Engraved on His Hands
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
— Isaiah 49:15-16 (NIV)
Israel had just said God had forgotten them. He answers with the strongest bond anyone could name, a nursing mother, and then says even that can fail while His does not. The word for engraved means cut in, not written on. In the ancient world people sometimes marked a city's name on their hand so it stayed in front of them.
God does not forget the way people forget. That is the actual claim, and it was made to people who had just accused Him of exactly that. Someone can forget you for a while, and that is normal. God does not do that, and this week did not change it.
Look at Your Hands
- 1Next time you wash your hands today, stop and say: 'My name is cut into His hands.'
- 2Write one person's name on paper and pray for them by name for one minute.
Lord, after this week it is hard to believe You still remember me. Help me today.
God has not forgotten me, even after a week like this.
Why compare God to a nursing mother?
It names the strongest human bond available, then says God's commitment outlasts even that. The comparison is meant to run out of room.
What does engraved mean here?
The Hebrew means cut or incised, not written. It describes something carved in rather than marked on a surface that could be cleaned.
What was Israel saying just before this?
That the Lord had forsaken and forgotten them. The verse is a direct answer to that accusation, not a general statement.