When God was trying to get Judah’s attention in exile, He used a funny saying to get them to listen.
‘Ask now, and see If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale? ‘Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it.” (Jeremiah 30:6–7, NASB95)
God wanted Judah to know that He knew what they were going through because He was the One disciplining them through it. Through Jeremiah, He wanted them to know that their sin was being punished and that they would be in exile for seventy years. As terrible as that was, He did not want them to lose heart. That is where His sense of humor comes in.
He asked if a man can have a baby. As a man, I have often marveled at the strength, courage, and determination of women who give birth. I cannot imagine all the things that happen in a woman’s body to carry a child for nine months and then have this fully developed human being come out of their body. The pain involved in childbirth because of the Fall is terrifying. I can only imagine that if man was to be the one to bear the children there would have been one and that would have been the end of it. I am just not that tough.
God asked if a man could have a baby. The answer would have been almost shouted, “Of course not!” God goes on to say that He sees even the strongest of men with their hands on the loins like they were in labor. What did He mean by this? They had seen their homes destroyed, their families killed before their eyes, and all of their possessions confiscated. They had lost their homes, businesses, temple, relationship with God that maintained through the temple, and their land. They had been harassed, shackled, marched for hundreds of miles, herded into new cities where people spoke languages they did not understand, and were expected to live there, according to Jeremiah, for seventy years.
On top of all the difficulties, the people had had to deal with false prophets telling them they would only be there for two years. Those years had passed and they were still there. They had seen wave after wave of new exiles come and had heard stories of more and more destruction. On top of all of this, the only messages they had heard from God were that they were to stay put and that they were being judged and condemned for worshiping other “gods” that could not deliver.
The result of all of this tragedy and pain was that even the strongest of men were wore out. They had no strength left and their hope was fleeting. Into this seeming hopelessness, God sent a funny message to get their attention so that they would listen to Him offer them hope. God did not sugarcoat it. They had been through terrible times. They would go through more. But that was not the end of the story. They would be delivered and brought back to their land, their temple, their God and their homes. Their current circumstances were not the final word. God had not rejected them as His people. He had disciplined them so that they would be ready to be His people when they did return.
God has a sense of humor. How do we know that? Well, He called me to be a pastor. That is hilarious! He called twelve disciples, one of which would betray Him, and He commissioned them to go and tell the whole world about Him. He sent them to invite the whole world into a relationship with Him through His Son. He has also commissioned you and I to do the same thing. Things might get so hard that feel like the pain is as great as childbirth (or a man with a cold), but that is not the final word. Because a day is coming when He will return and we are going home! Let’s laugh, love, and long for that day.