| Isaiah 49 Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 1 "Listen to me, O islands and coast lands, and hearken, you people, from afar: The LORD called me from the womb; from the body of my mother he 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 futility; yet surely my justice is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.' 5 'And now,' says the LORD who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, so that Israel might be gathered, (for I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength), 6 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 for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth.'1 7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom the nations abhor, to a servant of rulers: "Kings shall see you and arise, princes also shall worship you, because of the LORD who is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, who 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; and I will preserve you and give you for a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 So that you may say to the prisoners [imprisoned by the darkness of the world and their hearts], 'Come forth,' and to those who are in darkness, 'Be unveiled.' "They shall feed in the way, and their pastures shall be on all the high places. [To be unveiled is to have the veil of darkness removed and come into the marvelous light of God by which you are then guided and led.] 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for he who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water will he guide them. 11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be elevated. 12 Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim." 13 Sing, O heavens! And be joyful, O earth! And break forth into singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. 14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me." 15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even though they may forget, I will not forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. 17 Your children shall make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go out from you. 18 Lift up your eyes and look around and behold; all these [sons] gather themselves together and come to you. As I live," says the LORD, "you shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does. 19 "For your waste and desolate places, and the land of your destruction, will be too small for the inhabitants; and those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20 The children which you will have, after you have lost the others, will say in your ears, 'This place is too small for me; give me a place that I may dwell.' 21 Then you will say in your heart, 'Who has born me these, since I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone; where have all these been?'" 22 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard for the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23 And kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They shall bow down to you with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet; and you will know that I am the LORD, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for me." 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 25 But thus says the Lord: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. 26 And I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. And all flesh shall know that I the LORD am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob." Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | |||||||||
1 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 for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth.'
Notice! God is giving Christ the light, as a light to the Gentiles, so that Christ the light will be for God's salvation to the ends of the earth. The light given to every man who comes into the world, John 1:1,7,9, is the mediator of the NEW COVENANT, prophesied to come to the Gentiles, for God's salvation to the ends of the earth:
I the LORD have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand; I will keep you and give you for a covenant to the people, for a light to the Gentiles, To open the blind eyes, to deliver the prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness imprisoned. Isa 42:6-7
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 for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth.' Isa 49:6
And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isa 60:3A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. Luke 2:32
For the Lord commanded this, saying, 'I have given you to be a light of the Gentiles, that you should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' Acts 13:47
That the Christ would suffer, and that he would be the first who would rise from the dead and proclaim light to the [Jewish] people, and to the Gentiles. Acts 26:23
Every man is living in spiritual darkness in his fallen nature inherited from Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. We are all stumbling through life in darkness on our own brain's selfish, defective decisions; but when the light has dawned in you, you can walk by the light of God, always given perfect words of virtue to speak and shown perfect deeds of virtue to be performed. Jesus promises to bring us out of darkness to live in his marvelous light while still alive on the earth and then forever. Jesus is the Light, the light who enlightens every man who comes into the world, given to every man so that he might believe, John 1:7,9; so that every man might believe the truth of what the light shows him about his evil behavior. Jesus is the light of the world [in every man]; if a man follows Jesus, (believes what he is told), that man will have the light of life and be reconciled and restored to God, who is light, to become a child of the light.
From the Word of the Lord within:
How is this done?—by believing and obeying what Christ the light shows and says to you. The light of Christ is given to every man so that he might believe — believe the truth. At some point in every man's life, the light anonymously shows us the truth of our evil ways, pleading with us to turn from evil and do what is right. If we believe the light, evidenced by our heeding it, then the light and spirit of Christ increases in us, and eventually we receive by revelation from the Father a hunger for righteousness and more of God. To obtain more of God, we must expose ourselves to listen and hear more of God's commands to us. We do that by obeying his many suggestions of come to me, which is to sit in humble silence, waiting on God, as we listen, watch, hear, and obey. To believe the light is to believe Jesus.
Jesus gave us our priorities:
As our life's highest priority, with daily patience and persistence we go to Him to sit in humble silence, waiting on God, listening to hear his teachings and commands. Each word we hear, believe, and obey, is engrafted into our heart; each word we hear, believe and obey, imparts more of the life of Christ into our hearts; each word we hear adds to the purification of our hearts. With our obedient endurance to the end, we see Christ bring our salvation and eternal life.
From George Fox's Doctrines:
And thus said the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard you, in a day of salvation have I helped you, I will preserve you, and give you for a covenant to the people, to establish the earth. I will give you (says the Lord) a light of the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth. Now he that establishes the earth, the covenant witnessed, by whom all things were made. What, is he salvation to the end of the earth, the covenant of light? Yes, who gives light to every man that comes into the world, which Isaiah spoke of.. And thus says the Lord, I will preserve you, and give you for a covenant to the people, to establish the earth, to obtain the inheritance of the desolate heritage; [mark] this covenant of the people to establish the earth, which obtains the inheritance of the desolate heritages, and says to the prisoners, go forth, and to them that are in darkness, show yourselves; which is now fulfilled, and being fulfilled; they shall feed in the way, and their pasture shall be on the tops of the hills, and these witness the fresh springs of water, and this is witnessed among them that witness his covenant, and are converted to God, to serve the living God in righteousness, who have come to the life of the prophets, and possess what they spoke of.
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Behold, says the Lord, Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising, lift up your eyes round about you, and all that gather themselves together, they shall come to you from far; and says the Lord, arise, shine, for your light is come, for the glory of the Lord is risen upon you: behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you. This light the prophet saw the Gentiles should come to, and kings to the brightness of your rising. And says the Lord by his prophet, is it a light thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob; take notice, and restore the preserved of Israel, take notice again; I will give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth.
Now mind, the light to the Gentiles, and salvation to the end of the earth, which now the Gentiles profess; the prophet who was in the life, saw this. As it is said before, many do witness this light to the Gentiles and salvation to the ends of the earth, the redeemer of Israel, the raiser up of the tribes of Jacob. This is the redeemer of Israel, the holy one, to him whom man despises, to him whom nations abhor, to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship because of the Lord who is faithful, and the holy one of Israel, and he shall choose you.
And thus says the Lord, I will lift my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people, and the people witness the standard, and the hand is witnessed, which to the Gentiles is lifted up of the Lord God.
Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. The Gentiles now witness this judgment brought forth to them, and this judgment is set in the earth; he shall not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law. Now many of the isles do witness this law, who have waited for it, which is royal.
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