Mothers, as a symbol

Motherhood is used in Scripture to illustrate the relationship between God and his people, to describe certain aspects of Israel and also to explain the difference between the two covenants.

God's tender care for his children is like a mother's

God's care like that of a mother bird

Deuteronomy 32:11; Matthew 23:37 parallel Luke 13:34

God never forgets his children

Isaiah 49:15

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!

Becoming a Christian is like birth

John 3:5–6

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.

The believer trusts God as a weaned child trusts his or her mother

See also Psalm 131:1–2; Isaiah 66:13

Israel pictured as a mother

Ezekiel 16:44–45 See also Isaiah 50:1, Isaiah 54:1, Isaiah 66:7–13; Ezekiel 16:3, Ezekiel 19:2, Ezekiel 19:10; Hosea 2:2–13

Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

Mothers as symbols of the old and new covenants

Galatians 4:21–28