Israel
Isaiah 49 is
a very complex and interesting chapter.
The reason is because of the usage of the name, “Israel.” Israel is a name that is used more than one
way in scripture. We hear it first
identified with Jacob when Jacob wrestles with God. (Genesis 32:22-32) In fact, it is there that we learn that the
name Israel means “One who strives with God.”
Then, we hear the most usual usage of Israel, which is simply “the
descendants of Abraham” (otherwise known as the Hebrew people). We also know that Israel can mean the
northern kingdom of the Hebrew people once the kingdom splits after Solomon’s
reign. Israel is often used in the
prophets to imply the remnant of Hebrew people who remain faithful to God. So the question becomes: what Israel is meant
here in verse 3 when the speaker identifies himself as Israel?
It is easy
to eliminate a few of the possibilities.
First, it is not the national sense of the word with which the speaker
is using, because in verse 5 we are told that this messenger (Israel, verse 3)
will bring back Israel back into faith and thus be honored in the Lord. So clearly, the point of this messenger is to
bring Israel back. Therefore, we can
conclude that we are either speaking of a specific individual {God’s messenger,
a “second Jacob,” if you will} or we are talking about the faithful remnant who
will return to Jerusalem when the Persians allow the Hebrew people to return.
As we move
into verse 6, something neat happens in this passage to reinforce the
understanding that we are not speaking in terms of the national Israel but at
least the smaller subset of the faithful remnant. God tells His servant that the task of
bringing the Hebrew back into faith is too little. Now, as a pastor, I have to confess that
dealing with the spirituality of even a handful of people is no little
task. I can’t imagine being tasked with
influencing the spirituality of a nation!
But God tells His servant that not only will the Hebrew people be
affected but His servant will affect the nations – the whole world. The point of His servant is to stretch
salvation to the ends of the earth.
Now we see
the true sense in which the word Israel was used in verse 3. In its original context in Genesis, Israel
was supposed to be the people who bring relationship with God to the
world. Israel as a nation never
accomplished it. In fact, they never
even tried – at least not as a group.
The national sense of the word Israel never fulfilled the original
calling for Jacob and his descendants.
Now a new servant comes – at least a faithful remnant – who will be
tasked with getting God’s plan back on track.
How cool is
it that God gets His plan back on track after perhaps more than 1,000 years
have gone by since His plan was originally conceived among mankind? How patient is God!
Now, there
is of course one more understanding of the word Israel. From a Christian perspective, it’s probably
the most obvious. And if you’ve been
reading this you’ve probably been feeling like I missed the boat up until
now. This is another section of Isaiah
where we have at least a double interpretation.
I believe that when Isaiah wrote these words that he was writing about
the faithful remnant that would return to Jerusalem after the Persians beat the
Babylonians in war. But the Holy Spirit
takes these words and gives them a more powerful double-interpretation. Ultimately, it is Jesus – God’s true Messiah
– that fulfills these words. Jesus is
the true double-edged sword. He is the
one that strikes out with truth. He is
the one that gathers the God’s faithful to God.
He is the one who brings salvation to not only the Hebrew people but
also to the nations. Through the eyes of
God we can see that this chapter does speak and point us to Jesus. Which of course makes verse 7 leap off of the
page. This Redeemer – God’s Holy One –
is one to be deeply despised and abhorred by the nation. {Take note of the singular person of the word
“nation.”}
Before I
move on to the rest of the chapter, let’s recap what we learned. Ultimately, God works through His servant,
Jesus. But we also know that God works
through the faithful remnant. Even in
Christ, there is a faithful and small percentage who is truly the Lord’s. We strive with God and against the world to
do whatever we can in God’s name to proclaim His salvation to the ends of the
earth.
God Has Neither Forsaken Nor Forgotten
I am nearly
out of space here, but I do want to speak a bit to the rest of Isaiah 49. Most of the rest of this chapter speaks to
the fact that the Hebrew people feel forsaken.
Yet, God cannot forget them. He
may discipline them; they deserved it!
But that does not mean that He has forgotten them. God will bring about His salvation. Through His hand we will be able to say that
He is our great redeemer and true salvation can only come through Him!
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