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 God says:

“Can you produce your mother’s divorce papers
    proving I got rid of her?
Can you produce a receipt
    proving I sold you?
Of course you can’t.
    It’s your sins that put you here,
    your wrongs that got you shipped out.
So why didn’t anyone come when I knocked?
    Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?
Do you think I’ve forgotten how to help?
    Am I so decrepit that I can’t deliver?
I’m as powerful as ever,
    and can reverse what I once did:
I can dry up the sea with a word,
    turn river water into desert sand,
And leave the fish stinking in the sun,
    stranded on dry land . . .
Turn all the lights out in the sky
    and pull down the curtain.” (The Message).

From a human point of view, people often ask, ‘Where was God when I called to Him?’ In one way or another we express the problem of unanswered prayer. But here it’s turned around. We see from God’s angle as He speaks about the problem of un-answering people.

God still has the power to make good on His promises. He is totally in control of nature. The only possible obstacle is the one that has always been there: i.e. their unresponsiveness to His Word and Work.

‘…the need for change is urgent, for there is the possibility of a new beginning if only God’s people will grasp it by faith and move forward into it.’ (Barry Webb: ‘Isaiah’, p.198).

²² This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
they will bring your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.
²³ Kings will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
    those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

²⁴ Can plunder be taken from warriors,
    or captives be rescued from the fierce?

²⁵ But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
    and your children I will save.
²⁶ I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.
Then all mankind will know
    that I, the Lord, am your Saviour,
    your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

There will be a day when the whole world will bow with reverence before the God of Israel, who is also the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Phil.2:5-11). They will also have an appropriate respect for God’s people. For ourselves, we need to know that the Lord is infinitely trustworthy (23b) and He will bring all of this about in His own way and time. As the hymn says, ‘He is not a disappointment.’ He does not disappoint those who look to Him in faith.

Looking back to the preceding verses (14-21), Barry Webb says, ”This, of course, means that the rest of the world has a decision to make. They can co-operate with God by blessing his people (22-23), or they can defy him by continuing to persecute them (24-26). They can share in the blessing God intends to bestow on his people, or they can entirely cut themselves off from it. But they cannot claim any relationship with God that bypasses identification with his people. Saul of Tarsus, centuries later, was to have this truth impressed on him directly by the risen Jesus. His response was to lay down his arms and become the servant of those he had laboured so determinedly to destroy – and be blessed along with them!’ (Isaiah, p.197).

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40).

“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land
    will soon be crowded with your people.
Your enemies who enslaved you
    will be far away.
²⁰ The generations born in exile will return and say,
    ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’
²¹ Then you will think to yourself,
    ‘Who has given me all these descendants?
For most of my children were killed,
    and the rest were carried away into exile.
I was left here all alone.
    Where did all these people come from?
Who bore these children?
    Who raised them for me?’” (NLT).

The deepest truth about church growth is that God gives it!

After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. ⁶ I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. ⁷ It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. ⁹ For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. (1 Cor.3:5-9 NLT).

This, obviously, speaks of the future repopulation of Jerusalem following the years in exile. The growth will be miraculous. There will be no natural explanation for it. This is a picture of what we see in the church in seasons of revival. May the Lord graciously bless us with such a supernatural work.

Barry Webb writes: ”Zion’s children will return to her, and more besides; she will overflow with them. She herself will not be able to comprehend the full extent of the blessing to break over her. The images are mixed and do not always cohere logically, but they all affirm God’s love for his people and his tireles commitment to their welfare.” (Isaiah, p.196).

Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us;
    the Lord has forgotten us.”

¹⁵ “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
    Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
    I would not forget you!
¹⁶ See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
    Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
¹⁷ Soon your descendants will come back,
    and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
¹⁸ Look around you and see,
    for all your children will come back to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
    “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display. (NLT).

We have just read a grand, sweeping vision of the future, when people will come streaming into the Kingdom of God (8-13). But, it’s been pointed out, such realities are hard to lay hold of when we are in acute pain. The word ”Yet” in verse 14 (or ”But”) brings us back to the immediate situation of the fall of Jerusalem, and its effects on all those who experienced it. They felt abandoned.

However, the Lord reaffirms His love for His people. It’s almost like He sings over them, ‘Unforgettable, that’s what you are.’ Although, thankfully, not the norm, there is a possibility of some mothers neglecting their children. But God will not stop loving His own. The discipline and chastening of the exile years in Babylon are not to be taken as the withdrawal of His love (see Hebs.12:4-13). Anyway, there will ”Soon” be a major turnaround in their fortunes. In reality the ”Soon” would take 70 years, but in the grand scheme of things that is just the blink of an eyelid (2 Pet.3:8,9).

In the book ‘Spiritual Direction’ Henri Nouwen writes about how in his later years he moved into a community and became a carer for a mentally handicapped young man called Adam, and how He felt more and more in touch with the heart of God because of knowing Him. Writing about what he learned from Adam he said,

”First, he taught me that being is more important than doing, that God wants me to be with him and not do all sorts of things to prove I’m valuable. My life had been doing, doing, doing. I’m a driven person, wanting to do thousands and thousands of things so that I can show – somehow, finally – that I’m worthwhile” (p.44).

He came to see that the deepest truth about His life: he was (is) a beloved son of God.

If God would not forget Israel, how sure we can be that He will not forget those of us who are in His Son Jesus.

‘Unforgettable-that’s what you are.’

Prayer: Lord, help me to really grasp the unalterable truth that I am infinitely and eternally loved by you.

 This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favour I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
⁹ to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.
¹⁰ They will neither hunger nor thirst,
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
    and lead them beside springs of water.
¹¹ I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways will be raised up.
¹² See, they will come from afar—
    some from the north, some from the west,
    some from the region of Aswan.”

¹³ Shout for joy, you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;
    burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
    and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

We have seen that, in this passage, God is still speaking to His ”servant” (who we know to be Jesus), promising to strengthen Him for the work of Redemption, the establishing of the New Covenant.

As the passage flows joyfully on, the words have a familiar feel. They are reminiscent of other texts in Isaiah where a ‘second exodus’ is envisaged, with God delivering the captives from Babylon, and providing for them and guiding them on their journey home.

But the context demands that it is much more than this. It must refer to the Messiah’s greatest work of liberation: the freeing of spiritual prisoners through His death on the Cross, and the great ingathering to His Kingdom. Note the allusion to verse 10 in Rev.7:17, showing the relevance to Gentiles also. This is a reason for worldwide and universal joy (13).

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves… Col.1:13.

 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9.

Paul was sent, by Jesus, to the Gentiles: …to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:18.

Thank God, this process of releasing darkness-bound prisoners continues, and the Kingdom of Christ grows apace.

 This is what the Lord says:

“At just the right time, I will respond to you.
    On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you and give you to the people
    as my covenant with them.
Through you I will re-establish the land of Israel
    and assign it to its own people again.
⁹ I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’
    and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ (New Living Translation).’

As we saw yesterday, God is speaking to His Servant, the Messiah, promising to help Him on that day when He establishes the New Covenant through His own blood. How could Jesus go through all the sufferings He had to endure on the Cross – both physically and spiritually? The Book of Hebrews tells us that:

…by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:14.

Jesus had God’s ”help”, just as He had promised centuries earlier.

We need to take today’s passage in conjunction with Isaiah 42:5-7. Tom Hale’s comments on that passage should be born in mind as we read this one:

‘In these verses, God addresses His servant directly. He says: ”I will…make you to be a covenant for the people (all people) and a light for the Gentiles (verse 6). Only Jesus could ”be a covenant” uniting God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5); His own blood sealed that covenant (Mark 14:23-24). Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s covenant with David (see 2 Samuel 7:12-17…); He was also, by His death, the maker of a new covenant, which superseded the old (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:8-13). Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1041.

 This is what the Lord says:

‘In the time of my favour I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;

In verses 8-13 God continues to speak to His servant, the Messiah, promising to help Him at the time He offers up His life for the ”salvation” of the world. But what I note in particular at the beginning of this next section is a reference to Jesus’ prayer life. His ‘religious life’ is a great example to us, not to mention an encouragement and inspiration also. If Jesus was answered in God’s time, we can’t expect that it will be any different for us.

Billy Graham said, “Never forget that God isn’t bound by time the way we are.”

“Many times I have been driven to prayer. When I was in Bible school I didn’t know what to do with my life. I used to walk the streets…and pray, sometimes for hours at a time. In His timing, God answered those prayers, and since then prayer has been an essential part of my life.”

 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Hebrews 5:7.

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. Luke 22:39-22

This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

As we have previously noted the universe standing up in God’s presence, so we now see ”Kings” standing in the presence of Christ.

To my mind, this passage is resonant with the introduction to the fourth and final ‘Servant Song (52:12-15), with its message of a great reversal for the rejected (crucified) suffering Servant:

See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isaiah 49:7 reads like this in ‘The Message’:

God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel,
    says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations,
    slave labor to the ruling class:
“Kings will see, get to their feet—the princes, too—
    and then fall on their faces in homage
Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word,
    The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you.”

I have regularly recommended Tom Hale’s excellent Old and New Testament commentaries. I’m quoting him again today because I think this is excellent:

‘Here the Lord addresses His servant, the Messiah, one who was despised and abhorred by the nation (Israel). Here we get our first suggestion that the Messiah would be rejected by His own people – which, of course, turned out to be true. He is called the servant of rulers; Jesus was subject to earthly rulers, such as Herod and the Roman emperor. But in the end, the rulers of the world will rise up in respect and bow down in submission before God’s servant, the King of kings and Lord of lords. This has yet to come true but one day it surely will, because God has chosen His servant and God is faithful to His word (see Philippians 2:9-11).’ Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1050.

And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength—
⁶ he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

God is going to use Jesus, not only to bring the Jews back to Himself – great as that is – but to bring in the Gentiles also.

God may have greater things in store for each one of us than we can ask or envisage. Perhaps we have too ”small” a vision of what He could do through us? I think of a book title from some years past: ‘Give up your small ambitions.’

‘Verse 6 has been called the Old Testament version of Christ’s ”Great Commission” (Matthew 28:19-20). This mission of the servant involves not only Christ but His followers as well. Paul quoted verse 6 and applied it to himself and Barnabas – and, by extension, to all believers (see Acts 13:46-47). The commission Jesus received from the Father has been given to us also (John 20:21). We too are to be lights in the world (Matthew 5:14-16), witnesses to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8). Tom Hale: Applied Old Testament Commentary, pp.1049,1050.