Major Prophets · Chapter 49 of 66

Isaiah 49

The Servant speaks, called from the womb, his mouth made a sharp sword, given to raise up Jacob and to be a light to the Gentiles reaching the ends of the earth. Though he seems to labor in vain, kings will bow before him. God answers Zion's fear that she is forgotten with the tenderness of a nursing mother, promising to gather her scattered children and prove Himself her Savior and Redeemer.

What happens in Isaiah 49

A servant summons the distant isles, declaring the LORD called him from the womb, made his mouth like a sharp sword, and hid him as a polished arrow. Though named to glorify God, he confesses he seems to have labored in vain. God answers that restoring Jacob is too small a task; He will make the servant a light to the Gentiles and His salvation to the end of the earth. Despised now, this servant will see kings arise and princes worship. God promises to preserve him as a covenant for the people, freeing prisoners and leading them by springs of water.

Zion, meanwhile, complains that the LORD has forsaken and forgotten her. God replies that a nursing mother might forget her child, yet He cannot forget Zion, whose name is graven on His palms. Her children will return so many that the ruined land feels too narrow, and all flesh will know the LORD is her Savior and Redeemer.

Isaiah 49 in context

This is the second of Isaiah's Servant Songs, opening the second half of the Book of Comfort. The servant's identity shifts between corporate Israel, named in verse 3, and an individual who restores Israel, showing a mission larger than the nation.

Spoken to exiles who felt discarded in Babylon, the chapter answers despair with covenant tenderness. Its promise that salvation reaches the ends of the earth expands God's redemptive plan beyond one people to all nations.

Main themes of Isaiah 49

Isaiah 49 (KJV)

1Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. 5And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. 7Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. 8Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a 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; 9That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 10They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. 11And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. 12Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. 13Sing, 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. 14But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. 15Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. 17Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. 18Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. 19For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? 22Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. 24Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 25But 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 contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 26And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Verses to carry from Isaiah 49

“And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”Isaiah 49:6

“Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a 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;”Isaiah 49:8

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”Isaiah 49:15

Reflection

You may feel forgotten, your best efforts spent for nothing. Hear God insist that your name is graven on His palms and that faithful labor is never wasted, even when it looks like failure. The One called a light to the nations still gathers the scattered and leads the weary by springs of water.

A prayer from Isaiah 49