Can A Mother Forget?
Introduction
(Isaiah 49:15 - Read verses 13-16)
It was many years ago that a lady named Anna Jarvis got the idea of having a day set aside when men and women throughout the nation would pay special honor to their mothers. Her mother had actually laid the plans for this day of commemoration, but when she died on the second Sunday in May, 1905, she had not lived to see her dream fulfilled. In 1907, Miss Jarvis invited some friends to her home in Philadelphia to commemorate the anniversary of her mother's death and announced plans to make Mother's Day a national observance on the second Sunday in May. On Sunday, May 10, 1908, the first Mother's Day church service was held at Miss Jarvis' old home church, Andrews
Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Two years later, Governor William E. Glasscock of West Virginia officially proclaimed the first Mother's Day. Miss Jarvis continued her efforts, and eventually the whole nation and even some foreign countries would celebrate an annual day honoring Mothers.
When we consider the subject of mothers and motherhood in the Bible, we might consider other passages about mothers such as the oft-repeated principle found in Exodus 20:12: "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Or we might consider the great "motherhood chapter" of the Bible, Proverbs 31. In dealing with motherhood from the scriptures, we could also consider Bible personalities who were mothers; such as Eve, Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary, and a multitude of others. But our text speaks not only of motherhood, but of God's care for His own children.
This verse has a primary relevance to Israel's current situation. This verse has a prophetical relevance to Israel's future situation. This verse has a practical relevance to our spiritual lives.
It has been said that the greatest human love is that of a mother for her child
I. Consider Mother's Love
(The Inclination and Intensity of a Mother's Love)
A. The Loving Mother's Instinct
1. It Is A Mother's Instinct To Pity Her Child
(Isaiah 66:13) "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
nacham; by impl. to be sorry, (in a favorable sense) to pity, console, ease.
2. It Is A Mother's Instinct To Preserve Her Child
1 Kings 3:16-27
B. The Loving Mother's Infant
1. Think Of Her Particular Care For This Needy Child
"her sucking child"
2.Think Of Her Peculiar Connection With This Newborn Child
"the son of her womb"
II. Consider Memory's Limitations
A. The Probability Of Forgetting A Child
Marsha Kaitz, a psychology professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, did a test to see how well mothers know their babies. According to the Associated Press, the 46 mothers chosen for the test had all given birth in the previous 5 to 79 hours, and had all breast-fed their newborn. Each mother was blindfolded and then asked to identify which of three sleeping babies was their own. Nearly 70% of the mothers correctly chose their baby. Most said they knew their child by the texture or temperature of the infant's hand. Kaitz said that the women apparently learned the identifying features during routine contact, because they weren't allowed to study their babies to prepare for the experiment.
(Paul Lee Tan, "15,000 Illustrations" # 8082)
It is improbable and unlikely for a mother to forget her child, but it is possible.
B. The Possibility Of Forgetting A Child
"yea, they may forget"
1. In A Sinful Mother
Lamentations 4:1-6
(Job 39:13-16) "Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? {14} Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, {15} And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. {16} She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;"
2. In A Sick Mother (Alzheimer's, Dementia, Mental Illness, etc.)
For a mother to forget her own child is not probable, but it is possible because of memory's limitations.
III. Consider My Lord
According to Isaiah 49, verse 14, Zion, in a very non-perceptive way, has accused God of forsaking and forgetting. But our Lord...
A. He Will Not Forsake
1. He Is Superior In This Claim
(Psalms 27:10) When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
2. He Is Sure In This Claim
(Hebrews 13:5) Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
B. Will Not Forget
"yet will I not forget thee"
(Psalms 40:17) But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
1. God Is Constantly Observing His Children
(Isaiah 49:16) Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands...
2. God Is Constantly Optimistic Of His Children
(Isaiah 49:16) ... thy walls are continually before me.
He has been looking to the time of Israel's return from captivity and their restoration of the land, the temple, and the city. Even during the time that they saw nothing but a pile of rubble, God saw their walls. He was optimistic!
Illustrate: Years ago, a young mother was making her way across the hills of South Wales, carrying her tiny baby in her arms, when she was overtaken by a blinding blizzard. She never reached her destination, and when the blizzard had subsided her body was found by searchers beneath a mound of snow. But they discovered that before her death, she had taken of all her outer clothing and wrapped it about her baby. When they unwrapped the child, to their great surprise and joy, they found he was alive and well. She had mounded her body over his and given her life for her child, proving the depths of her motherly love. The story goes that years later, that child, David Lloyd George, grown to manhood, became the prime minister of Great Britain, and without a doubt, one of England's greatest statesmen.
(Illustrations Unlimited, James S. Hewett - Editor, pg. 375)