TO CHEW ON: "But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts.
I was cast upon You from birth
From My mother's womb You have been My God." Psalm 22:9,10
One of the things I like about the New King James Version of the Bible is the way it capitalizes the pronouns of deity. When one pays attention to that detail, Psalm 22 comes across differently than many other prophetic passages which readers recognized as prophetic only after the events occurred.
All the upper case 'My's and 'Me's of Psalm 22 tell us this is considered to be God speaking—God in human form sent as Jesus, giving a prediction through David of "The Suffering, Praise and Posterity of Messiah" (the title the NKVJ give this chapter).
Jesus' humanity comes through in words like
"I am a worm and no man;
A reproach of men and despised by the people" vs. 6.
This looks like Jesus with low self-esteem, Jesus not unaffected by the people's reaction to Him. It brings to mind the verse, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" - Hebrews 4:15.
As a mother I notice the verses that speak of Jesus' childhood. For Mary the risks of pregnancy and childbirth were the same as for any other mother and the psalmist credits God with His help in that process:
"You are He who took Me out of the womb ….
I was cast on you You from birth" - Psalm 22:9-10.
The way Mary trained Jesus also played a part in who He became:
"You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts…" - Psalm 22: 9.
If the early years of Jesus were important in making Him the man He would become, how much more the early training of our children!
Are you a young mom, distracted and tempted by dreams, ambitions, and outside opportunities? Don't let anything take your focus off the priceless responsibility and opportunity of raising your little ones to trust God from day one. Honor God in this season of your life and He will surely make it up to you in another.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, this human picture of You tugs at my heart. I know You understand my weakness. Help me to put my confidence in God when I am faced with scorn, like You did. Amen
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
