God Will Remember Jerusalem
December 28, 2019
Commentary
In this passage the Lord assures Israel of His love by comparing Himself to a compassionate mother (vv 14-23). The people of Jerusalem say, “The Lord has turned away and forgotten us” (v. 14). Isaiah pictures Israel as a nursing child totally dependent on the Lord who will never forget them or forsake them (v. 15). The high priest had the names of the tribes of Israel engraved on jewels; but God had His children’s names engraved on His hands. God’s relationship with Israel is such that He cannot be separated from them (vv. 16-23). When the Gentile leaders have to become subservient to Israel it will cause her to realize that the Lord is really in control of this world (v. 23).
The Babylonians were fierce warriors (vv 24-26) but they were no match for the Lord (v. 24). The fact that He permitted Babylon to conquer His people did not mean that God was weak or unconcerned. In His compassion for Israel, He would set the captives free and see to it that Babylon would never afflict them again (v. 25). The meaning seems to be that the enemies of Israel will simply destroy themselves. In the end, Israel’s enemies will be destroyed which will cause the whole world to acknowledge that the Lord is Israel’s God (v. 26). Never should we doubt that God will fulfill His promises. He will even do the impossible to make them come true.
Application
God proved to Israel that He would do the impossible by causing warriors to set their captives free. I should never doubt that God delights in fulfilling His promises to me and He will even do the impossible to bring them to pass.
Isaiah 49:14– 26 (NET)
14 “Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me.’
15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you!
16 Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms; your walls are constantly before me.
17 Your children hurry back, while those who destroyed and devastated you depart.
18 Look all around you! All of them gather to you. As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry; you will put them on as if you were a bride.
19 Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away.
20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing, ‘This place is too cramped for us, make room for us so we can live here.’
21 Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look I will raise my hand to the nations; I will raise my signal flag to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your children’s guardians; their princesses will nurse your children. With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you, and they will lick the dirt on your feet. Then you will recognize that I am the Lord; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior, or captives be rescued from a conqueror?
25 Indeed,” says the Lord, “captives will be taken from a warrior; spoils will be rescued from a conqueror. I will oppose your adversary and I will rescue your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. Then all humankind will recognize that I am the Lord, your Deliverer, your Protector, the Powerful One of Jacob.”