Title: I Will Not Forget You
Contents
Isaiah 49:14-17 I will not forget you.
When you start studying the Bible or theology, the first step that comes up is “Who is God?” is to do That is, it is about theology, and we will study the attributes of God we believe in. God is the Creator, the Almighty, the Source of Blessings, the One who trains us, the Companion... However, as you study about God, you will also ask these questions. "What is God's surname? Are you male or female?"
The Bible doesn't say anything about this. Of course, the Bible uses the expression 'God the Father' a lot, but it never uses the expression 'God the Mother'. That's why people think that God is male. However, the expression 'Father' in the Bible is used as the representative of the universe, the representative of mankind, the representative of the nation, and the representative of the family.
In Genesis, it is said that when God created man, he made man in the image of God. But if God had been a man, he would have created only Adam. But God also made Eve. Then, it would be correct to think that God's surname has both male and female attributes.
We have always thought of God as a very masculine God. What are the characteristics of men? It is strong. There is power. It has the power to part the blocked Red Sea at once. He has the power to annihilate hundreds of thousands of soldiers in a single night. These facts can be said to be a part of God's powerful male power.
However, this alone does not mean that you have properly known God. God is also a feminine God. What are the characteristics of women? It's soft (of course, there are some people who don't), and it's also delicate. (Of course, I see crude women sometimes). Especially, women have a maternal love that God has given to everyone.
Looking at a woman's maternal love, I wonder where the maternal love came from. And we come to realize that that maternal love also comes from God who made the woman. When a man and a woman fall in love and get married, sometimes you will see women making this kind of confession. "I must take care of this man!" In other words, when a fairly decent woman takes a not-so-good man as her spouse, maternal love is triggered and even marriage occurs. And some men also use high-level tactics that try to attract women's hearts toward them by activating these women's maternal love.
But what are the characteristics of maternal love? Cozy, soft, mellow, and endlessly sacrificial. And when you think of maternal love, it reminds you of a young child suckling her mother's breast and sleeping softly in her mother's arms. And there is a saying, "Women are weak, but mothers are strong." In other words, when maternal love is triggered, women are often infinitely stronger than men.
Even in Korea, even when her husband dies early, leaving little children behind, mothers raise their children beautifully with maternal love. However, fathers do not raise their children as well as women because they lack maternal love. Of course, there is also paternal love, but it seems that it is not as good as maternal love. That is why, when a man and woman divorce, it seems to be a good idea for a mother with a maternal love to raise children. Of course, the father has to pay back. As a father, if you are unfair, do not divorce.
Today's verse 14 shows the displeasure of the Israelites who have God as their parent. Their complaint is that God has forsaken them and has forgotten them. In a way, their dissatisfaction is understandable. Under the guidance of Moses, the Israelites left Egypt and entered the land of Canaan. He protected them with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. And he rained down manna every day in the wilderness, where there was no food to be found. And since you can't eat meat, he sent quails too. Then they settled in Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Up to this point, God's covenant, "I will be your God, and you will be my people," seemed to be kept. But after the deaths of Joshua and Caleb, chaos began to come to Israel. There are no more good leaders. They lived according to their opinion. Crime and order have collapsed, and the country is in disarray.
The people thought, "If God lives, why does he leave us so alone? Why do we always have to suffer from the invasions of our enemies?" and blamed God. So they asked God for a king to fight for them. God has appointed some kings according to their request. However, as a result, the country was divided into north and south, and the people were taken prisoner, and the situation was pitiful.
It seemed that God was doing nothing for Israel. He seemed to be silent. No, he seemed to have completely forgotten Israel. So today's text came out. "Now the LORD has forsaken me, and the LORD has forgotten me."
Guys, has God really forsaken me and forgot me? If God is alive, wouldn't it be right to completely control me and block me from sinning at the source, and even completely eliminate my sinful nature? If God hadn't forgotten me, then why did he let me be this way, this way? If God says He is omnipotent, why can't He make me a good believer?
Hasn't God really forgotten me? To these questions, the text answers: "How can a woman forget her suckling child, and will she not have mercy on the son of her womb? Even if they forget, I will not forget you." I'm not a woman, so I can't breastfeed children. To be honest, I don't know how it feels to be a mother who is breastfeeding her child. But I also have a child, so I know a bit about it.
Roughly, the story goes like this. When the first child is born, the mother can't help but think that the baby is so pretty. Even though changing diapers and taking a bath is a daily thing, I don't feel bored or tired. It's so fun and mysterious. Even the baby's poop looks pretty. When a child cries, they cry together because they do not know what to do. It is a great reward and joy for a mother to see her child growing up beautifully.
Sometimes your child makes some mistakes, but even those mistakes are cute. Then, as the child grows older, the child develops a self-concept. And then, she does things she never thought possible. They steal things from others and disobey their parents. That's why they beat, discipline, scold, and sometimes even lift a rod.
Also, parents make a lot of mistakes. There are times when you just need to hit and catch, and you just scold them. When a child has to pay the price for a mistake, the mother simply pays for it. But the child doesn't know that. And the mother will only find out later. "Oh, I shouldn't have taught you that way back then! I should have hit you harder and made sure you didn't make the same mistake twice!" I am so sorry.
But as children grow up, they now hate having their parents interfering in their lives. I'm just asking you to leave it to me. So I let it go and that's not it. That's why they scold, teach, grow up, and threaten again. But this child hears all of that as interference. Eventually, the child begins to live in a mess.
At this point, the mother has no choice. So I think. "The time will come when you will know for yourself. Okay, let's just leave it alone for once!" And from then on, the mother leaves the child alone for a while. However, thinking of the child, he lives in irritability and tension every day. The child tried to live his own life, but things don't go the way he thought. I suffer. And I think. "I'm dying of hardship, but what the hell are moms and dads doing? Are you treating me like a child? Have you forgotten me?"
However, as the years pass, one day, the child finds out that he is wrong and returns home helplessly, just like the prodigal son. According to the Bible, the father ran out barefoot, and the father held a feast for the returning prodigal son. Where the hell did your mother go? Perhaps this family's mother passed away early. Usually, the mother runs out barefoot, and the mother prepares food for her son who returns.
When I was in middle school, there was a time when I went home for four days and came home hungry. My father was looking at the newspaper as if nothing had happened, smiling brightly as I came home after a long absence and said, "Why don't you come back later. Man." But the mother said, "Oh, my son, aren't you hungry? Where have you been? Where did you sleep? Wait a minute." Then, I prepare my favorite food. And as he watched me eat like a beggar who starved for three days, he wiped away my tears.
Ladies and gentlemen, the father may have forgotten his son who has gone out for a while because he is busy with business. But a mother with maternal love has never forgotten her son for a moment. This is today's text. "How can a woman forget her suckling child, and will she not have mercy on the son of her womb? Even if they forget, I will not forget you."
Gentlemen, our God is not a God who is indifferent to us. God never forgets us. God never forgot us for a moment. On August 5, 1997, a KAL plane crashed in Guam, killing 229 people. At this time, there was a time when a very promising politician in Korea died and I was sad. This is Senator Shin Ha.
However, about 50 days later, another sad news broke the heart of Sein. The news was that Senator Shin-ha's mother had died. But the dead content makes us shudder. It is said that after the death of the son, the mother stopped drinking and died of starvation while staying in the attic. He thought that he would starve for 50 days and then followed his son. Surprisingly, when he looked at his body, his chest was black and bruised. He beat his chest and was sad, and then he died.
A mother's love is like this. How could a mother forget her son? How can you forget the children you gave birth to and raised? But what does our God say today? “How can a woman forget her suckling child, and will she not have pity on the son of her womb? Even if they forget, I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)
"I will not forget you." What more could you say? Moreover, God has said that He has carved us into the palm of His hand. In other words, God has always engraved on our palms so that we can look into them. It is so precious that it is engraved on the palm of the hand and always cared for. But when we say to God, "God, why have you forgotten me?" How amazing would God be?
Ladies and gentlemen, when we believe in Jesus and become children of God, we do not just become legal heirs and go to heaven. That God is my mother. It means that the mother who gave birth to me cares for me, loves me, and takes care of me like that. Has anyone had a mother who has died? So do you miss your mother's maternal love?
There is someone who cares, loves, and takes care of me more than my deceased mother. God the mother. Keep that in mind. God even killed His only begotten Son to save me. How could that God forget us? No matter how bad I am, God never forgets me. On the contrary, just as he deeply grieves for a poor child, God takes care of me more earnestly as I get older.
Guys, do you often find it difficult to live in this world? A God who does not forget you and watches you silently is beside you. God never forgot me. And you will never forget it. God, who does not forget me, is taking care of me in this foreign land today. This is today's text. "I will not forget you"