Out of Every Nation

January 23, 2011

Lesson: Isaiah 49:1–7

Key Verse: Isaiah 49:6

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Introduction

The theme of the book of Isaiah is “Salvation is of The Lord!” The sin of the nation is recorded in Isaiah 4:1: “Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” Their hope is seen in these words, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation” (Isa. 12:2). God’s salvation is an everlasting salvation: “But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end” (Isa. 45:17).

We would see Jesus Christ, the Deliverer and Savior of Israel, of the spiritual Israel, the Church, of whom Christ is the Head. We pray that the Spirit will set Christ before our eyes; as “it is customary with the prophets, when they discourse concerning the restoration of the Church, to bring Christ into view, not only because he would be the minister of the Church, but because on him was founded the adoption of the people” (John Calvin).

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The Father’s Servant—Isaiah 49:1–4

God-breathed words cascade from the heart and mouth of God’s prophet Isaiah. God’s Messiah, the Son of God, speaks to His people, and to those beyond the seas, saying, “Listen, O Isles, unto me, and hearken, ye people, from afar.” It is the Father’s Christ who speaks, revealing the origin of His coming as God’s Messiah and Deliverer: “The Lord hath called me from the womb!” From the womb of God’s people, Israel, God the Father raises up His Son, the Messiah. We read in Revelation 12:5 that Israel “brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne.” The incarnate Son of God, our Savior, was named “Joshua” (Jesus) for He would save His people from their sins. “Christ was clothed with our flesh by the appointment of the Father, in order that he might fulfill the office of Redeemer, to which he had been appointed” (Calvin).

We come to Christ today “as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious” (1 Peter 2:4). Our redemption is in Christ, who was foreordained before the foundation of the world, and revealed to us in His incarnation; “as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver or gold, …But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18–20).

Christ reveals His nature as God’s Messiah as one whose mouth has been made “like a sharp sword.” The authority and strength of our Savior are revealed in His teachings, which alone can be found in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit …and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Christ is the Truth; His doctrine (teaching) is efficacious, all powerful, carrying out the will and intention of God, that which is pleasing in His sight. Christ and His Word are faithfully protected by God the Father: “In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me.”

This also true of God’s congregation, the body of Christ, that His Words be faithfully proclaimed and taught, in the power and protection of almighty God. Isaiah recognizes that he receives the Word of the Lord as a servant. In the Lord he will be glorified. As he labors, he understands that he would not have spent his “strength for nothing and in vain.” For his reward is with the Lord, as well as his work. Thus our service and labor in the Lord are not in vain, as we faithfully proclaim the Word of God, which He Himself will bring to fruition.

Discussion: What are some of the characteristics of the Messiah?

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The Lord Redeems—Isaiah 49:5–7

The Father has given Christ from the womb of Mary “to be His Servant.” The Lord’s Servant, His Messiah, is to “bring Jacob again to him.” The true Israel will again know fellowship with their Father in heaven. In this work as Redeemer of the people whom the Father has chosen to be His own, the Son will be glorious in His eyes. The Father declares, “Thou art my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In Christ’s work of the cross, in His resurrection and eternal rule as King of kings, the Lord will continually be His strength. Though Israel or men would despise Him, He will testify, “yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.” This is also true of His church and especially His ministers, as they faithfully proclaim His Gospel.

This is not a “light thing” or a small matter. For the Father’s Redeemer-Servant will not only “raise up the tribes of Jacob,” restoring Israel, the Church, to the Father through His precious blood, but He has also been given “as a light to the Gentiles, that (Christ) should be (the Father’s) salvation unto the end of the earth.” Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, speaks of Himself to His disciples, saying, “I am the light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). We, bearing the image of Christ, being redeemed by the Light of the world, rejoice in this new nature. Christ has said of us, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. …Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14–16).

Let us not forget that Christ is despised by the world. At times of our own transgression, we turn against our Lord by words and acts of disobedience. The “Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and (the Father’s) Holy One … man despiseth.” Because of who He is, and what He does, He excites others to abhor Him. This abhorrence is seen in the words of those who stood before the cross despising the Lord, while wagging their heads, saying, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” And the chief priests also mocked him, saying, “He saved others; himself he cannot save.” (Matt. 27:40–42; see also Psalm 22:7–8). Christ Jesus, “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. …Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:23–24).

This same Lord, whom man despises, will be honored and worshiped by kings and princes, “because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel.” He who has chosen His Son to be the Savior of His people, has promised, “He shall choose thee!” Thus is our election; by grace we have been saved. For “God, who is rich in mercy,” has loved us, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4–5).

Discussion: What is the work of Christ as God’s “Holy One?”

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Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2010 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.