Isaiah 49:23
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Isaiah 49 belongs to instruction about God's covenant with those He seeks to save, the terms of salvation, and the education of greatest value. God will lift up His hand to the Gentiles and set up His standard to the people, so that they will bring sons in their arms and carry daughters on their shoulders. Kings shall become nursing fathers and queens nursing mothers, bowing with faces toward the earth and licking the dust of the feet, so that Zion will know that He is the LORD. This is the true and righteous way by which Christlike attributes of character may be obtained, not a tantalizing of His people, ending with contention against oppressors, salvation of children, and all flesh knowing the LORD as Saviour and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Rulers are thus presented as nurturing protectors, nursing fathers and mothers who help and encourage God's people. Those who wait for the Lord are assured they will not be ashamed, which encourages earnest prayer and reliance on God for strength and help.
The picture of kings and queens as nursing parents calls those at the heart of the work to care for young people as members of God's family, whether or not they are their own. That care is to be tender selfless concern patterned after Christ who gave up His glory, became poor, and poured out His life to save humanity. The same picture calls those who manage and care for afflicted believers to offer nurturing, sympathetic spiritual care alongside hygienic treatment, rather than working from a worldly standpoint. Managers at the health institute and Sanitarium are to combine hygienic treatment with compassionate, nurturing, sympathetic, faith-filled care and prayer, like devoted parents in Israel.
The image also applies to caring for and strengthening people who come to obey God's commandments, so that opposing the church's work of bringing people to the truth obstructs this spiritual nurture and places souls in danger. Church workers are called to care for the flock, especially its lambs, and the absence of such caregivers was seen in Battle Creek, where neglect left people suffering and souls without labor for their salvation. In contrast to that lack of human nursing caregivers in Battle Creek, God gives tender, parental care that remained with Edson through severe trials and temptation.