A Dramatic Conclusion

“Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.” (Isa 66:9 AV)

This verse is written to Israel as a promise towards the end times.  With all that Israel went through from the inception of their nation to the tribulation period, a Jew might begin to think the LORD has forgotten about them.  This would particularly enter the mind during the seven years of tribulation.  When things come to a close, they usually crescendo.  Rarely does the plan of God simply ebb into the next phase.  There tends to be dramatic change as opposed to gradual change.  Each dispensation ends dramatically.  From Noah’s flood to the coming of Christ, when a dispensation changes, it usually does so in a very dramatic way.  In the case above, the end which results in a new beginning is compared to childbirth.  In context, the tribulation period is compared to the process of childbirth.  A very painful experience to be sure.  The question is a rhetorical one.  Would God bring you up to and through childbirth without bringing forth a child?  Would you endure all the suffering that pregnancy is without bringing it to a conclusion?  Would you suffer for nine months only to have you stay in a permanent state of giving birth with all the pain this implies?  The obvious answer is no.  Therefore, the LORD will not require you to go through hardships without a conclusion to those hardships.  And, there is a promise of fruit that follows.

The second question above is the key.  Shall God bring forth to the birth and close the womb at the same time?  This would be unnatural and impossible.  If the womb was closed, there would be no birth coming forth.  The two cannot co-exist.  That would be akin to having an open door that is closed.  A womb that is brought forth to the birth cannot be closed.  It is one or the other.  Our firstborn was a difficult pregnancy.  HE had gotten the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck.  Every time there was a contraction, his heart rate dropped really low.  My wife was in labor for about ten hours as they monitored both mom and baby.  It was finally decided that allowing the birth process to continue naturally would bring our firstborn into grave danger.  My wife was not dilating quickly enough to have a natural childbirth.  So, it was decided an emergency cesarian section was the only alternative.  Once that decision was made, it was fascinating how quickly our firstborn came into the world.  The medical care team was like a well-oiled machine.  They had my wife on the OR table, scrubbed and prepped, and the incision made within three minutes.  From the time they wheeled her out of her room, down to the OR, and Nathan arrived was under five minutes.  The doctors told me to scrub in.  I didn’t have time to get in and see all the preliminary stuff, but I did see Nathan arrive.  One truth that never left our minds was once the process of birth started, we would eventually have our son.  When I dropped off my wife at the front door of the hospital, I knew we were not leaving this place without a newborn in the back of the car.  Even during those ten or so hours of labor, there was never a thought that our baby would not come.  Through all the care my wife received at the hands of the healthcare team, there was never a doubt we would have a baby.  Through all the screaming and clenched fists, to the look of extreme pain on her face, we knew there would be a baby at the end of this process.  That was the one constant that got us through the difficult process.

God is not going to bring us through hardships of faith without seeing it all the way through.  We may feel like we cannot make it.  We might feel like the pressure is too great.  We might feel like there is no end in sight and nothing good can come of it.  The truth of the matter is, that God will not ask us to go through difficult times without providing a way of escape that we can bear it.  He will not bring us to the end of the trouble and then drop us to suffer from no relief.  No!  Our God will bring us to the birth and cause the womb to bring forth.  He will strengthen us through it all and will bring it all to a close.  He will conclude that which He started.  He will bring to an end the birth process.  As painful as it would be to go through these times, we know that they end.  We know that through it all, there is a purpose and plan.  We know that when it ends, there will be joy from that which the LORD has done.  Life is full of trouble.  There are hard times around every corner.  But God has not left us.  He has not abandoned us.  He will meet us and carry us through to the end.