Section Fifteen

Birth as New Life in God

Birth is used as a picture for the life that God can bring. 1. Part of a song of Moses, there is language that tries to remind people of the way previous generations had behaved towards God. The current generation is compared to those previous generations. The current generation are said to be ‘corrupt’ and ‘not his children’. In moving away from God, they are said to have ‘deserted the Rock who fathered you’ and have ‘forgot the God who gave you birth’. 2. Towards the end of the story of Job, God speaks to remind Job of what he has done. As part of this, God uses some questions to remind Job that he is the creator. God says that it was he gave birth to the frost and asks Job if he knows when the mountain goats gave birth. 3. In a passage that describes wisdom as though it was a real, living thing, wisdom is described as having been born before the mountains and the hills. 4. Isaiah has a passage that is described as a song of praise that the nation of Judah will sing. In the middle of this, birth is used in two senses: a. Birth in used as an anology to describe the way that Judah had not brought forth salvation - life had not come from Judah b. Birth is used to portray that dead things will live 5. Birth and the care of an infant are used as metaphors for the things that God will do for those who ‘tremble at his word’.