, that God can humble himself in human form and lose not His strength, dignity, or majesty. God can show mercy and compassion, because He is strong. So when we are tempted to impose on God’s image our own flaws, remember that He is without them.
His love and mercy are unfailing, even when we fail or feel far away. As David wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” We must remember that God is ever near, ever present, always able. And when you do forget (because we all will), read His words to remind yourself again of how great and mighty He truly is.