A Mother In Israel

by D. Smith, Lerwick | Category: General | Jan 1981

Soon after the death of Joshua, and of the elders that outlived him, the people of God quickly turned aside "out of the way wherein their fathers walked". Spiritual greatness is sometimes followed by rapid declension, hence the pertinent exhortation, "Take heed brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God" (Heb. 3:12). Israel's departure from God continued through the days of Shamgar and Jael and was even reflected in the derelict highways, which became unoccupied, while travellers resorted to the crooked byways.

What can be more pathetic in the life of God's people than when the way leading to God's dwelling place is unoccupied and, like a neglected path, grown over to the extent that it cannot be recognized? And so the honesthearted traveller cannot discern the way to the house of God. It is not without significance that the Psalmist should say "Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; in whose heart are the highways to Zion" (Psa. 84:5).

Today the high ways to Zion in Israel "lie waste" but in a coming day when the Lord Jesus Christ ascends the throne of His father David He will exalt His highways (Isa. 49:11) and men will travel, with clear direction, from the ends of the earth "to the mountain of the LORD to the house of the God of Jacob" and there will be no mistake as to where the house of God is. In this age the house of God is not a house "made with hands" (Acts 7:48). It is spiritual in character, built of "living stones", forming one house, one priesthood and one holy nation (1 Pet. 2:1-10). It is none-the-less imperative that the "way of the truth" (2 Pet. 2:2) leading to that house should also be clearly discernible; that the tares and weeds, which grow so profusely out of the world in the form of "lascivious doings" and "feigned words", should not overrun the highway to the house of God, the "habitation of God in the Spirit".

How sad if one seeking after God should turn aside into crooked byways because the way of the truth has become obscured by weeds of false teaching. It is sad when a willing disciple strays into Babylon with all its confusion and error.

The derelict state which existed in Israel was largely due to the fact that rulers, whose duty it was to carry out the will of God among His gathered people, had ceased. Men of spiritual calibre who could bind the people together and provide the necessary leadership in time of crisis were lacking. Such a situation was deplorable; for the concept of rule is of divine origin and must obtain wherever men are found. And for a people to be together for

God on the earth, the law of God operating through appointed rulers and leaders was basic to their existence as such. Although rulers so often acted in a reprehensible manner (Isa. 1:10; Ezek. 34:4) causing harm and impoverishment to the people of God, their behaviour in no wise annulled the principle of divine government. It is significant that the words "rule" and "rulers" should appear more often in the book of Nehemiah than in any other Old Testament book. The whole objective of the remnant movement would have sadly failed but for rule in the house and among the people of God.

The dearth of rulers in the days of the judges, when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes", was temporarily overcome when Deborah "a mother in Israel" arose at a time when the people had been sold into the hand of Jabin without a deliverer to bring them forth. The patience, and tender affection of motherhood may not be regarded as the qualities most suited for the hour of battle, for the conquest of a national enemy or the liberation of a people from bondage. Although God's ways are not our ways, His high assessment of motherhood is emphasized in Scripture. The gracious impact of motherly care and instruction is experienced wherever men are found and the character of every community of people is moulded on the mother's knee. Maternal responsibility has truly been sanctified by the choice of the Galilean maiden to bear and care for the Son of God in His earthly sojourn. For never was one given a charge greater or more sublime than to care for the "Only Begotten of the Father" during the formative years of His earthly life.

Every mother has a great responsibility in the bringing up of her children, and today that responsibility is increased by the problems of a permissive age, when the principles of sanctity and godly virtue are being eroded. Not only is it necessary to the family and to the nation that these responsibilities should be discharged with diligence and wisdom, but it is also necessary in the churches. Mature sisters, regardless of their domestic position, can act as mothers in the assembly, and exercise that gentle, kindly care blended with wisdom which can strengthen and bind the young disciples to the Lord and to one another.

D. Smith, Lerwick | Jan 1981
General