I find it more than interesting that the scriptures often use metaphors that are related to women. It’s as if the scriptures were written by women (except for the derogatory references such as when they say women aren’t allowed to teach a man or women should be quiet and submissive.)
I’ve never heard a man share birthing experiences as women do. And, they really have no idea what birth pains are, or what it feels like to labor, or how labor progresses, and how it feels to birth a baby. So I’m a little mystified by the use of these metaphors by the men in the scriptures.
So, no matter how or why these metaphors exist, I’m looking at the metaphor of the birth pains of the messiah — specifically this reference in Isaiah 66: 7 — 9
Before she is in labor, she gives birth;
before her ordeal overtakes her, she delivers a son!
Of course, this makes no sense. A woman does not give birth before being into labor. And Isaiah agrees:
Who has heard the like,
or who has seen such things?
Then, this metaphor becomes a little more clear — the woman represents a country (earth or land.)
Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.
Zion is represented as a woman. She has been identified as the Eve in a pre-mortal life. Jehovah then explains that he has brought on the crisis — which seems to start in his house (see verse 6: Hark, a tumult from the city, a noise from the temple! It is the voice of Jehovah paying his enemies what is due them.) But he will deliver:
Shall I bring to a crisis and not bring on birth?
says Jehovah.
When it is I who cause the birth,
shall I hinder it? says your God.
The question might be — who does the woman deliver? If you think about it, a woman can deliver a single child, or multiples — twins, triplets. I even know someone who delivered quadruplets. Well, In this case, it seems to be a whole nation is delivered — children, Zion’s children.
As soon as she was in labor, Zion gave birth to her children. The “children” or “sons” (baneha) to whom the Woman Zion gives birth comprise particularly that category of Jehovah’s people that is reborn or which ascends to the son/servant level. They return in the new exodus to Zion from among all nations: “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth” (Isaiah 43:6); “Lift up your eyes and look about you! They have all assembled to come to you: your sons shall arrive from afar; your daughters shall return to your side” (Isaiah 60:4; cf. 11:10-12; 49:17-18, 22; 60:3). (Avraham Gileadi, Commentary, Isaiah)
This should be a comforting thought — that the woman gives birth as soon as she is in labor, meaning she (Zion) delivers her children before the labor progresses to those difficult stages leading up to what is called “transition” (the stage of birth when the contractions are the most intense when the cervix goes from 7cm to 10 cm.) If you are within that birth, you will be spared some of the intense chaotic events happening in the world. Though, you will experience the beginning of the birth pangs before the coming of the Lord:
And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
— Mathew 24:4-8
Jeremiah records what the Lord told him about the last days before and during the restoration of the House of Israel — how men will hold their guts as if they were in labor like a woman:
The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity a and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”
4These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5“This is what the Lord says:
“ ‘Cries of fear are heard—
terror, not peace.
6Ask and see:
Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,
every face turned deathly pale?
7How awful that day will be!
No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
but he will be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30)
I remember waiting for labor to begin. Sometimes I had false labor, it did not progress. Sometimes the labor continued for days and did not progress, but stopped. It’s often difficult to recognize false labor from true labor. This is much like the world’s chaos today. There’s been a lot of chaos and conflict throughout the history of the earth. If you read about the past, you’ll see that there were many times when it appeared to be the end of the world, that the labor was progressing to the gathering of Zion. I can’t imagine what it was like to live during the surge of Hitler. I can’t even say that things we see today are the worst ever — I don’t know if this is going to be true labor. But as a woman, I should be prepared. And I think this metaphor of labor pains and giving birth are used for a good reason, whether written by a man or not.
Postscript: I began to reflect on my experiences in childbirth:
First pregnancy resulted in miscarriage — labor and no delivery of a child.
Second pregnancy — possible miscarriage, and planned cesarean section (baby was breach.) No labor. Epidural.
Third pregnancy — labor pains for days that were slow to progress — finally a natural birth. No pain meds.
Fourth pregnancy — miscarriage — labor and no delivery of a child.
Fifth pregnancy — fast labor and fast delivery of a child. No pain meds.
Sixth pregnancy — false labor, then real labor, delivery of a child who did not breath at first, but then did fine. I had an epidural and decided not to do that again.
Seventh pregnancy — labor, delivery of a child. No pain meds.
