JESUS, the Redeemer (Is.49)

Here is an interesting passage where God and Messiah (Jesus Christ) are speaking to each other.  The conversation is specifically aimed to the Messiah who would come to earth in flesh (100% man-100% God)...

(Isaiah 49:1)   Listen to Me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar.  The Lord called Me from the womb;  from the body of My mother He named Me.

In the next verses, we see a description of Jesus...

 (Isaiah 49:2-3)   He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;  and He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in Whom I will [c]show My glory.”

We find 3 verses in Revelation that use this description of Jesus, Rev.2:12, Rev.19:15 and...

(Revelation 1:6)  In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

Jesus knows how so many people find a way to disregard everything that God does, no matter what it is;  and at the moment this scripture was being written, Israel was in captivity because of their rebellious ways...

 (Isaiah 49:4-5)   But I said, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;  yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord, and My reward with My God.”

5 And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and My God is My strength),

Now God lets us in on the plan - the prophecy of Jesus coming to earth...

 (Isaiah 49:6)   He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;  I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

So besides helping out the Israelites - as God promised to them in His covenant, it is also mentioned in the Abrahamic covenant that through them all nations would be blessed... Jesus who would be born into their lineage would come to earth to pay for sins on the cross and bring salvation to the world.

 (Isaiah 49:7)  Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, to the despised One, to the One abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers, “Kings will see and arise, princes will also bow down, because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

Because the Israelites did not recognize their Messiah the first time, at the Second Coming of Jesus - that is when they will recognize and accept Him as their King, and He will lead them into the Millennium to fulfill all promises made in the Abrahamic Covenant...

(Isaiah 49:8-13)   Thus says the Lord, “In a favorable time I have answered You, and in a day of salvation I have helped You;  and I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, to restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;
9 Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’ to those who are in darkness,  ‘Show yourselves.’  Along the roads they will feed, and their pasture will be on all bare heights.
10 “They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;  for He who has compassion on them will lead them and will guide them to springs of water.
11 “I will make all My mountains a road, and My highways will be raised up.
12 “Behold, these will come from afar;  and lo, these will come from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.”
13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!  Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!  For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted.

Now Israel sees what COULD be, and they complain about how it is - thinking that the LORD has forgotten them...

(Isaiah 49:14)  But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.”

Um... if they would only be consistently obedient to God - things would go SO much better.  BUT God still encourages them, because He never forgets!  And He is faithful to keep all of His promises...

 (Isaiah 49:15-16)   “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;  your walls are continually before Me.

God goes on to describe what will happen, then gives a few poignant encouragements.  At the end  of verse 23, the first line is meant for those who go through the Tribulation, and the second line is to encourage people to "believe" NOW so they do not have to go through the Tribulation...

 (Isaiah 49:23c)  “...and you will know that I am the Lord;  those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

After describing the judgment on the nations at the end of the Tribulation, there is another encouragement at the end of verse 26...

 (Isaiah 49:26c)  “...and all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

People love the thought of taking revenge on their enemies, but God will take care of all that.  God who is all-knowing and just.  This thought should be satisfying to the fullest.  And still - meanwhile - we should love and pray for our enemies!  You never know who will become a Christian - who will become your brother or sister in Christ.  Our hearts should desire what God desires!  After all - because God LOVED the WORLD - Jesus died for ALL sins - for ALL people...

(1 Timothy 2:1-6)  First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.