Isaiah 49

CHAPTER 49THEME: Discourse of Christ to the world; discussion of Jehovah with Israel; digressionjudgment of Israel’s oppressorsIn this third and final division of the Book of Isaiah there is a threefold division which is marked off with the words, “There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.” We have seen in the first division the comfort of Jehovah which comes through the servant. Now chapter 49 begins the second division, which I call salvation of Jehovah which comes through the suffering Servant. We are now beginning to move toward a definite revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ as the suffering Servant of God. We have been moving toward that revelation from the very beginning, but at first we saw Him more as a silhouette in the background as the Servant who brings comfort to God’s people. The closer we get to chapter 53, where we have that wonderful revelation of the Cross of Christ, the more clear He will become to us. Israel was the servant of Jehovah, but as such Israel had failed. Now God speaks of another Servant, and that Servant is the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophetic Scriptures spoke primarily of Israel as God’s servant; yet the final meaning is found in the Person of Christ. A classic illustration is in Hos_11:1, where it is recorded: “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” This was fulfilled in Christ (see Mat_2:15). The nation failed, but the One who came out of the nation will succeed.

Isaiah 49:1

DISCOURSE OF CHRIST TO THE WORLDAs we open this chapter, we are listening in on a discourse by Christ as truly as the twelve apostles listened to Him in Galilee. In this chapter we see Christ moving out to become the Savior of the world. In this movement Israel is not forsaken, for her assured restoration to the land is reaffirmed. There is nothing to correspond to this remarkable discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ in the religions of this world. Here is One who is looking at a world, and He is looking at it as the Servant of God, who has come as the Savior of the world. Every religion is confined to an ethnic group or to several ethnic groups. Generally they do not move beyond the borders of a tribe, a people, or a nation, so that most deities are local deities. However, the Deity in the Word of God is the living God, the Creator of the universe and the Redeemer of mankind. This fact makes the discourse before us remarkable indeed. Christ is calling upon the nations of the world to hear. He was given the name of Jesus before He was born, and this name is to be proclaimed throughout the world because it is the name of the Savior, and the world needs a Savior.

Isaiah 49:2

The sharp sword that went out of His mouth is the Word of God, and the explanation of His enemies when He walked on this earth was, “…Never man spake like this man” (Joh_7:46). And the revelation of this One concludes with these words: “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations …” (Rev_19:15). It is the judgment of the nations by the Word of God. Notice the identification:

Isaiah 49:3

This will be true of the nation Israel, and it is true of Christ. Now this is a remarkable statement:

Isaiah 49:4

Though the Lord was rejected, and it may look as if He labored in vain, His confidence is in God. Even the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was a victory; in fact, it is the greatest victory the world has seen up to the present time. The emphasis in this section, therefore, is on the suffering Servant. At His first coming He did not gather Israel, as they rejected Him. At His first coming He did something far more wonderfulHe wrought salvation for the world. Therefore, God’s purposes were not thwarted by man’s little machinations.

Isaiah 49:5

I submit this to you as being one of the most remarkable passages in the Word of God.

Isaiah 49:7

Paul said it like this: “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?” (Rom_11:12). The rejection of Christ by Israel meant that the gospel went to the ends of the earth. Just think how great it will be some day in the future when God regathers Israel!

Isaiah 49:8

DISCUSSION OF JEHOVAH WITH ISRAELFrom this section, the discussion of Jehovah with Israel regarding their restoration, I shall lift out only a few verses: God heard the prayer of Christ, and He whom the nation crucified will be the One before whom kings will bow, and every knee must bow and acknowledge His Lordship.

Isaiah 49:13

God’s purposes in the earth center in the nation Israel. When they are back in the land, then both the heavens and the earth can rejoice. Today, however, everything is more or less out of place as far as the world is concerned. Israel should be in their land, in the place of blessing, serving God. They are not. The church should be in heaven with Christ, but the church is still in the world.

The Devil should be in hell, but he is walking around the earth seeking whom he may devour. The Lord Jesus Christ should be sitting upon the throne of the earth, ruling the earth, but He is at the right hand of God. There are many things that have to be shifted around and put in the right socket. Then the lines of Robert Browning as written in “Pippa Passes” will be true: “God’s in His heaven: All’s right with the world.” At the moment, these words just do not fit the world in which you and I live. Even the people of Israel think they are forsaken of God

Isaiah 49:14

What beautiful assurance God gives them that they are not forsaken of Him! Israel may forsake Himas they are doing yet todaybut God will never forsake them. My friend, if you still have doubts that God will restore Israel, I submit this section to you for your careful study.

Isaiah 49:22

DIGRESSIONJUDGMENT OF ISRAEL’S OPPRESSORSGod assures Israel that the Gentiles will assist Him in the final restoration of the nation to the land. Heretofore, the Gentiles have scattered them, which makes this a rather remarkable prophecy even for today. Great Britain did open the land for the Jews; yet Great Britain was the country that issued the mandate which forbade them to enter the landso they came by ship without permission, and they have been hindered in one way or another since that time. It has taken persecution to push them out of other countries, and at the time I am writing this they are being blocked from leaving Russia, which probably has the third largest Jewish population in the world. Russia doesn’t want to get rid of them, yet it subjects them to a great deal of anti-Semitic oppression. However, in that day, that is, in the end times, God will bring them back into their land, and He will use Gentiles to move them back!