In Ezekiel chapter 19 we read an allegory. God talks about the tribe of Judah and likens her to a mother. As we read this passage, we understand God’s value of motherhood.
Ezekiel 19:10, 11: “Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.” The Hebrew word for “exalted” is gabah and means “to soar, to mount up, to lift up, to raise up to great height.”
God has exalted motherhood. He has placed it high in society. It is higher than all other careers. It is manifold and involves so many different areas.
Sadly, this allegory in Ezekiel 19:12-14 ends on a bitter note. “But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; and the fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a scepter to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.”
This passage is an up-to-date picture of motherhood in our society today. God exalted motherhood to a high place. He placed mothers in the home to enjoy fruitfulness and protection. But (notice the “but” in the above Scripture) angry hands came along, plucked them out of the home, and planted them in a wilderness. The wilderness in this passage literally speaks of Babylon, which is a type of confusion and deception.
This is where many mothers are planted today. They are misplaced! God intends for them to be in the home, but often they are away from their children whom God gave them to care for. Their wombs are “dried up” (v.12), because they no longer have time to have children. The children they do have are “devoured” (v. 14) by the enemy because they have vacated their post. They are not home to care for them. They have, often ignorantly, been sucked into the sly strategy of the enemy of our souls who wants to rob children of their mothers and mothers of their children.
Satan knows that if he can get mothers out of the home, he can get his hands upon the children and consequently steer the course of the nation. He is terrified of mothers who understand their divine calling and who will not be pushed out of the home, no matter what the situation. He is scared of mothers who are prepared to sacrifice many material things so they can stay home with their children.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Painting: Mary Cassatt - Mother and Sara Admiring the Baby, 1901