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Chapter 49 prophecies the coming of God’s servant, Jesus the Messiah. The way the chapter is written may remind us of the Gospels in the New Testament. His mission and purpose described in Isaiah reflect what we read about Jesus in the New Testament. We learn Jesus will be rejected by the nations (v. 7), which were the very people he came to save. Jesus came and freed us from bondage (v. 9-10), guiding us in his ways, having compassion on the afflicted (v. 13). But as Romans 11:30 says, we receive mercy despite our disobedience.

This chapter uses a lot of different terms to describe different people. Let’s quickly define them. Islands or coastlands are references to all nations, highlighting a difference in Jesus’ ministry from what religious leaders and people expected. He came for all the people and for everyone to be saved, not just the Jews. We can look at Zion and Israel with the same lens. These are two titles directly referring to the people group of the Israelites, but because of Jesus’ coming, are now encompassing terms for all who believe in Jesus.

What does this mean for us today? Through the justification of Christ dying on the cross, we have been given a new life. That doesn’t mean Jesus is no longer doing anything. He is still interceding for us every day. Just as this passage describes Him covering us in mercy, so are his mercies new every morning for us today because of His intercession. Gentle and Lowly, a book by Dane Ortlund, suggests “intercession is the moment-by-moment application of the atoning work.” Jesus is still near and with us even today. We are reminded by the gospel that we need constant renewal. Christ is daily covering us with his grace. Our sins have fully been paid for and covered by His work on the cross. We receive this mercy daily despite our disobedience. We have a Father who has not forgotten us, who has made a way for us to daily draw near to Him and be covered by Him. He has chosen us to be His people and be a light to the world. Let us rejoice in His faithfulness to Zion!

This chapter further highlights the sins of Israel, including their hypocrisy, idolatry, and disregard for God’s commands. We see this from the first few verses in which the Lord ultimately says that they are Israel by name only, not by character. The Israelites had a special call on their lives to be set apart from the world, yet they allowed their hearts to wander and pursued worldly pleasures. As children of God, we bear His name and the responsibility to reflect His character to the world.

The Lord goes on to say that they are without excuse for continuing to choose false gods, as He has given them substantial proof that He is God alone. He gave them irrefutable evidence about how He foretold things and then they happened, yet Israel remained hard hearted. When the Lord said, “You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?” (v. 6), it is as if He was amazed that the people had seen His power and glory yet still stood in rebellion. Arguably, we have more evidence of the kind of God we serve now than the Israelites had, as we have God’s complete Word in print. We can read how Isaiah ends and see the abundance of fulfilled prophecies. Why is it that we still struggle to believe God and take Him at His word?

The good news is that we serve a merciful God. Despite their sinfulness and rebellion, God is still merciful to them and delivers them from the Babylonians. The end of the chapter declares that they are free from Babylonian captivity, but not without the Lord lamenting over the unfulfilled potential of His people due to their disobedience. These verses truly show the heart of God. He doesn’t want His people to follow His commands because He craves attention or power, but rather He wants His people to obey His commands so that their “peace could be like a river” and their “well-being would be like waves of the sea” (v. 18). We serve a God who is truly for us and for our good. Let us not grieve His heart by walking in disobedience.

The Babylonian religion was best-known for its polytheistic (“many gods”) system, and recognized thousands of gods including astral deities (v. 13) associated with heavenly bodies (sun god, moon god, morning and evening gods). There was even a god of sin. It was believed that these gods were present in their idols much like a king would reside in the palace. Throughout the Bible, Babylon is regarded as wicked, even engaging in child sacrifice. Nevertheless, God allowed Babylon to invade Israel, and He used Babylon as His instrument to punish Israel for Israel’s many sins.  

 Unfortunately, when Babylon invaded Israel, the Babylonians were unmerciful, even treating the elderly harshly (v. 6). They behaved this way because they were arrogant (v. 8). They mistakenly believed no one was comparable to them and that they were above calamity. The New English Translation says it this way: “You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me’” (v. 10). 

 Regarding punishment, we must always remember that God is a God of mercy. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and often delays His judgments in the hope of repentance. God desires “all people to be saved” (even the Babylonians!) and to have “knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). When God acts in judgment, it often upsets human values so people can more easily see their circumstances from a divine perspective and establish a proper sense of values. 

Even though God used the Babylonian Empire to discipline the Israelites, He does not ignore the bad behavior of the Babylonians. God the Father will rebuke and correct us out of His love for us, but like the Israelites and the Babylonians, we get to decide how we respond to God’s discipline. Proverbs 12:1 teaches us that, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” In Proverbs 3:11-12 we read, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” God’s discipline is rooted in His love. He wants us to be more like Him because we are His children. Hebrews 12:11 encourages us to remember the fruit of discipline which is “a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” If we take God’s discipline seriously, we will not only find God’s mercy, but also righteousness and peace in abundance! 

Isaiah 46 starts off by comparing and contrasting the greatness of God with Babylon’s false gods (specifically Bel and Neebo). At the time, Babylon was the most powerful empire on the earth. The Babylonians were full of pride and had idolized the gods that they worshiped with no regard for the one, true God. Even though the Babylonian empire had been elevated by God for a season, they couldn’t continue on this path of idol worship. God is the only One worthy of worship, so Babylon (and its gods) would ultimately have to be held accountable. Bel and Neebo would stoop and bow, showing that they couldn’t actually save anyone; only God is capable of doing that. 

God then reminds His people that He has sustained them all along (and will continue to do so). Re-read what is said in verse 4:

“Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

While Bel and Neebo had to be carried around like the man-made gods that they were, God is reminding the Israelites here that He has been carrying them all along. Think about Isaiah’s original audience hearing this for the first time. As they heard God’s words through Isaiah, they likely would have been reminded of story after story they had heard of God’s faithfulness to the descendants of Jacob. God had remained faithful to Israel, even when they had wandered themselves.

As we read this passage, the temptation is to pat ourselves on the back for not falling prey to something like worshiping man-made statues. Unfortunately, we have our own modern-day ways of idolizing the trinkets and treasures of the world instead of the Creator of the universe. We have crafted our own idols of green pieces of paper and big pieces of metal that can drive on a highway. We care way too much about our reputation in the eyes of the world. We place our identity in things like job titles or the zip codes that we live in. 

Today, let’s remind ourselves that these idols will never sustain or carry us. They may bring us momentary pleasure. They may provide temporary comfort. But they’re never going to rescue us. The only rescuer is Jesus.

God can use all people at all times to accomplish His will. We see this displayed through the prophecy of the restoration of Israel through a king named Cyrus. Cyrus was the king of Persia from 559-530 BC, and it was under his reign that the Israelites were able to return after 70 years of captivity. This is one of the most incredible prophecies of all of scripture! Cyrus was prophesied about by name in Isaiah 150 years before He ever lived. The Lord says about King Cyrus, “I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me” (v. 4). Cyrus was a pagan king that did not know the Lord, and God used him to free the Jewish people from captivity. This prophecy is eventually fulfilled in the book of 2 Chronicles 36 where Cyrus issues a decree to let the Israelites return, and even helps them in rebuilding the temple. God proves Proverbs 21:1 to be true, that “a king’s heart is like channeled water” in His hands. 

God’s relationship with Israel is also symbolized as clay in a potter’s hands. God says to Israel, “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands?’” (v. 9) Isaiah admonished Israel for believing that they knew better than the Creator of all things. This same imagery is clearly illustrated in Jeremiah 18 in the parable of the potter. God tells Jeremiah to go to a potter’s house in order to depict His relationship with His people saying that “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel” (18:6). 

God is the potter, and we are His clay. Knowing that God is the Maker of everything and sovereign over all things should make us hesitant to oppose Him (v. 12). As clay, it is foolish to contend against our molder because He has power over all things. As clay, it is foolish to doubt God’s wisdom because He is all-knowing. As clay, it is foolish to rebel against our God because He desires what is best for us. As clay, we are nothing without Him. Just as a branch is nothing without a vine, clay is nothing without a potter. 

Let this also be a reminder today that we were made by the world’s greatest artist: God. We are His masterpiece, made with incredible intention and purpose to do the good works that He prepared in advance for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). He created us in His image, and because of that we have infinite value and worth. His precious thoughts about us are more numerous than the grains of sand on this earth (Psalm 139:17-18). God loves us so deeply that He sent His one and only son to die for us. We can confidently know who we are when we confidently know the Creator who made us. As moldable and powerless clay before the Lord, we should surrender our plans for His knowing His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). Let us put our hope, our trust, and our worth in our molder today; our greatest fulfillment is in Him!

How often do we fall in the trap of esteeming the creation around us over the Creator who made us? We devote ourselves to the makings of our own hands instead of resting in the hands of our designer. This is the same trap that Israel was falling into.

Isaiah painstakingly points out the futility of worshiping the creation instead of the Creator. He says that “All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless” (v. 9). He illustrates how idols are made in order to show the meaninglessness of them. As depicted in verse 15, a craftsman will take a tree and harvest its wood. That wood is used to cook meat, but the same wood used to cook the meat is also used to create idols designed to be worshiped. These idols have no inherent power yet are worshiped by the very people who created them. Israel finds themselves devoted to this cycle because they’ve deceived themselves into believing that a block of wood carries any power or value. As a result, they are trapped in a lie of their own creation.

But God in his kindness calls Israel to remember whose they are and what they are called to do. He reminds them that He is their “Redeemer”, the one who handcrafted them in the womb, and the Maker who intricately designed everything (v. 24). He promises He will one day pour out His spirit on the people. God says to Israel, “I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (v. 3). This was fulfilled at Pentecost in Acts 2, which was a time where the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people who had trusted in the death and resurrection of Jesus for the payment of their sins. This same spirit is available for us today, and marked the beginning of a New Covenant with God and His people.

We too, can give ourselves to objects of our own creation, and then wonder why we are empty. We can often forsake God and exchange His eternal love and unrelenting care for the immediate and temporary comforts of this world. Everything we have is a gift from God and we are called to steward what He has entrusted to us, not worship it. The good news is that He never stops pursuing us. Just as He did for Israel, His arms are always open to receive a repentant heart that is ready to turn back to him.

Isaiah 43 is such a beautiful passage of scripture that displays God’s heart for the Israelites.  Although the nation of Israel suffers under the captivity of the Babylonians, God sends Isaiah to reassure them that victory lies ahead for them. This victory is possible because of the following three attributes of God.

First (in verses 1-7), God reassures His people of His faithfulness. God’s declaration, “You are Mine!” in verse 1 should be a great comfort to them. He weaves through these verses His tender love and care, as well as the redemption of Israel that is to come. We can find comfort in these words today, as we have seen His faithfulness to us as Lord and Savior. Just as God was with Israel, Jesus is with us both now and for eternity. He will lead us to victory in every area of life as we trust in His Word and faithfulness.

Secondly, verses 8-17 display God’s sovereign power over all the nations surrounding Israel and His ability to show an unbelieving world His might and protection over Israel. He speaks of the eventual fall of the Babylonians and other enemy nations. He promises that He will do “new things,” miracles so incredible that all will see and know He is the one true God. For us now, Christ is sovereign over our hearts and lives as well. This new life runs deeper as we surrender to His ways daily. Only in surrender to Him can we then be effective witnesses to a watching world. Our unbelieving friends and acquaintances will notice and sense that we are different.  We are called to this purpose in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, that God created beforehand, that we should walk in them.” 

Finally, in verses 18-26, Isaiah tells the Israelites that God is their Redeemer. Verse 25 speaks clearly to this, saying, “I am the One who wipes out your transgressions.” Isaiah also chastises Israel for their coldness of heart in worship and sacrifices to Yahweh. In spite of their sin, God promises to move on their behalf if only their hearts remember and praise Him. In the same way, we must also respond with praise to Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who is full of mercy and grace. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Jesus spoke further in John 10:10 saying “I came that they might have life and may have it abundantly.” These verses are some of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture to read, remember, and rest in. Christ is and always will be our faithful, sovereign, Redeemer! Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ!

Isaiah was written long before Jesus’s physical birth, and this book is a foreshadowing with the same message: He’s coming. Jesus is firstly named as the Servant, and He fulfills this role without err. Jesus lived as the Servant by bearing all of humanity’s sins and weaknesses on the cross and resurrecting three days later, so that we (in belief and through faith) could have eternal life with God! On top of that, Jesus still serves those who have accepted the Gospel by interceding for us at the right hand of God continually. What great news! Jesus paid the one-time penalty of death for our sins, AND intercedes for us in heaven? He truly is the Servant. He serves out of the contentment found in knowing that the Father loves Him and He is fulfilling His mission.

The analogy of the bruised reed and smoking flax highlights Jesus’ tenderness. Reeds are plants that are easily tossed by the wind and often damaged. A smoking flax is the wick of a lamp with dim flame that is soon to go out. When we are weak and vulnerable, Christ Himself sees our needs and cares tenderly for us. Understanding that the Father is tender towards the Son helps us to further comprehend the character of God: He is personal. Yet while being gentle, God is never weak or discouraged. God’s compassion perfectly compliments His power as both the Comforter as well as the Judge. He alone is the LORD, and is worthy of all of our adoration. This chapter continues to bridge God’s greatness with His individualized salvation for us all. 

Learning more about the character of God–His tenderness yet holiness, His compassion yet judgment, His meekness yet strength–inspires praise in us! Trusting that we have (or can have, for those who have not accepted the Gospel) an everlasting relationship with this God leads us to worship! Yet how often do we forget His character? Similar to the Israelities, we stray quickly and easily from the reality of God’s coming and stumble around without vision or direction. To wake us up from our wandering, God (like a loving Father) disciplines us. From this low place, we are met by our need for a Savior. Oftentimes, it takes being disciplined to be humble enough to see our need for Christ, and then return to Him in repentance and with a softened heart to His commands (which is the good life)! Just as the Old Covenant law was used to expose the Israelites’ sin and point them to their need for Jesus, so too are the specific things that God uses to refine us in our lives. Therefore, just as the law had a purpose, so too does our suffering.  

Much of what was occurring in the lives of the Israelities is occurring in our lives today: their message of Jesus’s coming, their complacency/comfortability, and their discipline from God. Yet Jesus shows the Father’s tenderness to us through not only His Earthly life, but also His daily intercession for us. God is higher than we are, but He made a way to be near to us forever. God chooses to refine the sin in our lives out of His tender care for us. Christ-followers are given everything that we need to fight the spiritual battle here on Earth– we have God Himself around us and inside of us, and know that He will win the war–but we are often complacent to the battle going on presently, and because of that we are ineffective soldiers in God’s kingdom. Therefore, God uses refinement to wake us up from our laziness while drawing near to us in tender love.