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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'1-');">Isa 49</a> - The Messiah's Mission</h2>
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<p><i>This chapter is full of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the words quoted could not possibly have their complete fulfillment in any other save in our Savior.</i> (Alan Redpath)<i></i></p>
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<p>A. The Messiah declares His mission.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'1-2');">1-2</a>) The call and the preparation of the Messiah.</p>
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<p class="c2">Listen, O coastlands, to Me, and take heed, you peoples from afar! The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Listen, O coastlands, to Me</span></b>: As the context will show, these words come prophetically from the Messiah, the Servant of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> revealed in previous chapters. Here, He commands the <b><span class="c3">coastlands</span></b> - the distant lands of the Gentiles - to <b><span class="c3">listen</span></b> to Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has called Me from the womb</span></b>: The Messiah, later revealed as Jesus Christ, was <b><span class="c3">called</span></b> from the <b><span class="c3">womb</span></b>. Actually, as shown in <a onclick="return mV('Mic',5,2);">Mic 5:2</a>, Jesus was called even <i>before</i> He was in Mary's womb, yet here He starts at the point which any man could most readily relate to.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name</span></b>: This was fulfilled in <a onclick="return mV('Luk',1,31);">Luk 1:31</a>, where the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, through the angel Gabriel, declared the name of Jesus before the conception in Mary's womb.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">He has made My mouth like a sharp sword</span></b>: This means that the very words of the Messiah have power and authority. While some might need to brandish a weapon to show their authority, the Messiah needs only to speak.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me</span></b>: The Messiah prophetically proclaims that He is like a carefully made and polished arrow in the service of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, ready to be used at the right time. This probably has reference to the "hidden" years of Jesus, when He lived in obscurity, as <b><span class="c3">a polished shaft</span></b> waiting in the <b><span class="c3">quiver</span></b> of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'3-4');">3-4</a>) The Messiah's confidence in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c2">And He said to me, "You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Then I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and my work with my God."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">You are My servant, O Israel</span></b>: Since the rest of the context of this chapter indicates that this passage speaks of the Messiah, it is best to regard <b><span class="c3">Israel</span></b> as a reference to the Messiah. How can the <span class="c6">Lord</span> speak of the Messiah as <b><span class="c3">Israel</span></b>? First, because the Messiah <i>comes from</i> Israel, and is a representative of the nation. Second, because the Messiah <i>fulfills the name Israel</i>, which means, "governed by God."</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "On the surface, the statement 'You are my servant, Israel,' explicitly identifies Yahweh's Servant as the nation Israel. But if that were the case, an apparent contradiction would arise in verses 5-6, in which the Servant's task is to bring Israel back to Yahweh and to the land...the view that 'Israel' is a title of the individual messianic Servant harmonizes most satisfactorily with the passage and context." (Lindsey)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Then I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the <span class="c6">Lord</span>."</span></b> The translators of the New King James do not believe these words belong in the mouth of the Messiah, because the do not capitalize the pronoun <b><span class="c3">my</span></b>, as they would if they believed it spoke of the Messiah. Yet these words can be set prophetically in the mouth of the Messiah, because surely Jesus was tempted by the discouraging thought that all His work was <b><span class="c3">in vain</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">for nothing</span></b>. Yet He triumphed over such temptation by declaring, <b><span class="c3">my just reward is with the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. When we consider what - and who - the Lord Jesus had to work with on this earth, we certainly must believe that one of the great temptations He faced was discouragement. This passage shows that even though He ministered in difficult and discouraging circumstances, He never gave into discouragement, but always put His trust in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'5-7');">5-7</a>) The Messiah blesses Israel and the nations.</p>
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<p class="c2">And now the <span class="c6">Lord</span> says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and My God shall be My strength), indeed He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth." Thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, the Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, to Him whom man despises, to Him whom the nation abhors, to the Servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel; and He has chosen You."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">To bring Jacob back to Him</span></b>: This shows that an important aspect of the Messiah's mission was to bring Israel back to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. This shows that ethnic Israel has an enduring place in God's plan, and that plan will be fulfilled when<i> all Israel will be saved</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',11,26);">Rom 11:26</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob...I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles</span></b>: Though part of the Messiah's mission is directed to Israel, He also has a mission <b><span class="c3">to the Gentiles</span></b>. What will the Messiah do for the Gentiles? <b><span class="c3">That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth</span></b>. The Messiah would not simply <i>bring</i> salvation; He would <b><span class="c3">be...salvation to the ends of the earth</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Israel has light but needs restoration, while the Gentiles need both light and salvation." (Grogan)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>...to Him whom man despises, to Him whom the nation abhors</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span> speaks to His Messiah, and reveals that He will be One <b><span class="c3">whom man despises</span></b>, and <b><span class="c3">whom</span></b> His own <b><span class="c3">nation abhors</span></b>. This is an important - yet lightly noted - prophecy of the rejection of the Messiah, by mankind in general and by Israel specifically.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship</span></b>: Yet in the end, the Messiah will not be despised or abhorred. He will receive the worship and honor He deserves, because He is the <b><span class="c3">chosen</span></b> of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'8-12');">8-12</a>) The glory of the Messiah's ministry.</p>
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<p class="c2">Thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>: "In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; that You may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them; for He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them. I will make each of My mountains a road, and My highways shall be elevated. Surely these shall come from afar; look! Those from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinim."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span> God extended His help and preservation to the Messiah all through His earthly ministry. Yet if there is any specific time that this promise was fulfilled, it was as Jesus died on the cross and trusted in the promise of resurrection.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It is beautiful to imagine Jesus comforting and strengthening His soul with these promises as He anticipated and endured the ordeal of the cross. He could <i>know</i>, based on this promise, that the <span class="c6">Lord</span> would hear, help, and preserve Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And give You as a covenant to the people</span></b>: Jesus, the Messiah, doesn't merely <i>bring</i> a covenant; He <i>is</i> <b><span class="c3">a covenant to the people</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">That You may say to the prisoners, "Go forth"</span></b>: Jesus' ministry set people free from bondage and imprisonment.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Jesus set the demon possessed free from the bondage of chains and demonic torture (<a onclick="return mV('Mar',5,'1-15');">Mar 5:1-15</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Jesus set the sick and diseased free from the bondage of their infirmities (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',13,16);">Luk 13:16</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Jesus set the righteous dead captive in Hades free from their place (<a onclick="return mV('Eph',4,8);">Eph 4:8</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Jesus sets those in bondage to sin and the law free (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',8,'33-36');">Jhn 8:33-36</a>, <a onclick="return mV('Gal',3,'22-23');">Gal 3:22-23</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">For He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them</span></b>: In an immediate sense, this refers to God's supply and sustaining of the exiles returning from Babylon to Judah, through the unseen hand of the Messiah. In the larger sense, it speaks of mercy and provision of God for people as they return to Him in the last days, as they <b><span class="c3">shall come from afar</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">I will make each of My mountains a road</span></b>: The mountains in the way of the returning exiles - both in near and far fulfillment - would seem to defeat the purpose of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. But they will not.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Notice it says <b><span class="c3">each...mountain</span></b> (or, as in the King James Version, <i>all...mountains</i>). "There is no exception in that great, but little word, <i>all</i>. There is nothing in life - no obstacle, no loneliness, no trial, no sorrow - which may not be a way into God's richest blessing. There is no situation of entanglement, nothing that you can possibly conceive, but this can be part of God's way to make His mountain a way of deliverance." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Notice it says <b><span class="c3">My mountains</span></b>. The mountains in the way are still the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s mountains, allowed there for a purpose. And the purpose is not to torment you, or because He hates you. There is a loving, wise purpose for every mountain, and God wants to make <b><span class="c3">each of My mountains a road</span></b>!</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "[When you make] the commitment of your life to Jesus Christ without reservation, then you can go to meet your mountains and meet obstacles in Jesus - not to meet them outside Him, but in Christ. If you do that, then the mountain between you and God's land of blessing becomes the way into it." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">And these from the land of Sinim</span></b>: Where is <b><span class="c3">Sinim</span></b>? Some identify it with a place in Egypt; others identify it with China. The idea is that God will bring back the captives (particularly in the far fulfillment) from every conceivable place.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "'Sinim' is probably Aswan, near the southern border of Egypt...This assumes that 'Sinim' is derived from <i>sewenim</i>...If the Masoretic Text is correct, a long standing interpretation connects Sinim with China." (Wolf)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Grogan gives another perspective on <b><span class="c3">Sinim</span></b>: "It is most likely that Isaiah was being consciously obscure. Even unmapped places are known to God, and even from them he will gather his pilgrims."</p>
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<p>B. The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s faithfulness to Zion.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'13-14');">13-14</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> is praised for goodness to Zion - and an objection is raised.</p>
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<p class="c2">Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted. But Zion said, "The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Sing, O heavens! For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has comforted His people</span></b>: It is simply assumed that the people the <b><span class="cmscap">Lord</span><span class="c3"> has comforted</span></b> will praise Him; here, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> calls for creation itself to add their voices in praise for all the Messiah has done.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">But Zion said, "The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has forsaken me."</span></b> In the midst of this great praise for the Messiah and His saving work, <b><span class="c3">Zion</span></b> - speaking of the highest hill in Jerusalem, and the place of God's people by association - <b><span class="c3">Zion</span></b> objects. Zion believes, <b><span class="c3">"The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me."</span></b></p>
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<p class="c5">i. The rest of <a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'1-');">Isa 49</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Isa',50,'1-');">Isa 50</a> will answer this question. Because of their captivity in Babylon, Zion wonders "Does God really care about us?" God will answer, with strength and insight, this question that many have asked since.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'15-18');">15-18</a>) God does care, and the <span class="c6">Lord</span> proclaims His love and faithfulness to Zion.</p>
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<p class="c2">Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. Your sons shall make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you. Lift up your eyes, look around and see; all these gather together and come to you. "As I live," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, "You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Can a woman forget her nursing child</span></b>: Though bizarre accounts of unspeakable cruelty surface from time to time, everyone knows that a <b><span class="c3">woman</span></b> will never <b><span class="c3">forget her nursing child</span></b>. Yet the <span class="c6">Lord</span> says, <b><span class="c3">Surely they will forget, yet I will not forget you</span></b>. The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s affection for His people is greater than the devotion a woman has for <b><span class="c3">her nursing child</span></b>!</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands</span></b>: This has obvious and beautiful fulfillment in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. As Jesus told Thomas in a post-resurrection appearance, <i>look at My hands</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',20,27);">Jhn 20:27</a>). When we see the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, we see how He has <b><span class="c3">inscribed</span></b> us on the <b><span class="c3">palms of</span></b> His <b><span class="c3">hands</span></b>. With such love, how could God ever forget His people?</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Your walls are continually before Me</span></b>: The <b><span class="c3">walls</span></b> refer to the walls of the city of Jerusalem, which figuratively speak of the health, the strength, the prosperity, and the security of God's people. God is always mindful of the condition of His people, despite the objections of a doubting Zion.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Your sons shall make haste...you shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span> will bring back the exiled and captive sons of Zion to the Promised Land, and this will be <b><span class="c3">an ornament</span></b> for God's people. The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s love and faithfulness for Zion is also shown by His promise for their future. It isn't just demonstrated by the past and the present, but also by His future plans for them.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This promise was partially fulfilled in the return of the exiles from Babylon, but will be ultimately fulfilled in the regathering of Israel in the last days.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,'19-26');">19-26</a>) God does care, and He promises and affirms blessing for Zion.</p>
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<p class="c2">For your waste and desolate places, and the land of your destruction, will even now be too small for the inhabitants; and those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children you will have, after you have lost the others, will say again in your ears, "The place is too small for me; give me a place where I may dwell." Then you will say in your heart, "Who has begotten these for me, since I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; but these, where were they?" Thus says the Lord <span class="c6">God</span>: "Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders; kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; they shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me." Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of the righteous be delivered? But thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">For your waste and desolate places...will even now be too small for the inhabitants</span></b>: As the <span class="c6">Lord</span> brings the sons of Zion back to the Israel, they will fill the land in a glorious way.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">There I was, left alone; but these, where were they?</span></b> The great blessing of the returning sons of Zion - in both near and far fulfillment - will come as an astounding surprise. God's blessing will seem to come from nowhere. Though the promise seems too good to be true, God confirms it with <b><span class="c3">an oath to the nations</span></b>. God will rescue Israel from both their immediate and ultimate captivity.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Kings shall be your foster fathers</span></b>: "Calvin and most expositors believe that the text teaches that one day the greatest in the nation will love and care for the children of the Church. This text has usually been made to serve as proof of the legitimacy of the church state (or state church); however, the prophet does not have the Church in mind here, but future Israel." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. Clarke on <b><span class="c3">They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet</span></b>: "These expressions therefore of the prophet are only general poetical images, taken from the manners of the country, to denote great respect and reverence: and such splendid poetical images, which frequently occur in the prophetical writings, were intended only as general amplifications of the subject, not as predictions to be understood and fulfilled precisely according to the letter."</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "<i>Lick up the dust of thy feet</i> refers to the great honor which the great ones of the world will give Israel. It is mainly on the basis of this phrase that there is the practice of kissing the pope's feet." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away</span></b>: Babylon, the mighty empire, had taken Zion captive. But even they <b><span class="c3">shall be taken away</span></b>. God will shows His strength and love for Zion by giving unto Babylon what Babylon gave unto Zion, even though they thought it unlikely, as shown by the question of <a onclick="return mV('Isa',49,24);">Isa 49:24</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This was true for Zion when freed from the Babylonian captivity; it is even more true for those set free from captivity to Satan. Jesus spoke of spoiling Satan in <a onclick="return mV('Luk',11,'21-22');">Luk 11:21-22</a>: <i>When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.</i></p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The pictures of eating <i>their own flesh</i> and drinking <i>their own blood</i> draw on the horrors of siege conditions. The reality is that those who oppose the Lord and his people experience the self destructiveness of sin - a recurring feature of the wars of the Lord." (Motyer)</p>
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