Sunday School Lesson 10 - Isa. 49:1-13 - GOD COMFORTS
LAST WEEK: In Isa. 46:3-13, we heard God's prophet completely discredit the worship of the idols represented by the false deities of Babylon. The prophet also reminded these Jewish exiles (1) that unlike people who were citizens of various kingdoms, they had been created by especially by God and were His possession; (2) that there is no alternative to YHWH, the one true God, and nothing can be compared to Him; (3) that all idols are merely human-created artifacts that can do nothing and can save no one; (4) that nothing can prevent or alter the completion of God's plans; and (5) that the completion of God's plans are never dependent on the faith of the people He saves.
THIS WEEK: In Isa. 49:1-13, we move into a new section of Isaiah (Chapter 42-53) which includes four of what are known as the Servant Songs. Today, in Chapter 49, we'll cover the Second Song, which defines the Servant's mission, and in general, commands the Servant to (1) "raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the protected ones of Israel" and (2) "make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (49:6). The word used for "servant" (Heb. ebed [eh'-bed]), literally means an official who has been endowed with all the authority he needs to serve a king. As to the identity of the servant, it can variously refer to the descendants of Jacob (or Israel) or to unnamed individuals; however, the actual identity of the servant isn't really important (to us) in relation to the mission that God commands the servant to accomplish.
Read Isa. 49:1-4 - THE LORD CALLED ME FROM THE WOMB
1 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."
v. 1a: "Listen to Me, you islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar" - This verse and the next two make it clear that this is the "servant" is speaking for the LORD GOD. His audience includes not only the exiles from Judah, but "you islands" and "peoples from afar," which refers to people of Israelite heritage who are scattered far and wide. Some commentators say that "islands" could even be broadened to encompass Gentiles living in the vicinity of what had been Judah.
v. 1b: "The LORD called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me" - Although the servant doesn't reveal his identity, He is someone whom God conceived in his mother's womb with the specific mission of communicating this message to his audience.
v. 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. " - First off, the servant's "mouth"-his words-like a human tape-recorder, are being controlled word-for-word by God. The next, phrases, "a sharp sword" and "a sharpened arrow," conveys the idea that God has equipped the servant with both short-range and long-range capabilities. Taken together, it means that God has equipped the servant to spread this message with His mighty power, both near and far away. For you or me, it would be like God telling us that He was equipping us to be missionaries who would spread the gospel here in Baxter County or as far away as places like Iran or North Korea!
v. 3: "He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel, In whom I will show My glory" - The use of the metaphor, "My Servant, Israel," to identify the servant has both a near-term and eschatological end-times) implications: in the near term, it would be the return of the exiles to Jerusalem; and in the longer term, Jesus Christ, who will return as God's end-time servant (see generally, Isa. 52-53).
v. 4a: "But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and futility;" - This refers to a future event: Just as the nation of Israel failed in the past, Jesus Christ, as God's servant, will suffer rejection in the future and temporarily, suffer apparent failure (see generally Isa. 50-53).
v. 4b: "Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward is with My God." - The operative word here is "Nevertheless," which means that the servant is confident that God will intervene in history with one of His almighty reversals (i.e., the resurrection of Christ). The word used here for "justice" (Heb. mishpat [mish-pawt']) literally means righteous justice or judgment.
APPLICATION 1: Anyone who believes in God through faith in Jesus Christ is by definition His servant. Because Christ's work was to be a servant to all people, our prime mission in life as believers is to be more Christ-like.
Read Isa. 49:5-6 - I WILL ALSO MAKE YOU A LIGHT OF THE NATIONS
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."
v. 5a: "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" - The Servant now summarizes the mission that God planned for him before his birth. The two words, "Jacob" and "Israel," synonymous here, and the real issue here was not so much the captivity of Babylon, but the people's estrangement (or separation) from God prior to their captivity.
v. 5b: "(For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength)" - The parenthesis here could be the preface "also." The Servant considers himself honored to be chosen for this mission -bringing the people of God back to God-and is confident that the LORD will give him "My strength"-i.e., God's almighty power-to accomplish the mission at hand.
v. 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." - This is God speaking to His Servant, saying basically that the Servant's mission to Jacob/ Israel, is minor compared to the next one: You, My servant, are also appointed to be the agent if salvation, not only to Israel but to the "nations"-the rest of the people of this entire earth. Every Christian believer is a by-product of this mission. Together with Gen. 12:1-2 and Ex. 19:5-6, this verse is often referred to as the "great Commission of the OT."
APPLICATION 2: As Christian believers, we were formed in the womb (i.e., predestined) to be God's servants. And the mission Christ has assigned to us as His servants is very straightforward to: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15).
Read Isa. 49:7 - THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL HAS CHOSEN YOU
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."
v. 7a: "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:" - Notice that there are three admirable names for God and three undistinguished names assigned to the Servant. God isn't stating His own opinion of the Servant but is echoing the regard that all the other nations have for Israel. No one from other nations-Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and later Rome-would ever aspire to be an Israelite.
v. 7b: "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" - Because God is faithful to the servant whom He has sent, what the "Kings" and "Princes" will "see," that will impel them to "arise" and then "bow down" to God's servant is the glory of God, the moist irresistible force in the universe (see Isa. 45 generally).
APPLICATION 3: As God's servants, we should expect many people to despise us. We live in a world largely opposed to God, and because of this, we should expect opposition. But because God is faithful to those who serve Him, we can proceed with confidence. Also, as American citizens we are very fortunate to have a government that protects our right to express our faith.
Read Isa. 49:8-10 - HE WHO HAS COMPASSION ON THEM WILL LEAD THEM
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.
v. 8a: "This is what the LORD says: "At a favorable time I answered You, And on a day of salvation I helped You" - Many scholars interpret "favorable time" as the Year of Jubilee, which came every 50th year, when peoples were released from their debts, slaved were freed, and property returned to rightful owners. In addition, it was also a year dedicated to rest, with no crops being harvested, a time when scattered families return to each other.
v. 8b: "And I will watch over You and make You a covenant of the people" - A "covenant" is a binding contract between parties. In the case of a covenant between God and humans, although God dictates all the terms, the terms are always favorable to humans, and in this instance God will bless the "people" through the work of the Servant.
v. 8c: "To restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands" - Now, after a lengthy captivity in Babylonia, God is preparing for the return of the exiles to their homeland. These exiles are returning to land they have never seen, and the Servant will be responsible for reapportioning land that has largely been desolate for a long time.
v. 9a: "Saying to those who are bound, 'Go free,' To those who are in darkness" - This verse has a double meaning: (1) In the immediate sense, it is an announcement of freedom to "those who are bound"-the Jewish exiles in Babylonia and (2) in the future sense, it is a call to sinners, "who are in darkness," to come out of the darkness of sin into the holy light (i.e., be saved).
v. 9b: "Show yourselves."' - The command, "Show yourselves," is a call for the exiles (or sinners) to come out of the darkness of bondage to slavery (or sin). It can be frightening for people accustomed to darkness to expose themselves to light (public view), and it will take faith for them to have the courage to show themselves.
v. 9c: "They will feed along the roads, And their pasture will be on all bare heights" - This and the next two verses introduce the familiar biblical metaphor of a shepherd leading a flock of sheep. Here, God promises to provide for these exiles as they return to their homeland. They will find food "along the roads" and even find usable pasture on "bare heights," which is supernatural provision.
v. 10a: "They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;" - The distance from Babylon to Jerusalem was over 900 miles, across rugged terrain that included both barren desert wilderness and mountains (2 Kings 24-25; Ezra 2). In a manner reminiscent of the Exodus, God not only promises supernatural provision of food and water for the journey, but he will protect them from the heat and exposure. Normally, in journey under these conditions, older or infirm members could be expected to die along the way, but in this case, they will be under God's divine protection from start to finish.
v. 10b: "For He who has compassion on them will lead them, And He will guide them to springs of water." - It isn't the worthiness of the exiles that accounts for the favor of God but is His compassion (undeserved grace) for them. The phrase "will guide them to springs of water" evokes a sense of giving new life to them. In that respect this journey is more than geographical; it is also spiritual. The exiles are doing more than just returning to their homeland; they are returning to their LORD (YHWH).
APPLICATION 4: As God's servants, it is our mission to call sinners out of the darkness of sin into the light of God's salvation. Like a guide helping people move out of a barren wilderness to a better place, we can guide people on a journey that leads them to a new life. By sharing the gospel message, we have the power to show them the Truth, the Way, and the Life.
Read Isa. 49:11-13 - I WILL MAKE ALL MY MOUNTAINS A ROAD
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.
v. 11: "I will make all My mountains a road, And My highways will be raised up" - According to the route Ezra's group took (see map), some of the terrain was hilly and mountainous like the Ozarks (compare walking on foot from Little Rock to Mountain Home six or seven times). The route also would have included desert wadis and canyons formed by dry river beds. The group would have included both older people and young children, none of whom would have been equipped with hiking and mountaineering skills. God, who can supernaturally create and un-create, promised to miraculously level the terrain along their route.
v. 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." - When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were destroyed, most of their inhabitants were dispersed in what's known as the first Jewish Diaspora. Therefore, God's call to His chosen people Israel not only included the Babylonian exiles, but was extended to Jewish people at all points of the compass, all the way to Aswan in southern Egypt. This will be a great ingathering of Jewish people so that they can once again claim their inheritance in the Promised Land. (But note, later diasporas would follow that scattered the Jews far and wide).
v. 13a: "Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!" - This is the big picture from God's perspective: It isn't only the freed exiles who will rejoice, but all of nature-the heavens, the earth, and the mountains. In other words, the cause for rejoicing goes beyond the freeing of the exiles to the restoration of things as God had created it to be; the setting right of a world that has been out of kilter for ages.
v. 13b: "For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted." - This verse echoes v. 10 in regard to the continuing care and compassion that the LORD GOD (YHWH) has for the afflictions He has visited upon His people Israel. To paraphrase, the prophet is affirming that God does not enjoy disciplining His people, and it pains Him to have to do it.
APPLICATION 5: As God's servants, we've received a mission to guide people from all points of the compass to a Promised Land-God's heaven. When we do this, all of God's creation rejoices. We are actively serving God by helping Him with the restoration of things as He created them to be. We are helping him set right a world that has been out of kilter for ages.
