Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children (Isaiah 66:8).
I love the Bible. It never fails to astound me.
Take this verse, for example. Many scholars believe it was written by the prophet Isaiah around the 8th century BC. Those same scholars tend to disagree over whether Isaiah wrote every single passage in Isaiah since some of the events described did not take place for a couple of more centuries.
I am no scholar, but I believe that God was (and is) more than able to inform His prophet of things yet to come. Isn’t that what the term “prophecy” means? Whatever the case, this is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Others must concur with me because it is the most often quoted book of the Bible.
But none of that has anything to do with why I am amazed by this verse. First, it was divine truth then, it was divine truth throughout the centuries, and it is still divine truth.
Our Jewish brethren proudly testified to the truth of this passage on May 14, 1948, when Israel declared its independence as a sovereign nation after 2,000 years of exile from the land God had given to His beloved people. Truly, a nation, His nation, was born in a day.
Yes, May 14, 1948, was a modern-day miracle, the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy right before the eyes of an entire watching world. Only three short years after the end of the Holocaust, Israel’s Independence Day was a true testament to God’s faithfulness and to the fact that all His promises will be fulfilled, and none will fail or fall.
Hallelujah! God’s Word is true; He is not a man that he should lie. In fact, He is truth!
Of that, I have no doubt!
But as a Christian wife, mother, and grandmother, it’s the “travail” portion of the verse that gets to me. For me, and for all women who have gone through childbirth, travail has a deep and heavy meaning.
“As soon as Zion travailed … she brought forth children.”
Childbirth is the longest, most arduous, exhausting, painful, and heartrending experience of my life. There was nothing easy about it either of the two times I gave birth to a son. Maybe that’s why I find it misleading to say, “gave birth.” That phrase makes it sound like birthing is nothing more than presenting someone with a gift. Life is a gift, for sure. But it was God, not me, who gave life to my sons.
Granted, I was totally invested in the process; I had no other choice. My life and the life of my child depended upon my travail. But it was pure and simple warfare, a battle to bring forth a completely new and separate life out of my own, very human, very puny body.
Likewise, when people casually read over, “As soon as Zion travailed … she brought forth children,” they discount the countless, soul-wrenching prayers and the untold, life-altering spiritual warfare that is part of that one single phrase.
As David Ben-Gurion, who became Israel’s first Prime minister, formally announced the formation of the new state of Israel on May 14, 1948, he said in part:
“The Nazi Holocaust, which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe, proved anew the urgency of the reestablishment of the Jewish State, which would solve the problem of Jewish homelessness by opening the gates to all Jews and lifting the Jewish people to equality in the family of nations.”
Out of the unbelievable death and darkness of the Holocaust, the modern nation of Israel emerged, strong and determined to not only survive but thrive.
Again, I am no scholar, but I do know a bit about the history of the Holocaust. Even with my limited knowledge, the deaths of over 11 million people in such a short period of time, less than a decade, are hard to fathom.
I have no clue what survivors of the Holocaust endured or felt. I was not part of their horrendous trials and travails. I was not privy to their cries and prayers of anguish. But I can imagine the travailing prayers that ascended to God from the bloody, murderous Nazi concentration camps and killing fields.
I can also imagine the weight and power of countless other prayers prayed around the globe during World War II. The prayers of young soldiers who simply wanted the killing to stop. The prayers of mothers, fathers, grandparents, wives, husbands, soldiers, civilians, and innocent, desperate children.
They were heard and answered. Zion travailed and a nation, God’s own nation, was reborn out of literal ashes. And as always, the enemy’s plans were totally thwarted by God.
Instead of the intended annihilation of His chosen people, Israel became a nation in a day. It’s unbelievable but true; a nation was born at once, just as the prophet Isaiah promised.
So, when I read this verse, I celebrate that day of independence for Israel. But I also mourn the heartache and loss, the travail it took to birth that new life.
Likewise, I mourn for what is taking place today in America. I realize that we are not scripturally the people of Zion, but the principle and subsequent application of this verse from Isaiah remain true. It is a solid warning for any nation that refuses to honor and obey God.
And that aptly describes America today. Our world is evil and growing more so daily. It’s hard to remember the United States was birthed as a Christ-centered nation.
That founding, that birth of America, came out of the deep travail of countless men and women. America’s founders invested and “gave” their all to the cause of freedom. They forfeited homes, wealth, prestige, and even life and limb to ensure freedom in all areas of life.
But America is following a path eerily like that of pre-war Germany. It’s almost as if national leaders are following a script handed down to them by Hitler and his Nazi henchmen.
I could go on all day long about the fallen state of our land. But no matter what information I present as proof of our downward spiral into the abyss of cultural decay, America’s only hope comes back to this one truth: “As soon as Zion travailed … she brought forth children.”
Come on; be honest. As Christians, we all know deep in our spirits that God will not contend with our nation’s sin and depravity much longer.
But unlike the Jews of the Holocaust, America’s destruction will be of our own making.
The citizens of this nation will be the Nazi-like perpetrators of its demise. A demise born out of blatant disregard of God, wanton worship of self, and deliberate murder of innocent, pre-born children – more than 63 million since 1973.
So, yes, one way or another, America will travail.
Right now, she still has the option of choosing God’s mercy over self-destruction. But are her citizens willing to travail in prayer, truly travail? If not, the alternative is bleak.
But Isaiah offered this nation the answer long, long ago. When America travails, she will bring forth children ready to seek and serve the one true God … but only when America travails.
