49. Isaiah Chapter Forty-Nine

Part IIIb Jehovah’s Servant, His Sufferings and Glory

Chapters 49-57 Isaiah Chapter 49 From this chapter to the end of chapter fifty-seven consists of nine prophecies. Chapter forty-nine contains the first and its subject is twofold: The Self-witness of Jehovah’s Servant (Isaiah 49:1-13), and a Comforting Promise in Zion’s Despondency.

There is a renewed association of Israel as the servant of Jehovah with Christ in the same relation. While Israel is directly addressed in this way in Isaiah 49:3 in its restored condition, yet in Isaiah 49:5-6 the Servant of the Lord is marked as in distinction from the nation itself, and the statement there, “that thou shouldest be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel,” shows that Christ Himself is in view and not here the remnant of the nation. Moreover, Isaiah 49:6 is quoted in Acts 13:47 as directly applying to Christ, though there in connection with the Gospel. All this is entirely appropriate, inasmuch as Israel could not in its restored state act as the Lord’s servant in the earth apart from identification with Christ Himself as their Messiah on the ground of His sacrificial and redemptive work at Calvary.

Since the evangelization of the Gentiles is in view, the message goes forth, “Listen, O isles, unto Me; and hearken, ye peoples, from far” (Isaiah 49:1), that is, the far distant nations (cp. Isaiah 42:4, Isaiah 10:12 and see Isaiah 5:26). The twofold statement, “the Lord hath called Me from the womb; from the bowels of My mother hath He made mention of My Name,” is specifically true of the Lord Jesus (see Matthew 1:21). Moreover, it is noticeable that everywhere else where Israel is thus spoken of, the phrase “from the womb” is used without the addition of the word “mother” (Isaiah 51:2 is not an exception). The Speaker, as the Servant of Jehovah, now applies a simile and a metaphor to Himself as His Agent in this relationship. The Lord has made His mouth “like a sharp sword,” hid in the shadow of His hand, just as a sword is kept in the sheath, ready for use at the appointed time for the purpose of overcoming the enemy. He has made Him “a polished shaft,” keeping Him close in His quiver, so that in due time He may pierce the heart. That Christ Himself is in view and that the time is yet future is indicated in chapter Isaiah 11:4 and Isaiah 30:30-33 (cp. Hosea 6:5 and Hebrews 4:12). The latter passage, together with these, and Revelation 1:16, show how closely identified are the personal word and the spoken word (see also Joel 2:10, Joel 2:11; Joel 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Psalms 2:5). In Isaiah 49:3 Christ identifies Himself with His people Israel, for it is in close association with Him that the restored nation is to become His servant, and it is in Israel that the Lord will yet be glorified on the earth. In this relationship, and in view of the bitter experiences which will have preceded that time of glory, Isaiah 49:4 strikes a note almost of despondency, though it is only of a momentary character, and in a certain way it may be referred to Christ in the time of His suffering and rejection by Israel: “But [r.v.] I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nought and vanity [i.e., to no purpose]”; but this is not an utterance of unbelief or despair, for immediately the heart expresses the assurance of the truth, “yet surely My judgment is with the Lord, and My recompense with My God.” The service we seek to render often seems to produce little or no result. In addition to ineffectiveness there come circumstances of extreme difficulty and trial, which tend to weigh down the heart. And if Satan could accomplish his purpose, he would use all this to cast us down into despair and if possible cause us to cease from the work and turn back through perplexity and distress. Here then is a passage designed by the Spirit of God to give us to consider all such circumstances in the light of God’s all-wise counsels, so that while in the midst of conflict we may be encouraged to share His vision and know that our judgment is with Him, and that with Him is the recompense for our seemingly fruitless work. The language of Isaiah 49:5 and what follows is clearly that of the Messiah, who here bears testimony to the object for which He is the Servant of Jehovah, namely, “to bring Jacob again to Him, and that Israel be gathered unto Him” (r.v.). It is Christ alone who will do this, and a still wider purpose is in view in Isaiah 49:6. The parenthesis between (note the r.v. brackets) expresses the delight of the Lord Jesus in the Father’s approval. His statement “I am honorable in the eyes of the Lord, and My God is become My strength” is introduced by the word “for,” which expresses the fact that His work in the restoration of Israel is especially pleasing to the Father. It is clear, too, that His resurrection is in view. In the darkness of Calvary He said “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” He was “crucified through weakness.” Now He declares that His God has become His strength. This is to be taken with chapter Isaiah 52:13, which predicts that the Lord’s Servant would be “exalted and extolled and be very high.” The “Yea” at the beginning of Isaiah 49:6 introduces an extension of the scope of Christ’s work of salvation, as well as a confirmation of what has just been stated as to the salvation of Israel. The delighted heart of Jehovah looks on to the worldwide fullness of blessing: “It is too light a thing [or rather it is only a small thing] that Thou shouldest be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee [more expressive than “make Thee”] for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.” This has a present application to the work of the Gospel in fulfillment of the command of the Lord Himself to go into all the world and preach the gospel, and to be His witnesses “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The complete fulfillment will take place in the Millennial age. Both are comprehended in Romans 11:12, where the present application is described as “the riches of the world” and “the riches of the Gentiles,” and this is followed by the exclamatory prediction of what the restoration or “fullness” of Israel will mean for the world. In Isaiah 49:7, in the continuation of His utterance to His Servant (for it is still Christ who is primarily in view), we are reminded again of the time of His humiliation. That was a necessary basis for the carrying out of the work of saving grace. So He is called the One “whom man despiseth” [see Isaiah 53:3 and cp. Isaiah 50:6-7], and “whom the nation abhorreth,” referring to His treatment by the Jews, and, thirdly, in a very suggestive phrase, “a Servant of rulers.” This provides an instance of the very real way in which the Lord Jesus identified Himself with the nation of Israel. That nation had become a servant of rulers. This was the result of its departure from God. At the same time there were men such as Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah who, while they were suffering with their people, served Gentile rulers in the fear of the Lord. So Christ, in the days of His flesh, made Himself subject to Roman rulers, handing Himself over to their will that He might fulfill the great purposes for which He had come. Included also are such beneficent deeds of mercy as that which He wrought for a centurion. In these many ways the verse points to His Self-humbling. The outcome of it all will be seen in the coming day of glory, when “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of the Lord that is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen Thee” (cp. Isaiah 52:15, which foretells that kings shall shut their mouths because of Him, r.v. margin). How great the change of attitude from that of the present time! How startling will be the revelation of the Lord of glory in a world that has lain in darkness, superstition and alienation from God!

Isaiah 49:8 tells how Jehovah heard the prayer of His Servant when, in the lowly condition which He shared with His people, He “offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death” (Hebrews 5:7). Here He says to Him: “Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time [in a time of favor] have I answered Thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped Thee: and I will preserve Thee, and give Thee [or set Thee] for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness Shew yourselves.” It was an acceptable time when God raised Him from the dead, and since Christ identifies Himself with Israel the words will become true of the nation in fellowship with Him in its restored condition. That Christ Himself is made “a covenant of the people” indicates the Personal bond which will hereafter unite the nation to Him as the result of His having been heard and helped. The exiled prisoners will be freed and, being restored to their land, will manifest themselves as His people. The verses which follow give one of the most glorious descriptions of the effects of Christ’s Second Advent. The promises far exceed anything that took place in the return from captivity under Cyrus. The people are depicted as a flock returning home: “They shall feed in the ways,” that is to say, they will be able to have sufficient supplies of food on their journeys without going long distances to get food. “On all bare heights shall be their pasture.”

They will know neither hunger nor thirst, nor will they suffer from the heat of the sun. And all this will be due to the fact that the Lord “that hath mercy on them” will lead them in Person; “even by the springs of water shall He guide them” (Isaiah 49:10). In their return from all parts of the world their journeys will be characterized by entire freedom from obstacles and difficulties. “And,” He says, “I will make all my mountains a way, and My high ways shall be exalted (Isaiah 49:11). Comfortingly He speaks of “My mountains” and “My ways.” They are His by creation and therefore He can order for their alteration so as to make everything favorable for the return of His people.

All this is applicable to our present experiences. The mountains of difficulty which face us in our pilgrim path can become highways of communion with God and of joyous fellowship with His people, if we trust in the Lord with all our heart and present to Him our whole being for the fulfillment of His will. In the coming day Israel will be gathered to their appointed earthly center from all parts of the world: “Lo, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim” (Isaiah 49:12). The west seems to be a comprehensive term, and would include districts in Africa as well as Western Europe and the Americas. Some regard Sinim as referring to the Near East. The Sinite is mentioned in Genesis 10:17. But there can be little doubt that the geographical scope is far wider, and that, as several Orientalists have maintained, the reference is to the land of China. In very ancient times Tsin was the name of a feudal kingdom in Shen-si, the first king of which began to reign in 897 b.c., and it is not at all improbable that the existence of the Chinese was well-known in Palestine and Western Asia generally. Accordingly the prophecy has in view the gathering of Jews from the uttermost parts of the world (cp. Isaiah 49:6).

Such a prospect calls forth the jubilant summons to the heavens, the earth and the mountains to rejoice and to break forth into singing, “for the Lord hath comforted [a prophetic perfect tense] His people, and will have compassion upon His afflicted” (Isaiah 49:13). Isaiah 49:14 records the grievous lament of the nation in its long period of suffering. The tribulation has been judicial indeed, but unbelief, instead of repentance toward God, complains of being forsaken by Jehovah and forgotten by the Lord. The complaint elicits an expostulation and an assurance, to the effect that His love not only is as inalienable as a mother’s love but exceeds it. So far from forgetting Zion (which again stands for its inhabitants), He says “I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands: thy walls are continually before Me” (Isaiah 49:16). Jews had a custom of marking on their hands, or elsewhere, a delineation of the city and the temple, as a sign of their devotion to, and perpetual remembrance of, them. The Lord graciously adopts the figure to confirm His assurance. However great the devastation wrought by Gentile powers might be, the walls are ever before Him in their restored and perfected condition in the future. To be graven on the palms of His hands is suggestive of the closest identification with Himself, of His unchanging love, and of His constant mindfulness of us in all His emotions and activities. Often, in our unbelief, remissness and forgetfulness, we lose sight of our preciousness in His sight in Christ. What is here conveyed in figure finds its fullness of expression in the outflowing of the Lord’s heart to the disciples in the upper room, “Even as the Father hath loved Me, I also have loved you: abide ye in My love” (John 15:9).

Isaiah 49:17-21 reaffirm the promise of the eventual gathering of the scattered outcasts of the nation back to their land. “Thy children make haste” (a variant reading is “thy builders”). The exiles enter: the destroyers and wasters go out. The children whom Zion thought she had lost come in crowds (Isaiah 49:18). With a confirming oath Jehovah assures her that her people will be like the ornaments with which a woman decks herself and like the beautiful girdle which a bride fastens round her bridal attire (r.v.). And the reason is (note the “For” of Isaiah 49:19) that, notwithstanding the recovery and productiveness of the districts which had been desolated and rendered untenable and the removal of those that had swallowed her up, there will not be room for all her inhabitants. Her children will say in her hearing (i.e., will call to one another) that the place is too narrow, and room must be provided. Her people had been exiles and wanderers and she had been left “solitary” (or “barren”). Now she finds herself surrounded by a multitude of her children. How, she wonders, had they been “borne” to her (r.v., margin—not “begotten”)? Who had brought them up? “Where were they?” (r.v.). The answer is about to be given.

Sometimes the Lord refrains from manifesting His dealings and, in testing our faith, keeps us waiting till the appointed time for the disclosure of His actings and significance. Far greater the joy when the unfolding comes than if there had been no mystery, no darksome circumstances, and far greater the glory of His grace.

“God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain;

God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.” The close of the forth-ninth chapter, from Isaiah 49:22, gives the Lord’s answer to the surprised questions arising from Zion in Isaiah 49:21. He shows how the multitude of scattered Israelites will be delivered from their exile and those who oppressed them, and be gathered to their own land. He will employ the Gentile nations to take their part in accomplishing this gathering. “Behold,” He says, “I will lift up Mine hand to the nations, and set up My ensign to the peoples.” The lifting up of His hand suggests that some marked sign or indication will be given to all the nations as to what is to be done. The setting up of a standard is a frequent figure in Isaiah: see Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 18:3; Isaiah 62:10 (one of the many indications that there was only one author of this book). The military metaphor may point to some connection with the Lord’s interposition in the warfare of Armageddon (see end of the chapter).

Other metaphors follow. The nations will bring Zion’s sons “in their bosom,” and her daughters “shall be carried upon their shoulders.” Just as foster fathers give diligence to care for those committed to them, and nurses give their best in caring for the children they nourish, so will kings and princesses devote themselves to the welfare of God’s ancient people. They will pay homage to them to the utmost, and subject themselves to them, doing them the most lowly and menial service. The statement that they shall “lick the dust of Thy feet” points to the submission of those who before had taken part in oppressing them (see Psalms 72:9; Micah 7:17). By all this Zion will recognize Jehovah and His ways: “thou shalt know that I am the Lord.” Then follows the comforting promise, “and they that wait for Me shall not be ashamed.” In Isaiah 40:31 the promise is that “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” In the present passage the promise is negative: they will not be put to shame. Here too the exercise of patience is in view, in the endurance of all that is difficult and adverse until the Lord’s time for deliverance comes.

We wait upon Him in prayer. We wait for Him in the confident assurance that present conditions of trial and sorrow will have a future of joy and peace such as can come only by the direct and manifest intervention of the Lord Himself. In the next verses the tyrants with all their power and malign intentions are in view. The rhetorical question in Isaiah 49:24 is divided into two distinct parts: “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty” (it certainly will, and not merely the Chaldeans are in view, but the Beasts of Revelation 13:1-18); “or the captive host of the righteous be delivered?” (margin). The captives are not lawful captives, as the text seems to indicate, though that would be true of those who had been taken into captivity by the Chaldeans under God’s ordering; but the time in view is far beyond the return from captivity under Cyrus, and is yet future. Hence the marginal reading is to be preferred, which shows that the captives are the righteous ones whom the Lord will snatch from the hands of the Antichrist, whom Satan will instigate to endeavor to exterminate the Jews. The assurance is given that the Lord Himself will contend with those that contend with His people. The passage again points to the time of Armageddon (Har-Magedon) and the Second Advent. With the statement “I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood” (cp. Revelation 14:20). All the world will discover and recognize that Jehovah is Israel’s Savior and Redeemer, “the mighty One of Jacob.”

All the efforts of the combined nations to establish “peace and safety” in the earth, however sincere the motive, however good the intention may be, are foredoomed to failure. The world’s last great conflict, in which the Jewish question will be uppermost, will see the fulfillment of the Scriptures which make known that righteousness can be established in the earth only by the Personal Advent of Christ in judgment upon the foes of God and in the deliverance of His people.