Forget

“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.”  Isaiah 49:15

Forget – Hebrew – shakah.  The word for “forget” is used 102 times in the Old Testament.  Where it describes relationships, it usually specifies the relationship between God and man.  In the 17 times that God is the subject, it often is used as in this verse – an expression of God’s faithfulness, that is, that God will not forget.  When Man is the subject, the verb expresses man’s faithlessness.  Forgetting is not simply a mental relapse.  In the Bible, forgetting is an indication of deliberate rebellion.  To forget God is to not know God.  Therefore, forgetting the true Creator and Source of our being is tantamount to idolatry.

This verse in Isaiah paints the strongest possible picture of God’s unwavering commitment to us.  As impossible as it may humanly seem, even a mother can forget her infant child.  We are all shocked and outraged when the news reports examples of this ultimate neglect.  In this verse, we see that the concept is not about having a mental thought pass from one’s consciousness but rather about neglect, turning away from or acting without regard for the safety and well being of the totally helpless infant.  In spite of the fact that human beings do act in this hideous manner, God promises each of us that His care for us will never falter.

For many of us, this promise is especially meaningful.  Many of us came from families where we experienced first hand the human outrage of being forgotten.  God reaches to us in our abandonment and simply says, “Never will I forget you”.  God won’t leave us, no matter what!