Isaiah 49:15, commentary and pictures

The verse asks if a nursing mother could forget her child and withhold compassion from her own son, and answers that even if mothers may forget, God will not forget His own, speaking to Zion when she feels forsaken and forgotten. His love, compassion and care are more steadfast, sure and constant than even a mother's deep tenderness, and unlike human ties that may fail, His love does not change. Christ's interest in those He has redeemed is greater than a mother's love, watching over each child of God, keeping them secure under His protection and near to support and uphold them so that no circumstance can separate them from Him. He does not forget for a moment anyone who trusts, loves and belongs to Him, but sees and sustains them in trial, persecution and greatest danger. That unfailing remembrance calls for personal trust in His love as a Saviour who receives all who believe, bringing deep joy, peace and assurance to those who rest in Him.

Meaning and Setting

The verse asks whether a woman can forget her nursing child and fail to have compassion on the son of her womb, and then answers that even if mothers may forget, God will not forget His people. The image sets the tenderness and constancy of God's love against a mother's compassion for her nursing child, showing His care to be more sure and unfailing. Human love and family ties may fail, so that even a mother may cease to cherish her child, but Jehovah's love does not change. That assurance is given to those who feel forgotten and to sinners, that He remains mindful of them and His care does not fail.

It is God's answer to Zion when she says the Lord has forsaken her and forgotten her, assuring His afflicted people that He has comforted them and will have mercy on them. The promise belongs to Zion, to those who claim to respect the law of Jehovah, whose fear of being forsaken is answered by His pledge that they remain continually before Him and kept continually in mind. Even when she feels forsaken, He will not forget her, but continues to bear with and care for His people despite their waywardness and unbelief. His mercy and care for His afflicted are more dependable than a mother's compassion, for though a nursing mother might forget her child and lose compassion, He will not forget them.

Knowing this unfailing compassion is the way Christlike character is obtained, for the promise is true and righteous and not a tantalizing word, revealing God as faithful to remember, comfort, and care for His own. The surrounding words picture the same remembrance as being graven on the palms of His hands, with their walls continually before Him. They are continually before Him and held securely in remembrance, kept continually before Him as His church among the assurances given to God's people. That pledge belongs to those united to Christ, assuring them that He will not forget them even when they suffer and bear reproach and even when He is absent from their sight, so they can trust His care and look forward to sharing His glory.

The question's terrible human possibility was fulfilled in the siege of Jerusalem, where famine and extreme calamity destroyed even natural maternal affection. Want of food during the siege brought the contrast between a mother's natural compassion and God's unfailing care into stark relief, showing that what can fail in extreme calamity will not fail in Him. Famine and suffering drove mothers to acts against their own children, so that pitiful women cooked and ate their own children.

God's Surpassing Love

God's love, compassion and care are greater, more steadfast, sure, dependable and constant than even a mother's deep tenderness for her nursing child. Human love and family ties may fail, and even a mother may forget her child and cease to cherish and show compassion to the son of her womb, but Jehovah's love does not change and He will not forget those who are His and whom He loves.

Christ's interest in those He has redeemed is stronger, greater and more faithful than a mother's love for her child, and His love for them does not change. He watches over each child of God and keeps them secure under His protection, remaining near to support, uphold and encourage them, and no circumstance or distance can separate them from Him. His care rests on having purchased them through suffering, rejection and death, and He reaches out to save when they ask for help.

God hates sin but loves the sinner, and gave Himself in Christ so that all who will may be saved and receive eternal life, assuring the sinner who longs to return that He will not forget or reject them. His love and care are impartial toward all, without distinction between white and black and without valuing people differently because of race or natural gifts. With that impartial love He has special, tender pity for those who bear greater and heavier burdens, for the infirm, for those treated with contempt, and for those whom the world neglects, regarding them, seeing them, and making up to them with His favors for what the world fails to provide.

His love and tenderness extend especially to the helpless and suffering, surpassing even a parent's love for a helpless child, and though the most natural human compassion may fail and human parents may forget, He does not forget those who belong to Him. Toward His wayward and erring children His tender pity surpasses even a mother's yearning sympathy, like a parent's tender concern for an erring child, infinite, merciful, tender and forgiving.

Those He Remembers

God will not forget anyone who trusts in Him, who loves Him, who belongs to Him, or who unites himself to Christ. Not a single trusting soul is forgotten, not even for a moment, for His remembrance and love are more constant than a mother's tender love for her afflicted child. His heart yearns tenderly over such souls in their trials and temptations, regarding His children with tender, compassionate concern and keeping them in remembrance. That unfailing remembrance brings peace and joy.

He does not forget or forsake people when they make mistakes, but continues to care for them rather than treating them as they may treat one another. Even when His people forget Him, His mercy and loving-kindness endure, for though human parents may forget their children He will not forget His people. When people separate themselves from Him through sin, He still draws those who desire Him to behold Him and love Him, He does not change, He does not ask anyone to bear more than can be borne, and heavy burdens can be laid on Him who is able to carry them.

Christ's disciples are assured that the Lord will not forget them and will fulfill His promises to them. Those united to Him remain continually before Him, as if engraved on His hands, with a care more constant than a mother's. That promise gives comfort even when He is absent from their sight. Even when they suffer and bear reproach they can trust His care and look forward to sharing His glory.

He has special care and particular regard for His elect, His chosen and faithful people who cry day and night to Him, and He will never forget them or neglect to hear their prayers. Unlike the unjust judge who had no interest in the widow, He loves them with infinite love proved in giving His only-begotten Son. He chose them from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, to be the light of the world shining amid moral darkness. Even when trials continue and delay seems long and they are tempted to think themselves forsaken, their prayers are not in vain, for He will be true to His word and will avenge them speedily at last in an unexpected way when the most trying point is reached.

Help in Trouble

The verse promises that God will not forget or abandon His people in their time of trouble, even when they feel forsaken. Though a mother might forget her nursing child, His care does not fail, and He sees and sustains the faithful amid persecution and imprisonment in their greatest danger. No earthly power and no prison can separate them from His care when they are imprisoned and threatened with death. That same remembrance reaches His servants behind prison walls, where angels ministered to Christ's apostles.

The assurance that though a mother may forget, God will not forget, and that His people are engraved on His hands, can be grasped by faith against discouragement. It answers the feeling of being forgotten, forsaken and afflicted, and the thought that past sin has made God unwilling or unable to help. Even when a mother fails to remember or show compassion, and when human bonds fail and a mother ceases to cherish her child, God's love and care do not fail those who trust in Him. His tender concern gives the afflicted and forsaken reason to hope, to remain faithful, and to rely on His unfailing love and tenderness rather than yielding to fear and discouragement.

He remembers His people who feel forsaken and continues His work in His appointed way even when human agents hinder it. This holds true when the surrounding call of Isaiah 49:13-16 meets professed believers whose self-interest has weakened the message, for God does not forget His people. There is no danger that God will forget or neglect to hear the prayers of His elect, His chosen and faithful people who cry day and night to Him, for whom He has special care and particular regard. Unlike the unjust judge who had no interest in the widow, He loves them with infinite love proved in giving His only-begotten Son, having chosen them from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth to be the light of the world amid moral darkness. Even when trials continue and delay seems long and they are tempted to think themselves forsaken, their prayers are not in vain, for He will be true to His word and avenge them speedily at last in an unexpected way when the most trying point is reached. The danger is not that He will forget, but that His tried people will become discouraged and stop persevering in prayer.

Trusting the Promise

The verse calls for personal trust in Jesus' love rather than regarding Him as a stern tyrant, for it shows His compassion and faithfulness exceed even a mother's love, since a mother may forget her nursing child but God will not forget those who are His and who trust in Him. It gives grounds for resting in Christ's love for salvation, trusting that He receives and saves everyone who wants salvation and believes in Him as a personal Saviour. Trusting that unfailing love brings deep joy, and the assurance that He does not forget His people for even a moment brings peace and joy.

He assures those who desire Him that He will not forget or forsake them, though they separate themselves from Him through sin, for He draws them to behold Him and love Him. He does not change, and He does not ask anyone to bear more than can be borne, for heavy burdens can be laid upon Him who is able to carry them. The promise is meant to be kept in mind as a living assurance of His care, filling the heart with grace and giving reason to exalt Jesus. Reflection on His infinite, merciful, tender, and forgiving love, a tender pity for wayward children surpassing even a mother's yearning sympathy, brings the soul into willing submission to Him.

His love is stronger, deeper, and more constraining than a mother's love for her child. Those who receive a new heart and a new spirit are filled with joy and peace and reveal faith and hope and courage in daily life by magnifying the power of that love.