"Aman" is the Hebrew word for "to believe", yet the word has a number of powerful meanings, including "to be faithful", "to be a support", or "to nurse."
The word "aman" is translated "nurse" in the following passages:
"Have I conceived
all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry
them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land
which thou swarest unto their fathers?" (Numbers 11: 12)
Moses could not bear or support the Israelites in his own strength. Moses was a servant, but the Son abides forever (Hebrews 3: 5-6).
"And Naomi took the
child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it." (Ruth 4: 16)
Naomi was the estranged and bitter mother-in-law who returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth, a Moabitess who became one of the ancestors of David, then Jesus Christ.
An old woman who had no children of her own left alive, Naomi was able to nurse a descendant which carried on her name, and the name of her household. A child raised up for her was miraculous enough, but her nursing the child was a greater miracle. The greatest miracle we receive every day from the Chief Descendant Jesus, who lives in us and sustains us with His faith (Galatians 2: 20-21) and His grace and righteousness (Romans 5: 17)
"And Jonathan, Saul's
son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old
when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took
him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell,
and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth." (2 Samuel 4: 4)
This verse lays the background for the lame Mephibosheth. His nurse, a bondwoman in this context, dropped him and crippled him for life. When the law serves as "the support" in our lives, we will end up crippled and ineffective in our lives, falling from grace (Galatians 5: 4) and bringing forth sin, death (2 Corinthians 15: 56-57), and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3: 7).
Later on David, a picture of our "Beloved" Jesus, called upon Mephibosheth, who had entered in hiding for fear that David would kill him. Instead, David honored Mephibosheth with a place at his table, lands and money all restored (2 Samuel 9)
The last verse is the most powerful one of these four, and proves beyond any doubt that Jesus wants to be our nurse:
"And kings shall be
thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down
to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy
feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be
ashamed that wait for me." (Isaiah 49: 23)
Imagine that -- not a servant named Moses, nor a formerly embittered widow, nor a bond-maid of any stripe, but Kings and queens will be our nursing mothers. In fact, we have such a king, Jesus Christ, who delights in our drawing from Him. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is portrayed as servant:
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10: 45)
Only in this Gospel do we read that He sat at the right hand of the Father:
"19So then after the Lord
had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand
of God." (Mark 16: 19)
Let Jesus, King of Kings, be your "nurse", your source of strength and support.
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