Isaiah 49 - NIV - Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant ... (2024)

FAQs

What does Isaiah chapter 49 mean? ›

This is a promise of Christ. While the Jews of Jesus' day expected an earthly king to deliver them from the Romans, this prophecy shows that Christ would come to serve and not rule. He is the light to the Gentiles, bringing salvation to the ends of the earth.

That means that He writes our name on his hand it is there forever. God never forgets us and He always loves us. A mother may be true, her affection may be as pure and as strong as earth can furnish but she may forget. But here is somebody who always has us in everlasting remembrance.

Multiple Old Testament passages anticipate the unborn messiah in his mother's womb. One such passage, Isaiah 49, predicts seven centuries in advance that God's servant (Jesus) would be a human being, born of a woman (Mary).

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother's womb he has spoken my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.

In Isaiah 49:15 the image is very feminine - God is compared to a mother breastfeeding her baby or a pregnant woman carrying her unborn child. The image in Isaiah 49: 16 is more masculine as God is remembering and protecting where we live.

The prophet expresses confidence that despite his apparent failure, God will recognize his effort and reward him appropriately. The specific nature of the reward is not mentioned, but it could be that God, in his own time, will allow the prophet to see the result of his hard labor.

Zion is the people of God, the church of all ages who rejoices and delights in her Lord and King. In the way of rejoicing and thankful living, Zion would show her desire to walk in the ways of Jehovah. There were times when even Zion did not want to hear the words of Isaiah.

The Proof of God's Love

The question of God's love is answered in verse 15. God will not forget those who trust in him, even if a mother forgets her nursing child. After proclaiming his love, God proves his love. If the language of verse 15 is not dramatic enough, verse 16 is even more graphic.

“Heavenly Father, your vast love is incomprehensible! To engrave me upon the palms of your hands speaks volumes of your love for me. As I am your treasure, so are you my own treasure!

In Isaiah 49:6, the prophet speaks of a servant of God who would be a light to Gentiles (non-Jews) so that God's salvation could reach the ends of the earth. Christians acknowledge that Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise. The followers of Jesus helped spread Christianity about 2,000 years ago.

Who is God's servant in the book of Isaiah? ›

In fact, Isaiah 49:3 explicitly names the servant as Israel: “And [God] said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (NRSV). Christians have typically seen the servant in individual terms and associated clearly with Jesus — his life and ministry, but especially his death and resurrection.

Overall, Isaiah 49:8 (KJV) is a powerful declaration of God's faithfulness and his commitment to his covenant people. It speaks to the themes of divine timing, salvation, preservation, and restoration, and carries rich theological and prophetic significance.

This poem, written from the Servant's point of view, is an account of his pre-natal calling by God to lead both Israel and the nations. The Servant is now portrayed as the prophet of the Lord equipped and called to restore the nation to God.

Isaiah 49:22 Meaning and Commentary

meaning the same as before, only perhaps weaker converts, dealing with them according to their infirmities; carrying them with as much ease, care, and tenderness, as young children are carried on the shoulders of their parents or others.

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine: These two parallel lines give very graphic images of the self-destruction of Zion's enemies that results from God's actions. They refer figuratively to self-destruction rather than literally to cannibalism.

YHWH'S ORACLE OF REASSURANCE TO ZlON in Isa 49:14-18 is one of the biblical passages in. which God's steadfast love is most clearly compared to maternal love. Zion, the city of God, is identified and addressed as a mother, one who is distraught with grief and feelings of helplessness and loss.

Now, as if to guard us from viewing these words in too general a sense, the Lord has limited their meaning in the next verse--"To appoint unto those who mourn in Zion." The promise, therefore, is not to those who mourn generally, but to those who mourn specially; not to those who are in heaviness and sorrow from mere ...

Isaiah 44:5 describes the children of Jacob committing themselves to God: “One shall say, 'I am the LORD's'… Another shall mark his arm 'of the LORD.'” Here a tattoo appears to be allowable as a sign of submission, not to a human master but to God.

In verse 16, God says, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” The “walls” are a reference to the broken-down walls of Jerusalem while the Jews were in exile in Babylon. God is saying: “I see your life; I know exactly what is going on in your life.