Isa 49:1-13 NASB 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. (2) 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 show My glory.” (4) 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), (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.” (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.” (8) 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.

• Verse 1 – who is God speaking to?
• Who is being described in Verse 1? Heb 4:12 , John 17:4-5
• What expression of emotion is in verse 2? Is this consistent with who you believe is being described here? Mat 17:17
• Who does God want to save? Just His people, or just the believers? (Verse 6)
• What is the LORD doing in verses 8-9 and what is His objective?
  • What do you think is meant in “make them inherit the desolate heritages”?
• Do you see a resemblance in verse 9 with Luke 4:16-21? What does this connection help you to see about Jesus?
• What time in the future do you think verses 10-13 point to? How can you apply this to your own lives? (Mic_4:2; Zec_2:11, Zec_8:20-23; Luk_13:29; Rev_7:9, Rev_11:15)

Isa 49:14-26 NASB But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.” (15) “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. (17) “Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will depart from you. (18) “Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live,” declares the LORD, “You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride. (19) “For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land– Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away. (20) “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, \’The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’ (21) “Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was left alone; From where did these come?'” (22) Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. (23) “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; Andyou will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame. (24) “Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?” (25) Surely, thus says the LORD, “Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons. (26) “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

• In verse 14, what circumstances in your life are distracting you from experiencing God’s blessings?
• What does the earthly example that God uses mean to you in verse 15? How does God go even beyond that?
  • What does it mean to you that God inscribes his people on the palms of His hands?
  • Verse 18 – Septuagint clarifies “as a bride her ornaments”
• Verses 19-21 what do you see here? Is this happening now?
• How does God change the way of the world in verses 22-23? Do you see a familiar feeling and a comforting promise in the last phrase of verse 23?
• Verses 24-25 – who is the mighty man? How can you claim this as a promise for yourself? How has God done this in your life?
• Verse 26 is a very graphic depiction. What do you think this symbolizes?

Chapter 50

Isa 50:1-11 GNB The LORD says, “Do you think I sent my people away like a man who divorces his wife? Where, then, are the papers of divorce? Do you think I sold you into captivity like a man who sells his children as slaves? No, you went away captive because of your sins; you were sent away because of your crimes. (2) “Why did my people fail to respond when I went to them to save them? Why did they not answer when I called? Am I too weak to save them? I can dry up the sea with a command and turn rivers into a desert, so that the fish in them die for lack of water. (3) I can make the sky turn dark, as if it were in mourning for the dead.” (4) The Sovereign LORD has taught me what to say, so that I can strengthen the weary. Every morning he makes me eager to hear what he is going to teach me. (5) The LORD has given me understanding, and I have not rebelled or turned away from him. (6) I bared my back to those who beat me. I did not stop them when they insulted me, when they pulled out the hairs of my beard and spit in my face. (7) But their insults cannot hurt me because the Sovereign LORD gives me help. I brace myself to endure them. I know that I will not be disgraced, (8) for God is near, and he will prove me innocent. Does anyone dare bring charges against me? Let us go to court together! Let him bring his accusation! (9) The Sovereign LORD himself defends me— who, then, can prove me guilty? All my accusers will disappear; they will vanish like moth-eaten cloth. (10) All of you that honor the LORD and obey the words of his servant, the path you walk may be dark indeed, but trust in the LORD, rely on your God. (11) All of you that plot to destroy others will be destroyed by your own plots. The LORD himself will make this happen; you will suffer a miserable fate.

• Verse 1: Note: Divorce was allowed if the husband found any dissatisfaction with his wife (Deu 24:1). Fathers who were in debt often sold their children, or children could be taken by creditors in exchange for debt, for a contracted period of time (Exo 21:7, 2Ki 4:1) How are these two circumstances different from the Lord\’s judgment on Israel?
• Who is speaking in verses 2-11?
• Verse 2-3: Why did you fail to respond to God\’s salvation in your life? What is God\’s answer?
• Verse 4 (Joh 7:15-16): Who is doing the work of teaching, encouraging, and keeping relationship?
• Verse 5-9: What choices do you have in your life? What circumstances in your life require vindication? What decisions require wisdom?
• What promises do you claim for yourself in verses 10 and 11?

THEME

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

APPLICATIONS

What promises of God do you claim for yourself?

What do you do when you feel unjustly accused?

How can Jesus help you to make the right choices in your life?

How is God able to save?

Heb 4:12 NASB For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Joh 17:4-5 NASB \”I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. (5) \”Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Mat 17:17 NASB And Jesus answered and said, \”You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.\”

Luk 4:16-21 NASB And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. (17) And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, (18) \”THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, (19) TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.\” (20) And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (21) And He began to say to them, \”Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.\”

Mic 4:2 NASB Many nations will come and say, \”Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.\” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Zec 2:11 NASB \”Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. Zec 8:20-23 NASB \”Thus says the LORD of hosts, \’It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. (21) \’The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, \”Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.\” (22) \’So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.\’ (23) \”Thus says the LORD of hosts, \’In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, \”Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.\”\’\” Luk 13:29 NASB \”And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. Rev 7:9-10 NASB After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; (10) and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, \”Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.\” Rev 11:15 NASB Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, \”The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.\”

Joh 7:15-16 GNB The Jewish authorities were greatly surprised and said, \”How does this man know so much when he has never been to school?\” (16) Jesus answered, \”What I teach is not my own teaching, but it comes from God, who sent me.