49:1 The servant summons people to listen with all the authority of the Lord himself. The “coastlands” (cf. comment on 40:15) suggest a wide geographical spread, and “peoples” a wide national spread. The servant was called “from the womb”; similar language is used of Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5) and Paul (Gal. 1:15). Yet no prophet or apostle ever called people to himself but rather pointed hearers to his message. “Named my name” links the servant with the Immanuel prophecies, in particular to the mention of the mother (Isa. 7:14). Thus the text presents someone as distinct from Yahweh yet who not only speaks with Yahweh’s authority but himself embodies the message; here in fact is the Word made flesh (John 1:14).

49:2 The servant’s weapons are described as a “sharp sword “and a “polished arrow.” This does not mean he will engage in physical fighting; these are metaphors of the power of his word (cf. Heb. 4:12; Rev. 19:15). The power of God’s word has been shown over and over again by the prophets; that word has the power to build up or to tear down (Jer. 1:9–10). The servant will show that power in the fullest manner and the widest way, with the sword suggesting power near at hand and the arrow suggesting power that can reach far away. To be hidden “in his quiver” refers to a long period of preparation, in the sense of both the time elapsed since Genesis 3:15 and the years of silence before Jesus began his public ministry.

49:3 The servant is the culmination of all that God is doing in history, not least of all with the people of Israel. To call him “Israel” does not mean that the servant is not an individual; after all, Israel was a personal name before becoming a national one (Gen. 32:27–28; 35:9–15). Just as Jesus is the true vine (John 15:1)—fulfilling what Israel the vine failed to be—so here the servant will complete the task of bringing the nations to God. This means that the servant cannot be the prophet himself, or Jeremiah, as some have argued. Rather, these and the other prophets draw attention away from themselves to the one who is to come; as John the Baptist says, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). God will be glorified in the true Israel, and all kinds of people will respond.

49:4 Yet, in spite of all this, the servant will not enjoy universal recognition but will often seem to have labored in vain. Indeed, it is his perseverance in spite of hostility and suffering that the author of Hebrews uses as an example to encourage faltering Christians (Heb. 12:1–4). The servant is truly human and able to help those who are tempted and discouraged. God will offer the final assessment of his work and grant him the due reward.

49:5 This shows decisively that the servant cannot be collective Israel, for the nation is incapable of saving itself. With a reminder of his call and his own response, the servant’s first task is to bring Jacob/Israel back to God. This will take place because of the Lord’s commitment to honor the servant and because God’s strength is his strength.

49:6 The restoration of Israel is only the first part of his mission; the greater part is to bring the gospel to the nations. The thought here is similar to that of Acts 1:6, in which the apostles ask if Jesus will at that point “restore the kingdom to Israel.” Jesus’ reply does not so much rebuke them as point out that they have set their sights far too low. This is not simply a Jewish gospel but one to be taken to the ends of the earth. The light of the world will continue to shine until the last person is added to the kingdom; salvation will continue to spread throughout the world until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of God.

49:7 The lack of obvious initial success anticipates Isaiah 52:13–53:12, but the familiar piling up of titles of God points to ultimate triumph. The Redeemer, who is the Holy One, cannot ignore sin but has provided the remedy, even though the servant will be despised, hated, and rejected—a pattern that develops throughout the Gospels. One day the great ones of earth will bow and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, a testimony to God’s faithfulness to his chosen servant. The Holy One does not break his word.

49:8 The cry of the servant in verse 4 is answered here by assuring him of God’s support. The “time of favor” uses language drawn from the Jubilee year (Leviticus 25), when slaves were to be freed and inheritances restored. Salvation will come through the servant as he establishes the broken covenant; indeed, he himself embodies that covenant. This will mean restoration of the people to the land; as Joshua once did, the Lord will again apportion their inheritances. This sees a partial fulfillment in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. When Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 6:2, he declares that the day of God’s favor has fully arrived in Jesus.

49:9–10 The servant will free prisoners and open blind eyes, but his ministry will not stop there. It is one thing to set people free and open their eyes, but quite another to lead them home. The imagery here is rich, drawing both from exodus imagery and from Psalm 23, showing that on the journey there will be protection and provision. This will be dependent not on the nature of the terrain—which may be hostile—but on the faithfulness of the Lord. This is a reminder of God’s faithfulness throughout the generations.

The people will be protected from bodily needs, represented by hunger and thirst, and from external conditions, represented by wind and sun. This is an example not simply of God’s power but of his tenderness as he is moved by compassion for those he leads. The quotation of this verse in Revelation 7:16–17 reveals that ultimately it is the heavenly Zion that is in view, but there are anticipations of this goal along the way.

49:11 In an echo of Isaiah 40:4, the Lord promises to remove obstacles. The creation cannot impede the progress of his people. At the heart of Israel’s faith is the knowledge that God is the Creator; this is no abstract theory but immensely practical as they face the challenges of life in the confidence that the Lord is in complete control of the journey and its destination.

49:12 This journey will not be impeded by the distance to be covered or the geographical location from which it begins. “From the west” is literally “from the sea” (ESV mg.); this probably echoes “coastlands” as the prophet looks to the day in which the gospel will spread around the Mediterranean world. “Syene” is unknown but may be Aswan, referenced in Ezekiel 29:10; 30:6 in oracles against Egypt. There the locale is associated with the southernmost parts of Egypt and may represent the limits of the known world.

49:13 A song of praise is the only appropriate response to this vision of future salvation. This salvation involves not only redeemed people but also a renewed creation (cf. Isaiah 55:12–13; 65:17), so that heaven and earth burst into full-throated praise. The restoration of the universe is also linked by Paul with the full redemption of God’s people (Rom. 8:19–23), who writes that the groaning of creation will cease when the children of God are fully like Christ. This is anticipated as God comforts his people (echoing Isa. 40:1) and shows compassion to the downtrodden. At the very heart of Isaiah is this conviction of God’s ultimate triumph over evil, which will herald the dawning of the new creation.

49:14 Yet all is not well with Zion; her cry of distress is a stark contrast to the song of praise. There is abundant evidence that God can save Zion; indeed, he had already done so from Assyria in chapters 36–37. But Zion fears she may have sinned away her blessings; while there may be a return to Jerusalem, can there be a return to God? She is a rejected wife and barren woman; can her future be fruitful, or is she condemned to unfruitfulness? Is it true that Yahweh has abandoned his covenant?

49:15 The most vivid and poignant image of God’s commitment to his people is expressed in a rhetorical question involving mothers and children. A mother should always love and cherish her child; normally it is unthinkable that she would forsake her. Yet sad cases do occur of neglected and abandoned children, which are all the more shocking because of their unnaturalness. But even if some mothers behave in this way, God never will. The love of the Lord exceeds even the most tender of earthly loves (cf. Ps. 27:10). It is vital never to drive a wedge between God’s just judgment and his unfailing love.

49:16 The even more striking metaphor of the inscription of the name of Zion on her Master’s palms reinforces the earlier one. In the ancient world it would normally be the name of the master written on the servant’s hand. Here the metaphor of the bride merges into that of the city whose walls are not abandoned by God but will be rebuilt for his glory. This image of the bride who is also the city appears in Revelation 21:2, where the bride of the Lamb is the new Jerusalem. Status as a bride suggests personal intimacy with Christ; status as a city suggests redeemed community.

49:17 Some have quibbled at the clause “Your builders make haste,” pointing out that Nehemiah was dismayed to hear that the walls of Jerusalem were still not rebuilt a century and a half after their destruction (Neh. 1:3–4). This fails to take into account the theological and poetic nature of the passage. The walls were eventually rebuilt, but the temple was the priority, as seen in Ezra and Haggai. But far more is in view here: ultimately, the building of the heavenly Zion is the emphasis. All who are opposed to her will disappear, as has already occurred to Sennacherib, whose arrogant officers and officials are no longer seen (cf. Isa. 30:18).

49:18 Zion is urged to look up and see her children’s return. This is again a picture of how people have come over the centuries to the city of the living God. This is no bereaved woman but a joyful bride, with children adorning her. The mixed metaphor of bride and mother is rich with all the freshness of new love and mature growth. No one metaphor can exhaust the depth and riches of the love of God.

49:19 The syntax of this verse is rather odd; we might expect a further statement to follow after “devastated land,” yet poetically this expresses the prophet’s excitement as he jumps from the wasted land to the glories of the future, which blot out the bleak past.97 Isaiah quickly abandons the wasteland for a vision of Zion overflowing with people even as those wishing her ill have disappeared.

49:20–21 The focus is now on Zion’s new family, one not of natural descent but the fruit of the servant’s work (53:10). The original pioneers who returned in 539 BC were relatively small in number (cf. Ezra 2), but this looks far beyond them to a “great multitude that no one could number” (Rev. 7:9). Zion will be amazed as she sees the new family, just as Sarah was amazed that she should give birth at her age (Gen. 18:12). The point is that these blessings are gifts of God, not products of Zion’s fruitfulness or deserving. This remains true; we cannot bring life—only the Spirit can.

49:22–23 The plethora of children and all the subsequent blessings depend wholly on the Lord, so it is suitable that what follows is authenticated by a word from him. God will raise a signal to the nations to obey. Earlier in the book a signal was a token of judgment as he summoned the nations to punish Israel (Isa. 5:26), but now it is a sign of blessing. The picture is a charming one of queens’ cuddling children in their arms and kings’ carrying them on their shoulders. The great ones of the earth will come in humility and submission and give homage to Zion’s Lord. This is not a military conquest of the nations so much as their coming to the Lord in humble and repentant faith. The same idea is expressed when Jesus declares, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). This will not happen immediately; there is need for patient waiting (cf. Isa. 40:31). We do not know when God will act, but we can be certain that he will. Even if this does not happen in our lifetime, such delay does not deny the certainty.

49:24–25 Inevitably, God’s intervention to save his people will not go unchallenged by the powerful. Once again the human difficulty is underlined in a rhetorical question. In this world, might is often right: despots terrorize whole populations, with no one able to prevent them. But there is a greater power that will fight the wolf and save the sheep. This has already been demonstrated earlier in the book: Ahaz turned to Assyria for help and failed to stand in faith (7:9), whereas Hezekiah called to Yahweh to rescue him from Assyria and was heard (37:16). The ultimate example of this is when Jesus disarms the strong man and rescues his victims (Matt. 12:29).

49:26 The imagery of the defeat of God’s enemies is vivid, reminiscent of Psalm 137:8–9. Brutality breeds brutality, and those who continually oppose God and his people will be crushed. The book will end on such a solemn note in Isaiah 66:24. Yet the picture here ends on a positive note, as “all flesh”—the whole world—will see the mighty acts of God. He is the Savior who rescues, the Redeemer who removes sins, the mighty Protector of weak and vacillating Jacob. This God will one day receive the homage of all mankind.