"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth:
for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me."
Is God a good parent?
Often parents are blamed for the rebelliousness of their children, and
at times such an opinion is justified. But such parents may find some consolation
in the fact that even the children God raised became rebellious. If not
even God can raise obedient children then what hope is there for parents?
One of the major themes of the first half of Isaiah is that each person
will be held accountable for their own behavior. We notice in this verse
for example that God in the role of parent does not hold himself accountable
for the behavior of his children. And I'm sure many parents can empathize
with Him. But let us remember that if we claim to be children of God, God
also expects us to behave appropriately.
Ephesians 5:1 Be imitators
of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children,
do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
Is God qualified to lead?
Another point is that it seems as if God himself would have been disqualified
to be an elder in a church. For it is written, "An
elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children
believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient." Titus
1:6 (You might be interested in my interpretation
of this verse) And not only this, God also got divorced as it is written,
"I
gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because
of all her adulteries." Jeremiah 3:8 What role would
a divorced Christian with rebellious children be allowed to play in the
church today? Certainly most churches would not allow such a person in
leadership or even as a Sunday school teacher. Interesting!