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LIGHT FOR ALL NATIONS
Isaiah 49:1-6
Listen 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. And 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; And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have labored 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. And 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. 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.
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REVIEW
The focus of this lesson is God's love for all people everywhere and how it compels us to be involved in world missions. The closer we are to His heart, the more committed we will be to reaching the world for Christ. Isaiah 49:1-6 is the second of four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah. As a whole, these songs depict the coming messiah as God's chosen Servant. The purpose and mission of the Servant was an extension of God's desire for people everywhere to know Him. The tidings of a Redeemer are sent to the Gentiles. That is you and me—anyone not Jewish. God is good!
1. God had appointed him; The Lord has called me from the womb. By and angel he called him Jesus-a Saviour, who should save his people from their sins, Matthew 1:21
2. God had fitted him for the service. He made his mouth like a sharp sword, and made him like a polished shaft, to fight God's battles against the powers of darkness, to conquer Satan, and bring back God's revolted subjects to their allegiance, by his word: that is the two-edged sword (Heb 4:12)
3. God had preferred him to the service for which he had reserved him: He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand, which denoted concealment and protection.
The discouragement he had met with at his first setting out (v. 4): “Then I said, with a sad heart, I have labored in vain. It is the complaint of many a faithful minister, that has not loitered, but labored, not spared, but spent, his strength, and himself with it, and yet, as many it is all in vain: they will not repent and believe. Let not the ministers think it strange that they are slighted when the Master himself was.
He comforts himself under this discouragement with this consideration, that it was the cause of God in which he was engaged: Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, who is judge of all, and my work with my God, whose servant I am. His comfort may be the comfort of all faithful ministers, when they see little success of their labours. They are with God, and for God: they are on his side, and workers together with him. “He knows the way that I take; my judgment is with the Lord, to determine whether I have not delivered my soul and left the blood of those that perish on their own heads. The work is with the Lord, to give them success, according to his purpose, in his own way and time.
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INCLUSION OF THE EXCLUDED
Isaiah 56:3-8
Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
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REVIEWThe prophet Isaiah is here, in God's name, encouraging those that were joining themselves to God, yet labored under great discouragements. They had joined themselves to the Lord. They were Gentiles. They said, “The Lord has utterly separated me from his people, and will not own me as one of them, nor admit me to their privileges.” The eunuch was thought to be of no use because he had no children, nor was ever likely to have any.
Now encouragements were given. To those who have no children of their own, though they had the honour to be the children of the church and the covenant themselves. What a good character they have! The keep God's Sabbaths as he has appointed them to be kept. They choose those things that please God The covenant of grace is proffered to us in the gospel; to take hold of it is to accept the offer deliberately and sincerely to take God to be to us a God and to give up ourselves to be to him a people.
(v. 5) Unto them will I give a better place and name. God will give it to them by promise; he will himself be both their place and their name. He will give it to them in his house, and within his walls; there they shall have a place. Our relation to God, our interest in Christ, and our hopes of eternal life, are things that give us in God's house a blessed place and a blessed name. It shall be an everlasting name that shall never be cut off.
It is here promised that they shall now be welcome to the church, v. 6, 7. To love the name of the Lord.
Serving him and loving him go together, and that obedience is most acceptable to him, which flows from a principle of love, for then his commandments are not grievous, 1 John 5:3
Three things are promised them, in their coming to God: Assistance: “I will bring them to my holy mountain not only bid them welcome, but will show them the way and lead them in it.” Acceptance: “Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted to my altar, and be never the less acceptable for theirs.” Comfort: They shall not only be accepted, but they themselves shall have the pleasure of it: I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. This indicates the gathering of God's people first is to be centered in our relationship with the Lord. As the church celebrates the inclusive grace of God He brings into his fellowship still others besides those that are gathered unto him. When churches are filled with Christ-centered, praying worshipers who have God's heart of compassion and are including new people in their fellowship, they typically are blessed with continual growth.
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WORSHIPED BY ALL NATIONS
Isaiah 66:18-20, 23
For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
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REVIEWGod knows both what men do and with what design they do it. He will appear to the comfort and joy of all that are faithful to him in the setting up of the kingdom of grace, the first-fruits of the kingdom of glory. The time shall come that he will gather all nations and tongues to himself, that they may come and see his glory as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ, v. 18. God will set apart a remnant that shall be devoted to him and a mark shall be set upon them, I will set a differencing sign. Christ's sheep are marked.
Isaiah named several nations that represented the farthest reaches of the known world in his day. By mentioning these far-flung nations, the prophet helped his readers visualize the breadth of God's meaning that God wanted to reach all those who have not heard. It is a pity that any of the children of men should be at such a distance from their Maker as not to hear his name and see his glory. Those that are sent to the nations shall go upon God's errand, to declare his glory among the Gentiles. The Jews that shall be dispersed among the nations shall declare the glory of God's providence concerning their nation all along. The meaning is only that they shall be brought into the church by the grace of God, as carefully as if they were carried in chariots and litters.
The public worship of God in religious assemblies shall be attended by all that are thus brought as an offering to the Lord, v. 23. This is described in expressions suited to the Old Testament dispensation, to show that though the ceremonial law should be abolished, and the temple service should come to an end, yet God should be still as regularly worshipped as ever
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