ATE050 09013024 “Only For His Glory - Here, I AM, Send Me! - Isaiah Chapter 49”

Subtitle: Hey you in the islands, yes you! It’s about Jesus and not you!

This is not the first time that the prophetic word brought by Isaiah to Israel’s coastal land or the “islands” but was also used speaking to nations like the Philippines

Today this word is a rebuke just for you. You ready? He really wanfs to bless you.

This message is about the mission of our King and thus our mission. We have been failing,   yes WE have. It has been the “Great Compromise” not “Great Commission”

Let us read….

Isaiah‬ ‭49‬:‭1‬-‭26‬ ‭WEBUS‬‬

“Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name. He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. He has made me a polished shaft. He has kept me close in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength in vain for nothing; yet surely the justice due to me is with Yahweh, and my reward with my God.” Now Yahweh, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, says to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in Yahweh’s eyes, and my God has become my strength. Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.” Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up, princes, and they shall worship, because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” Yahweh says, “I have answered you in an acceptable time. I have helped you in a day of salvation. I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage, saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them, for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water. I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.” Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth! Break out into singing, mountains! For Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you! Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are continually before me. Your children hurry. Your destroyers and those who devastated you will leave you. Lift up your eyes all around, and see: all these gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live,” says Yahweh, “you shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament, and dress yourself with them, like a bride. “For, as for your waste and your desolate places, and your land that has been destroyed, surely now that land will be too small for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children of your bereavement will say in your ears, ‘This place is too small for me. Give me a place to live in.’ Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth? Who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’” The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and lift up my banner to the peoples. They shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am Yahweh; and those who wait for me won’t be disappointed.” Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered? But Yahweh says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the plunder retrieved from the fierce, for I will contend with him who contends with you and I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; and they will be drunk on their own blood, as with sweet wine. Then all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.””

ISAIAH 49 – THE MESSIAH’S MISSION

Isaiah 48-50

The Messiah’s Mission which is our mission as the corporate son.

This chapter is full of our King Yahweh Yeshua or Lord Jesus Christ, and the words quoted could not possibly have their complete fulfillment in any other save in our Savior. (Alan Redpath)

A. The Messiah declares His mission.

1. (1-2) The call and the preparation of the Messiah.

a. Listen, O coastlands, to Me: As the context will show, these words come prophetically from the Messiah, the Servant of the LORD revealed in previous chapters. Here, He commands the coastlands – the distant lands of the Gentiles – to listen to Him.

b. The LORD has called Me from the womb: The Messiah, later revealed as Jesus Christ, was called from the womb. Actually, as shown in Micah 5:2, Jesus was called even beforeHe was in Mary’s womb, yet here He starts at the point which any man could most readily relate to.

c. From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name: This was fulfilled in Luke 1:31, where the LORD, through the angel Gabriel, declared the name of Jesus before the conception in Mary’s womb.

d. He has made My mouth like a sharp sword: This means that the very words of the Messiah have power and authority. While some might need to brandish a weapon to show their authority, the Messiah needs only to speak.

e. In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me: The Messiah prophetically proclaims that He is like a carefully made and polished arrow in the service of the LORD, ready to be used at the right time. This probably has reference to the “hidden” years of Jesus, when He lived in obscurity, as a polished shaft waiting in the quiver of the LORD.

2. (3-4) The Messiah’s confidence in the LORD.

a. You are My servant, O Israel: Since the rest of the context of this chapter indicates that this passage speaks of the Messiah, it is best to regard Israel as a reference to the Messiah. How can the LORD speak of the Messiah as Israel? First, because the Messiah comes from Israel, and is a representative of the nation. Second, because the Messiah fulfills the name Israel, which means, “governed by God.”

i. “On the surface, the statement ‘You are my servant, Israel,’ explicitly identifies Yahweh’s Servant as the nation Israel. But if that were the case, an apparent contradiction would arise in Isaiah 49:5-6, in which the Servant’s task is to bring Israel back to Yahweh and to the land…the view that ‘Israel’ is a title of the individual messianic Servant harmonizes most satisfactorily with the passage and context.” (Lindsey)

b. 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”: The translators of the New King James do not believe these words belong in the mouth of the Messiah, because they do not capitalize the pronoun my, as they would if they believed it spoke of the Messiah. Yet these words can be set prophetically in the mouth of the Messiah, because surely Jesus was tempted by the discouraging thought that all His work was in vain and for nothing. Yet He triumphed over such temptation by declaring, my just reward is with the LORD.

i. When we consider what – and who – the Lord Jesus had to work with on this earth, we certainly must believe that one of the great temptations He faced was discouragement. This passage shows that even though He ministered in difficult and discouraging circumstances, He never gave in to discouragement, but always put His trust in the LORD.

3. (5-7) Messiah’s Mission

a. To bring Jacob back to Him: This shows that an important aspect of the Messiah’s mission was to bring Israel back to the LORD. This shows that ethnic Israel has an enduring place in God’s plan, and that plan will be fulfilled when all Israel will be saved(Romans 11:26).

b. It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob…I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles: Though part of the Messiah’s mission is directed to Israel, He also has a mission to the Gentiles. What will the Messiah do for the Gentiles? That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. The Messiah would not simply bringsalvation; He would be…salvation to the ends of the earth.

i. “Israel has light but needs restoration, while the Gentiles need both light and salvation.” (Grogan)

c. Thus says the LORD…to Him whom man despises, to Him whom the nation abhors: The LORD speaks to His Messiah, and reveals that He will be One whom man despises, and whom His own nation abhors. This is an important – yet lightly noted – prophecy of the rejection of the Messiah, by mankind in general and by Israel specifically.

d. Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship: Yet in the end, the Messiah will not be despised or abhorred. He will receive the worship and honor He deserves, because He is the chosen of the LORD.

4. (8-12) The glory of the Messiah’s ministry.

a. In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You: The LORD God extended His help and preservation to the Messiah all through His earthly ministry. Yet if there is any specific time that this promise was fulfilled, it was as Jesus died on the cross and trusted in the promise of resurrection.

i. It is beautiful to imagine Jesus comforting and strengthening His soul with these promises as He anticipated and endured the ordeal of the cross. He could know, based on this promise, that the LORD would hear, help, and preserve Him.

b. And give You as a covenant to the people: Jesus, the Messiah, doesn’t merely bring a covenant; He is a covenant to the people.

c. That You may say to the prisoners, “Go forth”: Jesus’ ministry set people free from bondage and imprisonment.

i. Jesus set the demon possessed free from the bondage of chains and demonic torture (Mark 5:1-15).

ii. Jesus set the sick and diseased free from the bondage of their infirmities (Luke 13:16).

iii. Jesus set the righteous dead captive in Hades free from their place (Ephesians 4:8).

iv. Jesus sets those in bondage to sin and the law free (John 8:33-36, Galatians 3:22-23).

d. For He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them: In an immediate sense, this refers to God’s supply and sustaining of the exiles returning from Babylon to Judah, through the unseen hand of the Messiah. In the larger sense, it speaks of mercy and the provision of God for people as they return to Him in the last days, as they shall come from afar.

e. I will make each of My mountains a road: The mountains in the way of the returning exiles – both in near and far fulfillment – would seem to defeat the purpose of the LORD. But they will not.

i. Notice it says each…mountain (or, as in the King James Version, all … mountains). “There is no exception in that great, but little word, all. There is nothing in life – no obstacle, no loneliness, no trial, no sorrow – which may not be a way into God’s richest blessing. There is no situation of entanglement, nothing that you can possibly conceive, but this can be part of God’s way to make His mountain a way of deliverance.” (Redpath)

ii. Notice it says My mountains. The mountains in the way are still the LORD’s mountains, allowed there for a purpose. And the purpose is not to torment you, or because He hates you. There is a loving, wise purpose for every mountain, and God wants to make each of My mountains a road.

iii. “[When you make] the commitment of your life to Jesus Christ without reservation, then you can go to meet your mountains and meet obstacles in Jesus – not to meet them outside Him, but in Christ. If you do that, then the mountain between you and God’s land of blessing becomes the way into it.” (Redpath)

f. And these from the land of Sinim: Some identify Sinimwith a place in Egypt; others identify it with China. The idea is that God will bring back the captives (particularly in the far fulfillment) from every conceivable place.

i. “‘Sinim’ is probably Aswan, near the southern border of Egypt…. This assumes that ‘Sinim’ is derived from sewenim…. If the Masoretic Text is correct, a long standing interpretation connects Sinim with China.” (Wolf)

ii. Grogan gives another perspective on Sinim: “It is most likely that Isaiah was being consciously obscure. Even unmapped places are known to God, and even from them he will gather his pilgrims.”

B. The LORD’s faithfulness to Zion.

1. (13-14) The LORD is praised for goodness to Zion – and an objection is raised.

a. Sing, O heavens! For the LORD has comforted His people: It is simply assumed that the people the LORD has comforted will praise Him; here, the LORD calls for creation itself to add their voices in praise for all the Messiah has done.

b. But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me”: In the midst of this great praise for the Messiah and His saving work, Zion– speaking of the highest hill in Jerusalem, and the place of God’s people by association – Zion objects. Zion believes, “The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.”

i. The rest of Isaiah 49 and Isaiah 50 will answer this question. Because of their captivity in Babylon, Zion wonders “Does God really care about us?” God will answer, with strength and insight, this question that many have asked since.

2. (15-18) God does care, and the LORD proclaims His love and faithfulness to Zion.

a. Can a woman forget her nursing child: Though bizarre accounts of unspeakable cruelty surface from time to time, everyone knows that a woman will never forget her nursing child. Yet the LORD says, Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. The LORD’s affection for His people is greater than the devotion a woman has for her nursing child.

b. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands: This has an obvious and beautiful fulfillment in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. As Jesus told Thomas in a post-resurrection appearance, look at My hands(John 20:27). When we see the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, we see how He has inscribed us on the palms of His hands. With such love, how could God ever forget His people?

c. Your walls are continually before Me: The walls refer to the walls of the city of Jerusalem, which figuratively speak of the health, the strength, the prosperity, and the security of God’s people. God is always mindful of the condition of His people, despite the objections of a doubting Zion.

d. Your sons shall make haste…. you shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament: The LORD will bring back the exiled and captive sons of Zion to the Promised Land, and this will be an ornament for God’s people. The LORD’s love and faithfulness for Zion are also shown by His promise for their future. It isn’t just demonstrated by the past and the present, but also by His future plans for them.

i. This promise was partially fulfilled in the return of the exiles from Babylon but will be ultimately fulfilled in the regathering of Israel in the last days.

3. (19-26) God does care, and He promises and affirms blessing for Zion.

a. For your waste and desolate places…will even now be too small for the inhabitants: As the LORD brings the sons of Zion back to Israel, they will fill the land in a glorious way.

b. There I was, left alone; but these, where were they?The great blessing of the returning sons of Zion – in both near and far fulfillment – will come as an astounding surprise. God’s blessing will seem to come from nowhere. Though the promise seems too good to be true, God confirms it with an oath to the nations. God will rescue Israel from both their immediate and ultimate captivity.

i. Kings shall be your foster fathers: “Calvin and most expositors believe that the text teaches that one day the greatest in the nation will love and care for the children of the Church. This text has usually been made to serve as proof of the legitimacy of the church state (or state church); however, the prophet does not have the Church in mind here, but future Israel.” (Bultema)

ii. Clarke on They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet: “These expressions therefore of the prophet are only general poetical images, taken from the manners of the country, to denote great respect and reverence: and such splendid poetical images, which frequently occur in the prophetical writings, were intended only as general amplifications of the subject, not as predictions to be understood and fulfilled precisely according to the letter.”

iii. “Lick up the dust of thy feet refers to the great honor which the great ones of the world will give Israel. It is mainly on the basis of this phrase that there is the practice of kissing the pope’s feet.” (Bultema)

c. Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away: Babylon, the mighty empire, had taken Zion captive. But even they shall be taken away. God will show His strength and love for Zion by giving unto Babylon what Babylon gave unto Zion, even though they thought it unlikely, as shown by the question of Isaiah 49:24.

i. This was true for Zion when freed from the Babylonian captivity; it is even more true for those set free from captivity to Satan. Jesus spoke of spoiling Satan in Luke 11:21-22: When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

ii. “The pictures of eating their own fleshand drinking their own blood draw on the horrors of siege conditions. The reality is that those who oppose the Lord and his people experience the self destructiveness of sin – a recurring feature of the wars of the Lord.” (Motyer)

Canabals…yuck. Eating your young spiritually speaking is truly bad. Yet the present false builders are doing just that. The church becomes still born or even worse. After writing a message from the Lord call “ Building”  I want to share a quote from Jeremiah Johnson. You will see why after I read it. Each of us will have our testimony.

“In 2012, I was ordained and commissioned by a presbytery of seasoned leaders as a prophet of the Lord.

Preceding this, I had  graduated from college with a bible degree and planted my first church in 2010.

In 2022, I was ordained and commissioned by a presbytery of seasoned leaders as an apostle of the Lord.

Preceding this, I had successfully planted multiple churches, birthed ministries and schools, discipled five fold leaders, and traveled all over the USA and world.

In my years of primarily functioning as a prophet, the spiritual warfare was always over INTIMACY!  The attacks and battles that came always sought to draw me out of INTERCESSION and the secret place.

Over the last few years as primarily functioning as an apostle, the spiritual warfare has been over AUTHORITY. The attacks and battles that have come have sought to draw me away from HUMILITY and cause me to operate in pride and the flesh.

Whether prophet or apostle, what stands out to me the most is all the CRUSHING! Photo ops and conference flyers are nice but the trials, testings, and temptations that one will face on this journey are INTENSE and I would have NEVER made it this far without my advisor team of seasoned leaders that have faithfully encouraged, corrected, and rebuked me again and again.

I refuse to endorse anyone claiming to be an apostle or prophet who has not gone through serious crushing and made it on the other side whole and healed. I also refuse to endorse supposed apostles and prophets who have not been properly vetted, commissioned, and walking with real accountability (seasoned leaders).

One main encounter that I have had with the Lord in all of this that has really shaped me personally is when God said to me,

“Jeremiah, there are too many BLESSING prophets and apostles wandering around the body who are only anointed for conferences but where are the BUILDING prophets and apostles who I have anointed to establish My house and My kingdom.”

From this one encounter, my eyes were opened to the serious lack in the body of Christ of builders versus talkers. Social media has become full of “blessing” apostles and prophets who give out lots of LANGUAGE but have no established LIFESTYLE. They are great at dropping revelation online and at conferences but have resisted their God given mandate to plant, build, and establish. They go from conference to conference but have never truly pioneered city to city.

One more comment…

I personally have always resonated with a word an apostle gave to me in 2015 in Canada..

“Jeremiah, you will wear a coat of many colors like Joseph all your days for you will have many fathers but few faithful brothers because jealousy will continually hunt you. God has called you to be a prophet to apostles and an apostle to prophets.”

I do affirm that God absolutely assigns me as a prophet to some apostles. He gives me clear dreams, visions, and words to help them to establish and complete the blueprint He has given them. Too many testimonies and stories to share.

I do also affirm my calling as an apostle to the prophets…. to help father, nurture, and cover them. I get prophets. I love prophets. They are special to me. This is why I offer in person and online mentorships for them every year.

I have written extensively about apostolic and prophetic ministry, my church planting journey, and travels in several books and am currently working on another next year.

My boast is always in Christ Jesus and His matchless grace. I write this in hopes that in sharing a short part of my process and journey that it might enlighten others on the path that the Father has for them.

Apostle or prophet… I really just prefer to be called by Jeremiah! It really is how Jesus addresses me as His son and servant!

We must build according to God’s pattern. Are we submitting corporately or individually to His will ? Maybe we need to repent. Amen?