The troubles of the church have given some occasion to question God's care and concern for it, Isaiah 49:14; Isaiah 49:14. Isaiah 49:14-26 God Will Remember Jerusalem. Or, "Thy walls (that is, thy safety) are my continual care; so are the watchmen on thy walls." He will crush the Babylonians in a judgment suited to the cruel oppression that they inflicted on their helpless victims (25-26).Other Jews blamed God for their troubles, as if he had cast them off like a husband who divorces his wife or a father who sells his children to pay off his debts. Then I said, I have labored in vain, Isaiah 49 - EasyEnglish Bible (EASY) [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. and appointed me to be his servant. Isaiah concluded by calling on the whole created universe to rejoice because the Lord had comforted His people (cf. That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. Commentary on Isaiah 42:1-9 - Working Preacher from Luther Seminary Lick up the dust of thy feet refers to the great honor which the great ones of the world will give Israel. * [ 49:3 ] Israel : the servant is identified with the people of Israel as their ideal representative; however, vv. Isaiah Commentaries & Sermons | Precept Austin c. From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name: This was fulfilled in Luke 1:31, where the LORD, through the angel Gabriel, declared the name of Jesus before the conception in Marys womb. How can the LORD speak of the Messiah as Israel? God's compassion is too immense to be limited to . 66:9-13). Clarke on They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet: 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., iii. 13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. And he said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel ( Isaiah 49:3 ). From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. The Lord ( Yehovah) hath forsaken me, and my Lord ( Adonai) hath forgotten me. Isaiah 49 Commentary | Precept Austin Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. The best commentaries on Isaiah ranked by scholars and reviewers: (1) Oswalt, John N. in NICOT, (2) Webb, Barry G. in BST, (3) Motyer, J. Alec . Israel will return and rebuild its homeland. The one thing that tells us beyond a doubt that Isaiah, the prophet, wrote all of it, is his use of the title "Holy One of Israel". To Him whom man despises, I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, When the Servant completes His work of salvation, the whole creation, not just humankind, will experience liberation from the effects of the Fall (cf. They began "Thus says the Lord", and they do not usually address a worldwide audience. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; God is saying, "I'll fight with those that fight with you." God replies that he can do it. See how deplorable the case of God's people may be sometimes, such that they may seem to be forsaken and forgotten of their God; and at such a time their temptations may be alarmingly violent. Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; That you may say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. e. I will make each of My mountains a road: The mountains in the way of the returning exiles both in near and far fulfillment would seem to defeat the purpose of the LORD. Accordingly, he places the subject almost before their eye, that they may be fully convinced that they shall have the most abundant cause of rejoicing; though at that time they saw nothing but grief and sorrow. And you go today and the declaration of so many Jews is, "Where was God during the Holocaust? for the Lord hath comforted his people; with the discoveries of his love and grace; by his gracious presence among them; by the coming of Christ unto them in a spiritual way; by sending his Spirit, and renewing the face of things, and reviving his work in the midst of them; by the pure and powerful preaching of the Gospel, and comfortable administration of Gospel ordinances; and by large additions of converts made unto them: and will have mercy upon his afflicted, or "poor", or "meek" and "humble" ones, as the words l may be rendered: the Lord's people is a poor and afflicted people, poor in a temporal and spiritual sense; the church and interest of Christ is in a poor and low condition: the Lord's people are afflicted outwardly and inwardly, and so become meek, and are kept humble; these the Lord, in the latter day, will raise from a low and distressed condition to a more exalted and comfortable one; which will be an instance of his mercy and compassion, and be matter of joy unto them. Why are both Jesus and Satan referred to as the morning star? His charge to us every day is to look at him and "see.". Rather their sins are the cause of their troubles (50:1). It is fitting for judgment to begin at the house of God, so the LORD has first spoken to Israel and Judah. (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, Isaiah 42:5-9). 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? i. I. But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contends with you, and I will save thy children ( Isaiah 49:24-25 ). Thus says the LORD: Surely they may forget, Then you will say in your heart, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49 | Bible.org This is the third of our four lessons from Isaiah in our set of reflections on humanity's participation in God's new creation. And in the day of salvation I have helped You; Moreover, that believers may not faint under the weight of distresses, before promising to them consolation from God, he exhorts them calmly to bear distresses; for by the word poor he means that the Church, in this world, is liable to many calamities. 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. He has no physical hands, but this is poetic imagery that means he keeps us in his . It is beautiful to imagine Jesus comforting and strengthening His soul with these promises as He anticipated and endured the ordeal of the cross. "Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! i. Well, actually, you can drive from one side of Israel to the other in two hours; you can drive from one end to the other in six hours. The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me. And those who swallowed you up will be far away. Look at India. Note, God's compassions to his people infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents towards their children. 2 The message that he gave me to speak. Isaiah 49:1-13 - BibliaPlus Isaiah 49 Commentary - Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible God will now speak to them, not by his prophet, but by the Assyrian conqueror, who will do what they said Isaiah had done, i.e. The first song (42:1-4) tells of the call of the Servant to "bring justice to the nations" (42:1). The purpose of Jesus Christ was to bring Jacob back to God, back to the Father, and to restore the preserved of Israel. The servant stands disbelieving in the face of God's call, blinded by self-condemnation to God's purposes. People born in exile will flock to the rebuilt Jerusalem. d. Your sons shall make haste. Price of gasoline will go down, price of raw materials will go down. 49 Listen to me, distant nations, you people who live far away! Jesus set the righteous dead captive in Hades free from their place (Ephesians 4:8). God says, "It's all right, but I still won't. Which may be understood of the heavens, and the earth by a personification, a figure usual in Scripture, to express the greatness of the benefit received, and to raise thankfulness and admiration in the hearts of God's people; see Psalms 90:11 or by the heavens may be meant the angels in heaven, who, as they rejoice at the conversion of a single sinner, will much more rejoice at such numerous conversions among Jews and Gentiles, here prophesied of, Luke 15:10 and, by the "earth", the saints on earth, the excellent in it, who have a more immediate concern in, and must be affected with, the case here represented: and break forth into singing, O mountains; such as are in high office either in the state, as Christian kings and princes, Isaiah 49:23 or in the church, as prophets and apostles, Revelation 18:20. 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 in vain and for nothing. Commentary on Isaiah 49:1-7 - Working Preacher From Luther Seminary But if that were the case, an apparent contradiction would arise in Isaiah 49:5-6, in which the Servants task is to bring Israel back to Yahweh and to the landthe view that Israel is a title of the individual messianic Servant harmonizes most satisfactorily with the passage and context. (Lindsey). Her friends, who had deserted her, shall be gathered to her, and shall contribute their utmost to her assistance and comfort: Thy children shall make haste. And lick up the dust of your feet. This represents the choices and lifestyle a person accepts as well as calling attention to the . The LORDs affection for His people is greater than the devotion a woman has for her nursing child. In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You: The LORD God extended His help and preservation to the Messiah all through His earthly ministry. The rest of Isaiah 49 and Isaiah 50 will answer this question. Bible Study: Isaiah 49:1-26. And who in the world would object? l "pauperum suorum", V. L. "pauperes suos", Forerius; "inopes suos", Vitringa; "humiles", Sept. "mansuetorum", Targum. Questions about Isaiah | GotQuestions.org You have made my mouth like a sharp sword." If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. And He said to me, Half a century ago the blackest spot upon the map of the world, but if you ask the watchman, "what of the night" that brooded on these islands, he answers from the watch-towers of Omniscience that it is gone!