The LORD speaks words of comfort to His people in Isaiah 49. Although they will have suffered greatly because of their sins, He will restore them. God loves them and He wants to give them the privilege to continue serving Him; therefore, He will restore them and return them to their land. They need assurance so God compares Himself to a mother with a new baby – and Israel is the helpless infant. (It is one of the rare passages in the bible in which God is personified as a woman.) Isaiah 49:14-15 reads: “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me’. ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you’.
We read similar statements concerning the Lord Jesus being with us as we live the Christian life. Paul writes, “…if God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31). It is a rhetorical question = the answer is supplied in the question. The answer is no one can harm us (spiritually) because God loves us. Hebrews 13:6 has a similarly assuring statement: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me” (Hebrews 13:6).
Here is a beautiful song about pleading confidently to God to take care of us through this life into eternity. Read Isaiah 49:8-15 and listen to Savior, Please by Josh Wilson.
Isaiah 49:8-15
“At a favorable time I answered You,
And on a day of salvation I helped You;
And I will watch over You and make You a covenant of the people,
To restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;
Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go free,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed along the roads,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights.
They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And He will guide them to springs of water.
I will make all My mountains a road,
And My highways will be raised up.
Behold, these will come from afar;
And behold, these will come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan.”
Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted.
But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
“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.