It’s common knowledge that it’s a bad idea to bother bear cubs. So fierce is the expected retribution that determined and fierce ‘soccer moms’ who seek advantages for their human kids are often called ‘mama grizzlies.’ Normally referring to Himself as male in scripture, God does refer to His love for us and how He feels when we sin in more feminine terms–as a bear robbed of her cubs.
I. Hosea 13:4-8. With His people falling into spiritual adultery, God has Hosea, in the 8th century BC, take a prostitute for a wife to illustrate how His people’s unfaithfulness hurts Him (Hosea 1:2-3). Then, in a series of comparisons, God shows His justice as a lion devouring them, His patience as a leopard lurking, and His love and hurt as a bear robbed of her cubs.
II. 2 Samuel 7:12-16. It is the unfaithful and who drag others away by their unfaithfulness who have robbed God of His cubs–us who strive to be His treasured possession. And like a true mama grizzly, He is angered and hurt by how we turn away from His commands. That’s how He loves us! David desired to build a temple for God, but God said it would be a son who would do this.
III. Romans 8:31-39. Fulfilled at first in Solomon, we see that this is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus whom He disciplined by the cross. God’s love was so fierce for His Son … and for us that He had Jesus bear our sins in the punishment that should have been ours. This love for His people today is so strong and fierce that nothing can separate us from it in Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, we must imagine that our sin has the same effect on God as it did so long ago, that when we are dragged away by it, He is a bear robbed of her cubs. How fitting that the closest thing on this earth to explaining how He feels towards us is a mother’s love. Happy Mother’s Day!