nurturing the nations nurturing the nations reclaiming the dignity of women for the building of...

Nurturing the NationsNurturing the NationsReclaiming the Dignity of Women for

the Building of Healthy Cultures

God’s Maternal Heart

Part 3 THE BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS

7 The Bible

8 The Trinity

9 Servanthood

10 The Transcendence of Sexuality

11 God’s Maternal Heart

Jerusalem Oh Jerusalem!

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

God The Father

• Paternal Heart

• Maternal Heart

Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son (1669)

• What do you see in this picture?

• Note the hands!

Metaphor or Simile

• Metaphor• A metaphor states

that the whole of one thing is the same as the whole of another thing

• God is a mother

• Simile• A simile compares

part of one thing to another

• God is like a mother

God is like:

• A woman giving birth

• A nursing mother

• A mother hen

• A mother eagle

John Piper

“All things exist to demonstrate something about God’s infinite perfections.”

The Female Body

• Was made for a purpose: to compassionate, to nurture and to protect.

• The concrete reality of the female body reveals, to all who will see, the abstract nature of God’s compassion, nurture and protection.

• A woman’s body is not merely functional, it also has a transcendent purpose of pointing us to the maternal heart of God.

Having A Mother

At its most rudimentary level, one of the most common denominators to being a human is to have a mother.

Each Human Being

• Was carried inside of a woman, in a womb.

• Most received their first nurture at a mother’s breast.

• Was held in a mother’s arms.

Three Powerful Similes

• Womb-Love – God’s Compassion

• Nurturing Breasts – God’s Sufficiency

• Mother’s Arms (Sheltering Wings) – God’s Protection

Womb Love:God’s Compassion

God’s Name

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin….”

Exodus 34:6-7

Hebrew - racham

• Derived from Hebrew word meaning: to love, to love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, and have compassion.

• Translated – Mercy 30 times– Compassion 4 times– Womb 4 times

The King’s Dilemma1 Kings 3:16-28

• What is the setting?

• What is the dilemma that Solomon faced?

• How did he determine which woman was the real mother?

• What did this test reveal?

Womb Love

The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

Nurturing Breasts:God’s Sufficiency

El Shaddai

• The All Sufficient

• The Satisfier

• The Almighty

God is Like a Nursing Mother

• Read: Numbers 11:12; Isaiah 49:13-15; Isaiah 66:10-13

• Questions: – What do these reveal about God?– What do they reveal about a

woman?

Hebrew – El Shaddai

• Name of God

• Shaddai is found 48 times in O.T.

• From root shad: breast or bosom

• When combined with El – God, it means:– One Who Nourishes– One Who Supplies– One Who Satisfies

Dr. R.C. Sproul

“Some scholars argue that the Semitic, linguistic root of the divine title El Shaddai referred to the “multibreasted one,” the one who provides the nation with succor and nourishment.”

Made for RelationshipMaternal Infant Bonding

• “Latching” – skin to skin contact

• The eyes – soul to soul contact

Beauty and Function

Telenomy: a female breast, in beauty and function reveals something of God’s Infinite Perfection

Questions

• What does this reveal about women?

• What does this reveal about God?

• What are the implications of the maternal-infant bond before and after birth for the external environment for the mother?

Marilyn’s Story

Mother’s ArmsGod’s Protection

God Is Our Refuge and Protector

Psalm 91:1-2

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Hebrew - rachaph

• Meaning: to brood, to flutter, to move

• The concept:– As a hen over her

chick to warm and protect

– To sit over, cover and cherish

– To mature anything with care

The Shadow of Thy Wing

SET ONE

• Psalm 17: 6-9• Psalm 36: 5-9• Psalm 57: 1• Psalm 61: 1-4• Psalm 63: 7-8• Psalm 91: 1-4

SET TWO

• Ruth 2:11-12• Ruth 3: 9• Isaiah 31: 5• Matthew 23: 37

Stories

Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple

If a man came to me and said, “I am your Christ,” I would ask him to show me his hands. I know my Christ by the love which defines His character–the love that gave him the strength and desire to give His life in exchange for mine.

“There is no greater love than this–that a man lay down his life for his friend.”

Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple

I have never seen Jesus, but He knew me and loved me even before I was born. He gave me life, and when my own sin threatened that life, He died on the cross to save it, and no mark was left on me. When I see Him, I will know Him by the scars that bear witness to the unfathomable magnitude of His love for me.

Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple

I know my mother by the love which defines her character–the love that gave her the strength and desire to offer her life in exchange for mine.

“There is no greater love than this–that a man lay down his life for his friend.”

Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple

My mother knew me and loved me even before I was born; she gave me life. When I was a baby, twelve stone steps threatened that life, but she held me so tight and close that every cut and bruise fell on her own body, and no mark was left on me.

So mother, if when I get to heaven I don’t recognize you, show me the scars on your arms that bear witness to the unfathomable magnitude of your love for me.