Isaiah 49 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes
Isaiah 49 Short Summary:
Isaiah 49 prophecies the arrival of a special servant of God. The servant, who would be a light to the nations, would gather the people of God and those from other ethnicities. God would bless Judah through His servant and restore them after their punishment in Babylon was complete.
Isaiah 49 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Isaiah’s ministry is thought to span from 739-681 BC.
KEY CHARACTERS:
Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.
God’s Servant – An unnamed servant of God who was selected by Him before birth. He would be a light to the nations and gather the scattered people of God.
Citizens of Judah – Isaiah promised them God would one day restore their land.
DEFINITIONS:
Coastlands (49:1) - Distant lands. Isaiah appears to use this term to describe foreign nations, the neighbors of Judah.
Recompense (49:4) – To make amends for sorrow or harm.
OUTLINE:
GOD’S CHOSEN SERVANT (49:1-7):
Verses 1-7 describe a special servant of God, one who God called from the womb of His mother.
This servant would be to the Lord what a sharp sword and polished arrow were to a warrior.
The servant would bring glory to God.
He would be tempted by discouragement, but he would put his hope in God.
He would gather God’s people back to Him. Judah and Israel had strayed from the Lord for a long time, but the servant would remedy strife between them.
Not only would Judah and Israel be drawn to God, but the servant would also act as a “light for the nations” to gather people from all over the earth.
God’s servant would be hated by many and “abhorred by the nation” (49:7).
He would be a servant, but kings would honor him and princes would bow to Him.
Does this servant sound familiar to you? It seems almost certain that this is a Messianic prophecy and that God’s servant refers to Jesus.
GOD’S SERVANT RESTORES JUDAH (49:8-26):
God would give the Messiah to Judah, and He would be a covenant to the people. He would deliver those in darkness and release those bound in chains.
God’s servant would bring peace. Animals would graze in the open, hunger and thirst would be forgotten, and God would shield His people from the scorching wind and hot sun.
Difficulty and hindrances would disappear. God said this figuratively, when He said, “I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up” (49:11).
Some of the people of Judah wouldn’t believe this promise. They would say, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me” (49:14).
But God reassured them He would not forget.
God was less likely to forget Judah than a nursing mother to forget her baby.
Judah’s persecutors would be taken out of the picture and God would send builders to rebuild desolate Jerusalem. This likely refers to the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, who rebuilt Jerusalem after God dealt with the Babylonians.
Jerusalem would be honored by the nations, and they would bring the scattered children of Judah back to fill the land with joy and abundance.
Gentile kings and queens would honor Judah. Those who refused would suffer in God’s judgement.
In accomplishing these things, Judah would know that God was their Savior and Redeemer.
APPLICATION:
It’s important to remain open minded when studying any Bible passage. Your initial impression of a text or the meaning of a text as it was originally taught to you may not be correct.
If I had been a first century Jew, I don’t doubt that my impression of the Messiah would have been one of a conquering earthly king who was going elevate Judah to world prominence economically, militarily, and religiously.
Listen to Isaiah when he wrote, “Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet… I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” (49:23, 26).
My initial impression of those verses is that God was promising Judah future military victory and an earthly king to reign supreme on earth.
But that is the wrong understanding. Jesus accomplished these prophesies for Judah, but not in the way some of the Jews had concluded.
Jesus’ disciples were initially confused by His ministry, but they worked through their confusion because they were teachable and open-minded to having God show them the true meaning of the scriptures.
We need to remain teachable and open-minded.
Insisting on a particular interpretation of a passage is dangerous when we haven’t ever opened ourselves up to hearing alternative understandings.
Let’s pray that God will help us understand His word and work us through any blind-spots or bad interpretations that we may be holding on to.
