•Isaiah 49:1-13
•The Greater Need
1 Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The LORD called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the LORD,
and my recompense with my God.”
5 And now the LORD says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
(Isaiah 49:1-7, ESV)
8 Thus says the LORD:
“In a time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.”
13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the LORD has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
(Isaiah 49:8-13, ESV)
Main Point
• These verses establish a new theme in Isaiah
• The focus had been on God’s redemption from the Babylonian exile
• Now, God begins to deal with a more serious problem
• The problem is their sinfulness
• God will deal with this through His Servant
• All that is left to do is praise God for his deliverance
Application Points
• The Greater Need
– Throughout the previous chapters of Isaiah we have seen many needs for the people
– Deliverance from Assyria, and then from Babylon
– They are in need of physical deliverance from their enemies
– There is a need for God to act for his people
– The Babylonian exile has brought an interesting thought…
– Has God been defeated?
– Has He abandoned the people?
– God has not been defeated
– God has not abandoned His people
Application Points
• The Greater Need (2)
– What we have seen is God’s hands in both judgment and chastisement against His people for their faithlessness
– God acts in and through history to bring about His purposes
– God is dealing with one of the problems His people face
– Their separation from Jerusalem
– Thus we find they should not trust idols but trust the Living God
– He is going to act and redeem them
– This does not deal with the other problem which is their relationship with God
– Their relationship with God has been broken
– They have need to return to Jerusalem, but their greater need is in returning to God
Application Points
• The Greater Need (3)
– Their sin has caused a rift between them and God
– It has caused brokenness in their relationship which must be repaired
– Even if they should return to Jerusalem, it will mean nothing if in the end it will lead to their destruction again
– It will only mean judgment against them
– The goal of Cyrus is that they should return home, the goal of the Servant is that they should return to God
– It is not only the people of Jacob, but those in the world
– This Servant will be the guiding light for all people everywhere
Application Points
• The Greater Need (4)
– Not only this, but the Servant is going to prepare a way which the people will traverse
– They will make it back to God Himself…the foundation of all things
– This Servant is going to provide the way and nothing will hinder those who follow
– The reward will be attained by those who persevere
– The reward is God Himself
– In these verses, then, we see God doing something new
– He is going to provide redemption from sin in order that their relationship can be restored
– God has promised to provide for them in their need
– How can we not join with the cosmos in rejoicing in what we have just learned?
– The greater need will be met by God
•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
–Origins
–Where we began
–Fall
–What went wrong
–Redemption
–How it is fixed
–Glorification
–Where it at leads
