Isaiah 49

God reveals Himself to us for a purpose, at His appointed time for us, for us to do and declare His will. We show our love for Him and His love for us in submission to His will and in our obedience He gives us peace. We are His hands and feet, the servants of Christ, to glorify Him, which glorifies the Father who sent Him. Jesus is the new "Covenant of Grace". He came to restore us, to call us to inheritance, to set us free, and to bring us truth.

The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles

49 "Listen, O coastlands, to Me,

And take heed, you peoples from afar!

The Lord has called Me from the womb;

From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword;

In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,

And made Me a polished shaft;

In His quiver He has hidden Me."

3 "And He said to me,

'You are My servant, O Israel,

In whom I will be glorified.'

4 Then I said, 'I have labored in vain,

I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;

Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord,

And my work with my God.' "

5 "And now the Lord says,

Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

To bring Jacob back to Him,

So that Israel is gathered to Him

(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,

And My God shall be My strength),

6 Indeed 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 give You as a light to the Gentiles,

That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' "

7 Thus says the Lord,

The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,

To Him whom man despises,

To Him whom the nation abhors,

To the Servant of rulers:

"Kings shall see and arise,

Princes also shall worship,

Because of the Lord who is faithful,

The Holy One of Israel;

And He has chosen You."

8 Thus says the Lord:

"In an acceptable time I have heard You,

And in the day of salvation I have helped You;

I will preserve You and give You

As a covenant to the people,

To restore the earth,

To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;

10 They shall neither hunger nor thirst,

Neither heat nor sun shall strike them;

For He who has mercy on them will lead them,

Even by the springs of water He will guide them.

13 Sing, O heavens!

Be joyful, O earth!

And break out in singing, O mountains!

For the Lord has comforted His people,

And will have mercy on His afflicted.

23 Kings shall be your foster fathers,

And their queens your nursing mothers;

They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth,

And lick up the dust of your feet.

Then you will know that I am the Lord,

For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me."

25 But thus says the Lord:

"Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,

And the prey of the terrible be delivered;

For I will contend with him who contends with you,

And I will save your children.

26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh,

And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine.

All flesh shall know

That I, the Lord, am your Savior,

And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

The NKJV Study Bible says this: The Servant's mission pertains to the whole earth. Through the preaching of His mouth, the Servant will conquer the earth. The Servant will be vindicated and will be rewarded after His death and resurrection. After Jesus' death and resurrection, the great commission of global evangelism is carried on by His apostles and those who succeed them to the end of the age. God the Creator is the sovereign Owner of all creation. The Creator God has His thoughts focused on the welfare of His people. Some view the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy to be the gathering of the Lord's people at the coming of Jesus' kingdom. The last couplet is a celebration of the name and character of the living God. The Almighty asserts that He is the One who can powerfully save His people