Isaiah 49:1-10, 14-16, 22-23, 25

Isaiah 49:1-10, 14-16, 22-23, 25 NIV

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord ’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”

And now the Lord says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength— he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips. Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

But this is what the Lord says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.

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Isaiah 49 reads like it's a personal witness of the prophet himself, but it's not. It's the prophet portraying the nation of Israel as an individual. The first person voice is that of the chosen people of God.

Isaiah begins by witnessing that God formed Israel, calling him from the womb to be the vessel of His glory. God will shine through the nation of Israel that keeps God's laws and commands. But Israel admits he has failed at his calling. He has labored in vain. Yet Israel has hope in God's faithfulness.

God answers their hope voiced by the prophet. They will not only bring the Israelite exiles back to the Lord and to the land God gave them, Israel shall also be a light to the gentiles. The rest of the world will be drawn to worship the God of Israel, the Holy One of Jacob.

Isaiah 49:6b NIV

"I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

God will cause kings to favor Israel and honor the once disgraced and despised nation. Indeed the Persians send Israel back to Judea and fund the rebuilding of Jerusalem and of the temple. One Persian king marries a Jewess, Esther. Jews serve in royal positions in the Persian government like Nehemiah, the king's cupbearer and future governor of Judea. The Lord will lead the Israelites home to Judea and provide for them along the way. They will not thirst or hunger, nor will the heat of the desert scorch them. They will find the Lord has made a way for them home. He is their salvation and reward.

Though Israel may doubt this good news and say the Lord has forgotten them, the prophet tells them the Lord can no more forget them than a mother could forget her own child. God has written their name on the palms of His hands. He remembers Jerusalem, always looking upon its walls. Though it may seem impossible for the Israelites to be freed from the grip of Babylon, the Lord will accomplish it. They will be freed and returned to Judea. Then they will know that God is the Mighty One of their ancestor Jacob.

Isaiah 48 can be read as a description of what God will do through the church of Jesus Christ. He will make the new Israel a light to the gentiles, for Israel is not simply about bloodlines but about faithfulness. Through Christ the new Israel will be made holy by His blood and enabled by His grace to remain faithful. The church will be the people of a new covenant, a new relationship with God through faith in God's Son. Certainly the original message is to exiled Jews, but read Isaiah 48 as if it were written about you.

You were called to be God's witness, even from your mother's womb. God intends to display His splendor through your life. Your faithful living will point to God's glory by your words and deeds. You may not think you have it in you, but it is the Lord who provides the grace needed to be His faithful witness. All through life's journey, you will have what you need for this holy mission as His witness. Just rely on God and you will find whatever you lack will be provided. God has made a way for you as you journey to His embrace. You will call out with confidence to others, "Come out of the darkness. Come out of your captivity." "The Lord has freed you from the grip of sin and the fear of death and placed you on the path to eternal life through Jesus Christ."

You are Israel if you belong to Christ, God's Anointed One. You are His beloved child and special messenger. Be filled with hope and grace for your holy mission to shine the light to others and lead them to the embrace of God.