By Grace: Light of Nations
Isaiah 49:1-36;
John 3:16-21
"I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
(Isaiah 49:6b)
Chapter 49 speaks of the coming Servant of the LORD and of Israel's restoration. That restoration will include the islands (v. 1) - the distant Gentile nations. Israel was a conduit - a pipeline, if you will - for the blessing of people everywhere, not without exception, but without distinction. Through Israel would come the Servant to shine light in the world's darkness. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
We must not separate the nation Israel from the invisible Church universal. God's plan was to raise up a chosen people through whom would come the Savior. It is a plan established in history and in the Word of God that came to men like Isaiah as it unfolded. That Word is all about Jesus, the Light of the world. "...But men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). They crucified the "Holy One of Israel" (v. 7)! Yet their dark actions only played into God's gracious plan.
INSIGHT
"But you are a chosen people... a people belonging to God...who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
(1 Peter 2:9)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Exodus 1-2
Psalm 26
Mark 6
Isaiah 49:1-36;
The LORD’s Servant Commissioned
1 Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The LORD called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name.
2 He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
3 He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory."
4 I replied, "But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand;
I will trust God for my reward."
5 And now the LORD speaks—
the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The LORD has honored me,
and my God has given me strength.
6 He says, "You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
7 The LORD, the Redeemer
and Holy One of Israel,
says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,
to the one who is the servant of rulers:
"Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.
Princes will also bow low
because of the LORD, the faithful one,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
Promises of Israel’s Restoration
8 This is what the LORD says:
"At just the right time, I will respond to you.[a]
On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you and give you to the people
as my covenant with them.
Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel
and assign it to its own people again.
9 I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’
They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures
and on hills that were previously bare.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst.
The searing sun will not reach them anymore.
For the LORD in his mercy will lead them;
he will lead them beside cool waters.
11 And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.
The highways will be raised above the valleys.
12 See, my people will return from far away,
from lands to the north and west,
and from as far south as Egypt.[b]"
13 Sing for joy, O heavens!
Rejoice, O earth!
Burst into song, O mountains!
For the LORD has comforted his people
and will have compassion on them in their suffering.
14 Yet Jerusalem[c] says, "The LORD has deserted us;
the Lord has forgotten us."
15 "Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
17 Soon your descendants will come back,
and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
18 Look around you and see,
for all your children will come back to you.
As surely as I live," says the LORD,
"they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.
19 "Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land
will soon be crowded with your people.
Your enemies who enslaved you
will be far away.
20 The generations born in exile will return and say,
‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’
21 Then you will think to yourself,
‘Who has given me all these descendants?
For most of my children were killed,
and the rest were carried away into exile.
I was left here all alone.
Where did all these people come from?
Who bore these children?
Who raised them for me?’"
22 This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.
They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;
they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings and queens will serve you
and care for all your needs.
They will bow to the earth before you
and lick the dust from your feet.
Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Those who trust in me will never be put to shame."
24 Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior?
Who can demand that a tyrant[d] let his captives go?
25 But the LORD says,
"The captives of warriors will be released,
and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.
For I will fight those who fight you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will feed your enemies with their own flesh.
They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood.
All the world will know that I, the LORD,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.[e]"
Footnotes:
a. Isaiah 49:8 Greek version reads I heard you. Compare 2 Cor 6:2.
b. Isaiah 49:12 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, which read from the region of Aswan, which is in southern Egypt. Masoretic Text reads from the region of Sinim.
c. Isaiah 49:14 Hebrew Zion.
d. Isaiah 49:24 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, Syriac version, and Latin Vulgate (also see 49:25); Masoretic Text reads a righteous person.
e. Isaiah 49:26 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
New Living Translation (NLT)
John 3:16-21
16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[a]"
Footnotes:
a. John 3:21 Or can see God at work in what he is doing.
Along with great joy, raising children brings great pain. Parents have an opportunity like no other to dazzle their children's hearts with the love of Jesus, if they are willing to be dazzled as well.
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