In the article "God Compared to a Bear," Benjamin Keach uses the metaphor of a bear bereaved of her whelps to illustrate God's fierce and protective nature. He draws several parallels between the bear's characteristics and God's response to sin and affliction, emphasizing that God's anger is unleashed only when provoked by human sinfulness. Keach cites Hosea 13:8 to highlight God's potential for righteous wrath, paralleling it with instances from Scripture that demonstrate the fierce protection God has for His children (Isaiah 49:15). The practical significance of this analogy is to remind believers that while God is loving and protective towards His people, He also possesses an intensity of wrath that is justifiable when His holiness is violated, reinforcing the importance of reverent fear and awareness of God’s nature.
Key Quotes
“I will meet them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps.”
“God doth not willingly afflict fight with or grieve the children of men till their daring impudence and oft-repeated provocations force him as it were to do it.”
“O how furious is the Almighty how is he in an holy rage if any hurt his poor children.”
“Shall not God avenge the cause of his own elect that cry unto him day and night?”
What does the Bible say about God's anger?
The Bible depicts God's anger as fierce and unyielding, reflective of the wrath of a bear bereaved of her whelps.
The analogy further emphasizes that God's love and care for His children are profound, reminiscent of the bear's fierce protection of her young. Isaiah 49:15 assures us that while a mother might forget her child, God will never forget those who fear Him. The fierce defense of His people by God against their oppressors depicts not only His righteous anger but also His unwavering commitment to justice, showing that He will mete out vengeance on those who harm His children. This leads to a powerful understanding of the significance of God's anger and love in the context of His covenant relationship with His people.
Hosea 13:8, Isaiah 49:15
How do we know God loves His people?
We know God loves His people because, unlike even the most devoted mothers, He never forgets them.
Moreover, the fierce protection depicted in the bear imagery highlights the seriousness with which God defends His children. Just as a mother bear will react with ferocity to threats against her young, God is portrayed as fiercely protective over those who fear Him. This protective nature is not just instinctual but rooted in divine love and justice, reinforcing the idea that God is actively engaged in the lives of His children and will not allow their suffering to go unnoticed. In understanding God's love, one can see that it encompasses both nurturing care and righteous anger against those who would harm His people.
Isaiah 49:15
Why is it important to understand God's justice?
Understanding God's justice is vital because it assures believers of His ultimate vindication against their persecutors.
This understanding of divine justice serves to comfort and empower believers, reminding them that their cries for justice do not go unheard. The notion that God will avenge His people quickly, as seen in the verses that speak of His vengeance against oppressors, instills hope and encourages believers to trust in God's perfect timing. The assurance of His justice acts as a means of grace for the suffering and marginalized, strengthening their faith and resolve in times of trial.
Hosea 13:8, Luke 18:7-8
GOD COMPARED TO A BEAR
"I will meet them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps" Ho 13:8.
THIS is the third simile God makes use of in this place, "I will meet them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps."
SIMILE
I. The Bear is a very fierce creature, very terrible. Two she-bears tore forty-two children at once. His voice is fierce, saith one, he is fearless in his rage.
PARALLEL
I. Who is so fierce and terrible as the great God, whose anger is resistless, and whose just wrath, when provoked, is unavoidable?
SIMILE
II. It is observed, that the Bear will not willingly fight with, or set upon a man, unless he is forced thereunto.
PARALLEL
II. God doth not willingly afflict, fight with, or grieve the children of men, till their daring impudence, and oft-repeated provocations, force him (as it were) to do it.
SIMILE
III. No creatures (as naturalists tell us) love their young more than the Bear.
PARALLEL
III. No creatures that God has made, love their young. or offspring, as God doth them that fear him. "A woman may forget her sucking child, yet will not he forget his children," Isa 49:15, his love exceeds the love of women to their tender babes.
SIMILE
IV. The Bear is furious, and in a dreadful rage, when she is bereaved of her young, as appears by Hushai's words to Absalom: "Thou knowest, that thy father and his men---they be chased in their fury, as a Bear bereaved of her whelps," 2Sa 17:8. "In the field let a Bear robbed of her whelps, meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly," Pr 17:12. She is fierce at all times, as was hinted before; but above all, if she be robbed of her whelps.
PARALLEL
IV. O how furious is the Almighty! how is he in an holy rage, if any hurt his poor children! "They that touch you, touch the apple of mine eye," Ec 2:8. What then will become of the bloody persecutors, that have not only bereaved God of his children, but cruelly torn them to pieces, bored out their eyes, roasted them alive, flayed their skins off, and burned them at the stake to ashes, and put them to all the horrid tortures they could devise? If God will meet his own people, if they will sin against him, and provoke him, as a Bear bereaved of her whelps; how will he meet Babylon, bloody and merciless papists, and other cursed persecutors of his people? "The day of vengeance, saith he, is in my heart, and the year of recompences: For the controversy of Zion he will strike through kings, in the day of his fierce wrath." "Shall not God avenge the cause of his own elect, that cry unto him day and night?" "Yea, he will avenge them speedily," and come forth against their enemies, as a Bear bereaved of her whelps.
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