Community Bible Study -- Isaiah

Text of Presentation, Lesson 16, Isa 49:1-18

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Anticipation of Reconciliation
“Strong Foundations for Service”

Tonight we discuss chapter 49 – adding 49:19-26 to the focal 49:1-18. We skipped chapters 46-48; let’s admit it: there’s a lot of repetition in Isaiah. However, there are a couple of quotes from God in these chapters which sum up some important themes:

From the east I summon a bird of prey; . . . a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do (Isa 46:11).

I told you these things long ago before they happened . . . so that you could not say, ‘My idols did them.’ . . . "Listen to me, O . . . Israel . . .: I am the first and I am the last” (Isa 48:5-12).

Cyrus of Persia, God’s agent to free the Jews from Babylon, is not a godly man; he is a “bird of prey.” Just as God uses the brutal pagan Nebuchadnezzar to punish the Jews, He uses another brutal pagan to free them. God will fulfill His promises . . . but in His way! Second, God predicted all this years in advance, so everyone will know He is the Lord of the universe – the only God – and that He controls history.

Chapters 41-48 conclude Isaiah’s discourse on the Jews’ first problem: how to free them from captivity in Babylon. This is important, because to fulfill God’s plans, they must be free people living in Israel, the land of God's promises. Isaiah makes frequent reference to the fact that a blind and rebellious Israel will become God’s servant – God’s evidence to prove his case against idols.

Now that the Jews’ captivity problem is solved, Isaiah addresses their second problem: what to do about the sin that got them into their dilemma! The Jews may be God’s chosen servants, but how can such sinful people serve a just and holy God? Their sin can’t be ignored! Isaiah answers this in chapters 49-55!

The language and imagery of captivity continues, but all reference to Babylon and its idols or to Cyrus disappears. Isaiah is addressing a different kind of captivity . . . and the deliverer from this captivity is a second Servant, whom Isaiah mentioned once before in 42:1-9: an obedient Servant who will bring God's justice to the nations and be a covenant to “the people." This servant will be for Israel what Israel cannot be for itself. He is the means of Israel's restoration to God . . . and through them the restoration of all the world.

It’s important to understand the cultural context of “servant” as it’s used here. To 21st century Americans, a “servant” is someone who does demeaning and/or menial work: a slave on a cotton plantation or a maid on the “Upstairs/Downstairs” TV show. “Servants” are at a lower position on the social scale. There were servants like this in the ancient Middle East – and furthermore, the concept of “servant" connotes ownership.

Yet there were other, quite different facets of servanthood in the ancient Middle East. Slaves might be educated and/or upper-class people captured in war; teachers of children in noble families in the Roman empire, for example, were typically Greek slaves. Also, the Old Testament describes voluntarily slavery for a time as a form of “bankruptcy”: to secure protection from creditors while paying off a burden of debt (cf Lev 25:39-41).

Furthermore, since an absolute monarchy was the only form of government, high government officials were called “servants” of the king, a word which evolved to “ministers.” It was a high honor to be the king’s “First Servant” – his Prime Minister. In the same way, it is high honor when God calls someone his “servant”; it means he is the key agent to accomplish God’s work in the world!

In chapter 49 – and following chapters through Isaiah 52:12 – God repeatedly insists he has not cast his people off. Therein lies the hope of the world! Hence this section is marked by anticipation that God is somehow going to deliver his people from captivity to sin. The climax comes in 52:13-53:12, the “Suffering Servant" passages – a not-to-be-missed part of Isaiah (which we discuss in the next session). The Servant of the Lord – the Messiah – will give his life so God's people may be restored from their alienation into his fellowship and his service.

Getting down to specifics . . . in 49:1-6 the servant speaks. He calls for the entire world to “listen,” and reveals He has been called from the womb for his task (49:1). Like a “sharpened sword" or a “polished arrow" he will accomplish exactly what God wants at the appointed time. There is no hint of blindness or rebellion in this Servant; He has no doubt of his divine enablement (49:2-3). And even though His servanthood seems futile (the first emergence of a theme that will grow in 50:4-9 and 52:13-53:12), He is confident of ultimate vindication (49:4); He knows God will not fail Him.

How the Messiah will accomplish this will be answered later, but 49:6 makes clear He will reach to the ends of the earth, including even “Gentiles." The term “salvation" as used here means divine order, corresponding to “justice" in 42:1. God’s “salvation" means to bring the world into the order He intended; and to do that God must deliver mankind from bondage to sin.

In 49:7-12 God addresses the Servant. He declares that although the Servant is “despised" and reduced to the level of slavery, a day will come when kings and princes will honor Him because of God's faithfulness (49:7; cf Phil 2:5-11). The Servant represents God's “covenant" with his people . . . a new Joshua who will bring Jews from the far ends of the earth and restore them to their ancient inheritances in the promised land – and/or bring people of all sorts from everywhere to be restored to God (Isa 49:8-12).

The result is an outburst of praise (49:13) so universal it involves nature as well as mankind; the God of "compassion" will tend his people like a shepherd tends his flock. The term "comfort," which opened chapter 40, is now used again; and Isaiah will use it several more times as he reveals how the Messiah will deal with Israel’s sin problem and restore the people to God.

Christians often have difficulty understanding the Jewish interpretation of this servant. We seem to think Jews overlook or ignore the obvious Messianic implications; but in reality, they just interpret them differently. Jews realize the servant of Isaiah 49 is the Messiah, and is different from the blind and deaf servant Israel; 1st century Jews waited for a flesh-and-blood Messiah-savior. When Jesus of Nazareth came, Jews who accepted Him became Christians, yet most rejected Him. For a while these Jews continued to expect a Messiah-in-the-flesh . . . but God provided no other. Then the Jews underwent 19 centuries of suffering, and the rabbis began to preach that the two servants are both the nation of Israel: the obedient, suffering servant-Messiah is latter day Israel.

Who’s right? We are, of course! But not so fast! Notice in 49:3 the Servant is specifically named “lsrael"! Interesting . . . those among us who otherwise insist on in a hyper-literal interpretation of the bible ignore this verse, because it clearly supports the Jewish point of view; only a figurative interpretation of the bible supports Christian doctrine!

So how do Christians explain 49:3? Look at 49:5-6:

The LORD . . . formed me in the womb to . . . gather Israel to himself (Isa 49:5a)

How can Israel be the agent to restore Israel to God? Hence the Christian-figurative interpretation is that the servant – the Messiah – is “Israel" as Israel was meant to be . . . displaying the Lord's “splendor" (49:3) as an obedient Israel would do. The Messiah will do what Israel was supposed to do . . . and in so doing, will “gather Israel" to the Lord.

Jews believe they have been “gathered” to the LORD by their suffering. Christians believe this “gathering” requires them to accept Jesus as Messiah . . . and it hasn’t happened yet. But there is still time; Jesus hasn’t returned in glory . . . and recall Paul does say “all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:26a).

We can see the Jewish interpretation in the rest of chapter 49. The Jews are skeptical about God’s promises of the Servant's ministry, as shown by the contrast between 49:13 and 14. God offers "comfort" and "compassion," but in words reminiscent of 40:27, the Jews say “the Lord has forgotten" them (49:14). A recurring theme in Isaiah is God's attempt to overcome unwillingness to believe what He says. So God declares He can no more forget them than a nursing mother can forget her baby – and even if Mom does forget, God won’t (49:15). The proof will be an abundance of "descendants" born to Zion when she thought herself barren (49:17-21), and that God will cause Gentile nations to bring these lost children home (49:22-23)! But these promises elicit another pessimistic answer: Who can break the grip of the strong captors (49:24)? So God reaffirms He can do that very thing (49:25-26)!

Isaiah encountered a skeptical attitude like this in his own day. God promised the people of Judah deliverance from the Assyrian threat if they would only "wait" for him. But until Hezekiah (cf Isa 36-39) they refused to do so. During the Exile – according to the book of Daniel – there was persistent and pervasive pressure for the Jews to give up on God, accommodate themselves to the Babylonian culture, and acknowledge Nebuchadnezzar as king of the universe. It was no easy thing to "wait" for the Lord to fulfill his promises – but a faithful remnant of Jews did just that!

Consider God’s promises of the Servant/Messiah in this context. It took seventy years for the exiles to be freed from captivity and return to Israel (from the first captives were taken to Babylon in 606 BC until the first return in 538 BC). Then it took over 500 years for the Servant’s birth – and by that time the Jews had gained and lost their freedom two more times! Why did God make his people wait so long and endure such conditions for the fulfillment of His promise? We can’t explain this; only God can. Yet some waited confidently for God's time to be fulfilled, and when Jesus came, people like Anna and Simeon were ready to recognize him (Luke 2:25-38). They were part of a long line of people who waited in faith . . . and in the end were not disappointed (49:23).

Now consider Jesus’ promise that he will come again in power and glory. The apostles expected that would happen very soon – and in the years after Jesus' return to heaven, some lost hope. Yet two millennia later it still hasn’t happened! So today’s question is whether we are in that line of faith with Anna and Simeon, or whether we are among those who lose hope and put faith in modern “idols.” God promises not to disappoint those who wait for him . . . but that means waiting as long as He decrees, without losing hope in the meantime.

Yet we can wait confidently on God because we have seen His promises fulfilled. Jesus instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem to be filled with the Holy Spirit; God planned to use them in dramatic ways to fulfill His purpose, but it was going to be in His way in His time, not theirs. We have seen the nations flow to Jerusalem and pour out wealth and devotion on the city of Zion, the church of the living God. We have seen Abraham's descendants swell into the billions, and those who set out to destroy God's people ended up destroying themselves. So we still wait for the final establishment of God's kingdom on earth – in God’s time and God’s way.

Nevertheless, some exiles lost hope because they did not believe in God's love for them:

1. Some thought God had treated them unfairly. Other people around Judah were worse (cf Hab. 1); and if their parents had been as bad as the prophets insisted, God should have punished them – not their "innocent" children (cf Ezek 18). This group said, "If God loves us so much, we shouldn't be in this mess at all" (cf Isa 40:27).

2. Others admitted God had treated them fairly; they got what was coming to them. As a result, as sinful as they were, having failed God so miserably, they could not imagine God could ever love them.

3. Still others looked at their circumstances and concluded the situation was hopeless. Fair or unfair was beside the point; whether or not God loved them was beside the point; the point was there was simply no way out.
   
   

People also lose hope in today’s society . . . and for many of the same reasons. In this age of moral relativism, more and more people seem to think God is “unfair”: “If there were a loving God, why would He allow evil to exist?” . . . or on a personal level: "If God loved me, he wouldn’t allow bad things to happen to me!” Some raised in guilt-based churches have the attitude: "I’m too sinful for God to love me"; others with low self-esteem often believe, "God can't love me; I’m worthless." Finally, some feel a sense of hopelessness because they think their prayers are not answered . . . or that there was no change in their circumstances after they made lifestyle changes they were taught in church.

To all such people God says the same things he said 2,700 years ago: even as a mother loves her baby – God loves us more than that. Yet God calls us to the humiliation of admitting our sin . . . while realizing He wants to forgive us. Moreover, receiving God’s forgiveness makes it possible to forgive ourselves. God asks us to test him in faith – not in doubt – to allow Him to show the love he has for us and demonstrate His love can conquer any obstacle it meets. His arm is not too short to ransom us, nor does he lack the strength to rescue us (cf 50:2).

In closing, recall the Servant/Messiah says: “The LORD . . . formed me in the womb to be his servant” (Isa 49:5). God likewise says in chapter 44 he formed us in the womb. To commemorate last month’s 32nd anniversary of Rowe v Wade, “Jane Rowe” filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn the decision legalizing abortion. What a turnaround in 32 years! I worked to develop phased array real time ultrasound 30 years ago, and this made me realize how we have learned about fetal development since Rowe v Wade. Fetal ultrasound showed only a blob then; even deciding the sex was hit-or-miss. But fetal ultrasound today shows unbelievable detail! When God says “(I) formed you in the womb” (Isa 44:2, 24), we know much better what that means than the people of Isaiah’s day did – or Americans at the time of Rowe v Wade; I see the hand of God in that!

But on another level . . . just as God says here He formed the Messiah in the womb for a purpose, the New Testament teaches if we believe in Jesus, we come into mystical union with Him like a grapevine with its branches (cf Jn 15:5-8) . . . and hence we become part of that purpose.

This means God has a special purpose for each of us; God formed every believer with a special calling suited particularly to him or her, using his or her spiritual gift(s). God calls every believer to fulfill our daily tasks with a joyous sense of carrying out the call of God! Each of us can be – as Isaiah writes – a “sharpened sword" or a "polished arrow" in God’s hand (49:2). As we perform even simple tasks, they may have more significance than we will ever know. And that is truly an exciting promise!