Isaiah now announced more about the work of the Servant (cf. 42:5-9). He will enable people around the world to return to God, similarly to how the Israelites would return to Jerusalem after the Exile. The response to God's saving work will be universal joy (cf. 42:10-13).
49:8 In response to the Servant's feelings of frustration (v. 4), the Lord promised that at the appointed hour of salvation He would support and enable His Servant (cf. Ps. 22:19-21). He would make the Servant a covenant of the people, namely, He would make a new covenant with His people that the Servant would embody (cf. 42:6; Jer. 31:31; 32:40; Ezek. 37:26; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:8-12). The Servant would fulfill God's covenants with Israel.
"To speak of the Servant as the covenant means that while, as we know, it is through his work that covenant blessings become available, it is only in him, in the union of personal relationship, that these blessings can be enjoyed. Prophets preached the covenant and pointed away from themselves to the Lord; the Servant will actualize the blessings and point to himself."524
The Servant would restore the land, make the Israelites inherit desolate areas, and (v. 9) free captives. The terms used in this verse recall the relief that came to the Israelites in their Jubilee Year (cf. Lev. 25:8-22). The salvation in view will appear in the Millennium, which the Jubilee Year anticipated. Then too the Servant will represent Israel.
The Apostle Paul quoted this verse in 2 Corinthians 6:2. To him the present day was the day of salvation that Isaiah predicted. I take it that Paul meant that the day of salvation had begun because Christ had died on the cross, not that everything that will mark that day had arrived. Clearly God has not yet restored the land to Israel. The day of salvation will come to its glorious climax in the future Millennium.
49:9 Part of the salvation to appear in that favorable time will involve the liberation of captives, physical and spiritual (cf. 61:1-4). God's sheep will enjoy feeding even on the roads and formerly barren heights of their land (cf. 17:2; 40:10-11; 41:18; 43:19; 63:11). This is a picture of abundant pasturage, and it represents millennial blessings.
49:10 The picture continues along the lines of the Good Shepherd providing for and protecting His flock, compassionately leading them and supplying all their needs (cf. Exod. 12:21; 17:6; Ps. 23; Rev. 7:16-17).
49:11 God will also make His mountainous barriers as flat as a road so His people can come to His habitation. He will also raise up His highways so they will be thoroughfares for His people (cf. 11:16; 19:23; 36:8; 40:3-4; 42:16; 62:10).
49:12 People will come from all over the world to worship God (in Jerusalem) at that time (cf. v. 22; 43:6). What Isaiah described was more than just the return from exile in Babylon. Sinim may refer to Aswan in southern Egypt, which marked the southern border of the civilized world in Isaiah's day.525
49:13 Isaiah concluded by calling on the whole created universe to rejoice because the Lord had comforted His people (cf. 40:1; 47:6) and had shown compassion on His formerly afflicted nation (cf. 42:10-13; 44:23; 45:8; 52:8-9; 55:12-13). This is rejoicing over deliverance from sin, not just exile. When the Servant completes His work of salvation, the whole creation, not just humankind, will experience liberation from the effects of the Fall (cf. Rom. 8:19-22).
