Isaiah · chapter 49 of 66
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Isaiah 49 contains the second song of the Servant of the Lord, called from the womb to restore Jacob and to be a light to the nations to the end of the earth. The chapter answers Zion, who feels abandoned, with the promise that the Lord does not forget her, for he has engraved her on the palms of his hands, and announces that her children will return and the nations will bring them.
With Isaiah 49 a new stage of the second part of the book begins. After speaking of Cyrus and the fall of Babylon, the prophet presents more forcefully the Servant of the Lord, whose mission goes beyond freeing the exiles and reaches the nations. It is the second of the Servant songs (the first is in chapter 42).
A voice speaks to the coastlands and to peoples far away: the Lord called him from the womb and named him from his mother's body. He made his mouth like a sharp sword and hid him in the shadow of his hand, like a polished arrow kept in his quiver. The Lord told him he is his servant, Israel, in whom he will be glorified. The Servant confesses that he has labored in vain and spent his strength for nothing, but he trusts that his cause is with the Lord.
The Lord answers that it is too light a thing for him to be a servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and bring back the preserved of Israel. He also makes him a light to the nations, so that the Lord's salvation may reach the end of the earth. To the one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, a servant of rulers, kings will see and rise, and princes will bow down. Verses 8 through 13 announce the day of salvation: the Lord will keep him and give him as a covenant for the people, to restore the land and tell the prisoners to come out. They will feed along the roads, without hunger or thirst, and the Lord will have compassion on them. The heavens and the earth sing.
Zion says the Lord has forsaken her and forgotten her. The Lord answers with the picture of a mother: even if she should forget her nursing child, he will not forget Zion, for he has engraved her on the palms of his hands. Her children return and the desolate city fills up. Zion will ask in amazement who bore her these children. Verses 22 through 26 promise that the nations will bring Zion's sons and daughters in their arms and on their shoulders, and that the Lord will contend with those who contend with his people. Then all flesh will know that the Lord is their Savior and Redeemer.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord tells his servant that he is Israel, in whom he will be glorified. In the song the Servant is identified with Israel, but then he is charged with restoring Israel, which points to someone who represents the people and fulfills their mission.
The Lord says it is too small a thing for the Servant to restore the tribes of Jacob: he makes him a light to the nations so that salvation may reach the end of the earth. In Acts 13:47 Paul and Barnabas take these words as the basis of their mission to the Gentiles.
The Lord answers the Servant in a time of favor and gives him a day of salvation. Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 6:2 to say that now is the time of favor, the day of salvation.
Even if a mother could forget her nursing child, the Lord will not forget Zion, for he has engraved her on the palms of his hands. God's love is described with a picture stronger than a mother's love.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: From the womb; he named him from his mother's body. — Isaiah 49:1
Answer: His mouth is a sharp sword and he is a polished arrow hidden in the Lord's quiver. — Isaiah 49:2
Answer: That he has labored in vain and spent his strength for nothing, but his cause is with the Lord. — Isaiah 49:4
Answer: To be a light to the nations so that salvation reaches the end of the earth. — Isaiah 49:6
Answer: Zion says the Lord has forsaken and forgotten her; he answers that he will not forget her and has her engraved on the palms of his hands. — Isaiah 49:14-16
Answer: In their arms and on their shoulders. — Isaiah 49:22
Isaiah 49 speaks to anyone who feels their work has been in vain. The Servant confesses his weariness and still trusts that his cause is with the Lord. In a small group you can encourage leaders, teachers and parents who labor without seeing fruit: the final result is not in our hands but in the Lord's.
The promise to Zion also comforts someone who feels forgotten. God's love does not depend on our consistency or our emotions. And the mission of being a light to the nations reminds the whole church that the gospel is not only for those already near but also for those far away. A class can ask which peoples or persons around them are still outside the reach of the light.
Isaiah 49 shows the Servant as a light to the nations and Zion as a city loved and not forgotten. In chapter 50 the Servant appears again, this time speaking of his obedience in the midst of suffering.
Verse 3 calls the Servant Israel, but verses 5 and 6 charge him with restoring Jacob and Israel, which suggests he is not only the nation. Many interpreters see Israel as the servant whom an individual Servant represents and whose mission he fulfills. The New Testament applies these words to Christ, as when Simeon speaks of a light for the Gentiles in Luke 2:32 and Paul quotes verse 6 in Acts 13:47.
It is a picture of permanent memory and personal care: what is engraved cannot be erased or lost. The text uses it to answer Zion, who feels forgotten. Many believers see in this image a foretaste of God's care for his children, and some recall the hands of Christ on the cross, although the passage does not say so.