This pericope focuses on God's salvation of the Israelites through the future ministry of the Servant. Isaiah used the figure of Zion being the wife of Yahweh to present the Lord's relationship with His chosen people.
God had not forgotten Israel. Even though He would leave her for a time, He would regather all her children from all over the world to Himself. Therefore she should continue to trust in Him.
49:14 Having heard the promises that precede, promises that God will bring the whole world to Himself, Israel, personified as Zion, complained that the Lord had forgotten about her. What about the special relationship that He had promised she would always have with Him? That appeared to be over. Isaiah often used Zion when he spoke of Jerusalem or the Israelites in the future, as here.
"The sense of anticlimax at 49:14 could hardly be stronger. Reminiscent of the Why do you say, O Jacob?' of 40:27 after the assurances of 40:1-26, the complaining voice of Zion contrasts sharply with the world song over the work of the Servant [v. 13]."526
49:15 God's response to His "wife's"complaint was to assure her of His unfailing commitment to her. Human mothers may possibly neglect the children that they cared so much for that they nursed, though this is unnatural. They may even stop showing compassion to the children that they carried in their wombs for nine months, though this is inconsistent. Yet Yahweh would never, ever forget (abandon) His chosen people (cf. Ps. 27:10).
"This is one of the strongest, if not the strongest expression of God's love in the Old Testament, and is often compared with Jeremiah 31:20."527
49:16 Some servants inscribed the names of their masters on their hands in Isaiah's day, but masters did not write the names of their servants on their hands. Yet Yahweh had written (lit. engraved, cf. Ezek. 4:1) the name of Zion on His palms so He would not forget her but be reminded of her frequently. The profile (skyline) of the city was constantly in His thoughts.
49:17 Isaiah saw the builders of Jerusalem's breached walls hurrying to rebuild them after their destroyers had departed. In other words, Jerusalem would not be in a vulnerable condition for very long, relatively speaking. The builders were the sons of which Zion thought she had been deprived.528
49:18 Zion was to look around her. Her builder-sons would gather around her. They would be to her as jewels are to a bride, her prized glory and adornment. The Lord swore on His life that this would be so. Only a few Israelites responded to Cyrus' edict and returned to rebuild Jerusalem. The majority decided to stay in Babylon. Thus this prediction must be looking into the future.
49:19 Jerusalem's waste and desolate places would one day be full of people. Her destroyers would be gone and in their place would be so many inhabitants that the land would overflow with people.
49:20 The Israelites who had once been far away would return but would complain about the difficulty of finding room to live because so many other Israelites would have returned.
49:21 Zion would then say to herself, Where in the world did all these children of mine come from? I thought all my children were dead and gone and that I was an old, forsaken widow. But now my children surround me. Her many children will not simply be the product of her own fertility but a supernatural gift from God (cf. Gen. 18:12-14; Ruth 4:13-17).
49:22-23 Sovereign Yahweh further promised that the Gentiles would be responsible for ushering many of the Israelites back into their land. Even Gentile kings and princesses would carry Hebrew children back to their ancestors' homeland.529God would raise His hand and an ensign (banner, signal), Messiah, to summon the nations to do this (cf. 5:26; 11:10, 12; 13:2; 30:17; 62:10). They would show an uncharacteristic concern for the welfare of the Israelites and would even bow down before them in submission.530Previously the Israelites had to bow before the Gentiles. The "times of the Gentiles,"the times of Gentile supremacy in the world, will have ended (cf. Zech. 12:2; 14:2-3; Luke 21:24; Rev. 11:2; 19:17-19). This will prove that Yahweh is the true God since He predicted this reversal of Israel's fortunes and will bring it to pass. Those who believe His promises will not be embarrassed because He will fulfill them.
"All the nations are flowing to Jerusalem to bow at her feet, yes, to beg mercy for the wrongs done, and yes, to bring back with apology those who had been dragged away, but also to try to learn something of this amazing God who has been able to lift his people from barren widowhood to being the laughing grandmother of nations."531
The prophet now turned from emphasizing the children who will return to the oppressors who will be destroyed.
49:24 Isaiah addressed an objection that some in his audience evidently entertained. Is it possible that Yahweh could really overturn the power of the mighty nations that scattered the Israelites and kept them from their land? Of course, God had already rescued Israel from one mighty man at the Exodus. Typically mighty men and tyrants cling to their prey and captives tenaciously.532
49:25 Yahweh replied that He would indeed save the Israelites' descendants from their tyrannical captors even though that would be humanly impossible. He is stronger than they.
49:26 The Lord would cause these Gentile oppressors to consume one another. This will happen when the nations fight one another at Armageddon. Jesus Christ will return from heaven, the assembled armies will turn on Him, and He will defeat them with a word from His mouth. This will open the way for Israel to return to her land as the honored of the earth in the Millennium (cf. Dan. 11:40-45; Rev. 16:14; 19:19-21). These events will demonstrate to everyone that Yahweh is Israel's Savior, Redeemer, and the Mighty God of Jacob.
Are these descriptions just impressionistic pictures of Gentiles coming to Christ for salvation, or should we look for a more realistic fulfillment of these promises? Amillennialists say they are figurative descriptions of Gentiles coming to salvation through Christ. Premillennialists say they describe a literal return of Israelites to their land with an accompanying exaltation of the physical descendants of Abraham in the earth. One of the cardinal rules of hermeneutics is that if the interpreter can understand something literally it should be taken that way unless other indications in the text or context point to a nonliteral interpretation. Amillennialists concede that it is possible to take these prophecies literally and that if one does he or she will come out a premillennialist. But they say that a literal fulfillment was not intended and that these predictions are being fulfilled spiritually through the church. Premillennialists view this chapter, and most of chapters 50-57, as revealing Messiah's restoration of Israel to her land at the beginning of the Millennium.
The Lord turned from addressing His "wife"to her children. Both figures describe Israel, collectively and particularly. This pericope is transitional, but it is more of a conclusion to what has preceded than an introduction to what follows. God has both the desire and the ability to save the Israelites from their sin.
50:1 The Lord continued to speak through His prophet. He addressed again Zion's charge that God had forsaken and forgotten His people (49:14). He had not issued Israel a certificate of divorce (cf. Deut. 24:1-4); He had not stopped desiring to have her for Himself (cf. 49:14-18; Judg. 2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 10:7).533Neither had He sold the Israelites to one of His creditors, since He had none; no one had forced Him to send them into captivity (cf. 49:22-26). No, He had temporarily sold the Israelites into captivity because of their own sins (as had been the case with Samaria, cf. Jer. 3:8).534
50:2a The Lord asked two more questions of His people that amount to one. Why had they not responded to His calls for repentance and faith (which came through the prophets)? Had they done so, He implied, He would not have sold them into captivity. Was His lack of deliverance when they called to Him for help the result of His inability to save them? No, He could reach them, and He was strong enough to save them. The figure of God's hand saving shows that God Himself saves.535
50:2b-3 The proof of God's strength is His control over nature.536In spite of the vast amount of water in the sea, God can dry the sea up. Even though the sky above is apparently limitless, He can make it dark. The images here recall the Creation and the Exodus (cf. Exod. 15:16; Deut. 26:8, 23-24; Ps. 77:15), but the point is that God has the power to change anything as He chooses.
