4 May, 2021
💞 Dear Royal Praying Priests, shalom!
💎 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate! For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, ‘Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Mat 23:37-39, TLV)
Happy early Mother’s Day to all mums among us! Several years ago, I came across a saying on the Internet, “God couldn’t be everywhere, so He made mothers.” Although it is not 100% biblically correct, it aptly depicts the significance of motherhood. Christians are familiar with relating to God as the father, as our Messiah Yeshua also uses the fatherly metaphor himself. Even the image of God the father has deeply imprinted in our hearts, the female image of God can also be found in the Bible. God often uses a motherly analogy to describe His love, sacrifice, compassion to us!
- Women are also created in God’s image.
“So God created mankind his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27, TLV)
- God as a woman in labour and gives birth like a mother.
“I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labour I groan, gasping and panting at once.” (Isa 42:14, TLV)
“The Rock who birthed you, you ignored. You forgot God who brought you forth.” (Deu 32:18, TLV)
- God as a comforting mother.
“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you, so you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” (Isa 66:13, TLV)
- God as a woman looking for the lost coins.
“Or which woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I’ve found the coin I had lost!’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luk 15:8-10, TLV)
- God as the mother hen.
When dangers come, the little chicks flee to hide themselves under the mother hen’s feathers for protection, comfort and warmth. In Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:17, Yeshua uses the mother hen analogy to speak of His desire of closeness and intimacy with us.
🙏 Dear Father, we thank You for our biological and spiritual mothers. Through their sacrificial love and strong commitment, we are looked after, cared for, nurtured and protected. Thank You for giving us mother figures in our lives to demonstrate Your gentle loving care and to help us comprehend Your full image. We ask You to bless them with a very blessed and honourable Mother’s Day this year. In the Name of Yeshua we pray and bless You, Amen.