In The Word
Read: Isaiah 49:1-50:3
Salvation Reaches to the Ends of the Earth
49 Listen to Me, you islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a sharpened arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,
In whom I will show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and futility;
Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My reward is with My God.”
5 And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My strength),
6 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 protected ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
Says to the despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“At a favorable time I answered You,
And on a day of salvation I helped You;
And I will watch over You and make You a covenant of the people,
To restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;
9 Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go free,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed along the roads,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights.
10 They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And He will guide them to springs of water.
11 I will make all My mountains a road,
And My highways will be raised up.
12 Behold, these will come from afar;
And behold, these will come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan.”
13 Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your builders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will leave you.
18 Raise your eyes and look around;
All of them gather together, they come to you.
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will certainly put them all on as jewelry and bind them on as a bride.
19 For your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land—
Now you will certainly be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 The children you lost will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has fathered these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And cannot conceive, and I am an exile, and a wanderer?
And who has raised these?
Behold, I was left alone;
Where are these from?’”
22 This is what the Lord God says:
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My flag to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in their arms,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground
And lick the dust from your feet;
And you will know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.
24 “Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”
25 Indeed, this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will save your sons.
26 I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And humanity will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
God Helps His Servant
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is the certificate of divorce
By which I have sent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?
Behold, you were sold for your wrongdoings,
And for your wrongful acts your mother was sent away.
2 Why was there no one when I came?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Is My hand so short that it cannot redeem?
Or do I have no power to rescue?
Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke,
I turn rivers into a wilderness;
Their fish stink for lack of water,
And die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,
And make sackcloth their covering.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Isaiah 49 is an incredibly encouraging passage that can lift our hearts any time we feel God is not listening or that He has forgotten us. These words are filled with the promises that even before we were conceived, God knew us and called us each by name. He planned a marvelous destiny for every one of us that would glorify Him.
Some of us might question that last sentence and think, “When will that great destiny show itself? I feel like my efforts have been futile and that God has forgotten me.” If that is you today, take time to meditate on the words your Father is promising you in this scripture. He vows to restore you and bring you to a place where you will never thirst. If you feel darkness closing in, He promises to release you from that prison as He calls you out into the light.
God goes as far as to liken our relationship with Him by using the imagery of a mother. “Can a mother forget her nursing child?” Ask any mom who has nursed a child and she will tell you it is virtually impossible to forget that baby. Even if her mind lapsed, her body would soon loudly remind her that she has an infant to nurse. And then God goes even further with the imagery by stating that our very names have been tattooed to the palms of His hands. This is dedication!
Child of God, you are precious to Him. He knows you, He understands you, and He cares deeply for you. Believe this. He has heard your cry and has seen your oppression because nothing in your life escapes His view. And He is working all things for your good…if you will just believe.