Unit 1: God Delivers and Restores
Zerubbabel supervises the construction of the second temple (Ezra 3:8) - artist unknown
Key Verse:
Isaiah 49:8 NLT
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.
Isaiah’s prophecy has a twofold interpretation. Hope for the people of his day. Hope for all of creation. Let’s meet the principals…
What you need to know
Jeremiah 29:10-11 NLT
10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Let us begin on a hopeful note. The promise of Jeremiah 29:11 is one that we are all familiar with. What is unfamiliar to most is that God set a specific time for the promise to be made manifest. Jeremiah preached during the time when Judah was being carried away into exile. The entire process took about twenty years, beginning around 605 BC and wrapping up around 586 BC with the razing of the Temple of God in Jerusalem and the carrying away of the last captives from Judah to Babylon. It was during this period that Jeremiah preached. Ultimately, he preached a message of hope because he understood that God’s wrath for Judah’s disobedience would only last for a moment; seventy years is only a moment in God’s time.
Isaiah 46:13 NLT
13
For I am ready to set things right,
not in the distant future, but right now!
I am ready to save Jerusalem[a]
and show my glory to Israel.
So when we saw God’s judgment against Babylon in Isaiah 47 last week, we can surmise that God always intended Judah’s captivity to be temporary. After all, the progenitor of the Messiah, King Jehoiachin, had been carried away to Babylon. Had Judah been permanently displaced, as the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been, the Gospel story would have had to be written much differently. Babylon's failure was that they ignored God’s forewarnings concerning His people. After all, they most certainly had access to the writings (prophecies) of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, along with the council and advice of the Prophet, Daniel. In their arrogance, they failed to heed God’s warnings. It was time for God’s people to return home to Jerusalem.
The Lesson
Isaiah 49:1 NLT
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.
This first verse sets the table. God calls all of the nations on earth to attention. Why? Because His next big move will set the timer for the redemption of all of mankind. In fact, He who is the very Agent of our salvation lends His voice to this passage. Through the prophet Isaiah, Jesus speaks from eternity, heralding His coming.
Isaiah 49:2 NLT
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.
Hebrews 4:12 NLT
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Revelation 1:16 NLT
16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
We can identify this as Jesus, because of the description of the power of His Word. Hebrews 4:12 and Revelation 1:16 confirm the identity of He whose tongue is as sharp as a two-edged sword. In Isaiah’s day, He was but a mystery, hidden in God’s quiver for a future date to rescue a people who had not yet been taken captive.
Isaiah 49:3 NLT
3
He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory.”
Our Messiah, God’s humble servant. That is who Christ is. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that all that Christ did was for the glory of God, the Father. Before the world was formed, Jesus purposed to become God’s instrument for the redemption of all mankind. His is an example that we all must pursue, to serve God by serving others.
Isaiah 49:4 NLT
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.”
Hebrews 12:2 NLT
2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Beloved, most certainly Jesus experienced frustration during His earthly ministry. However, regardless of the faithlessness of some of the people that He encountered, He remained faithful. His reasoning: His faithfulness would elevate Him to the place of eternal honor reserved for Him by His Father.
Isaiah 49:5 NLT
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.
Who strengthens Christ? God is His strength. From before the beginning of time, Christ and the Father are One. God’s Word does not go out void. How could it? God’s Word must be made manifest in the appearance of Jesus Christ. John rightly identified Him as the living Word, Who was with God from the beginning.
Isaiah 49:6 NLT
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.”
Luke 2:30-32 NLT
30
I have seen your salvation,
31
which you have prepared for all people.
32
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Christ’s mission was greater than the redemption of Israel alone. He was called to redeem all of mankind to God. In fact, He was slated to reconcile all of creation back to God. God revealed Him as a “light to the Gentiles”, peoples past, present, and future that would come to put their trust in Christ for eternal life.
Isaiah 49:7 NLT
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.”
Isaiah continues in his vision. He reveals that it is the express will of the Holy God to see His humble servant rejected by those to whom He was sent. But He also reveals that He who was rejected by Israel will be embraced by Kings, and become the hope of the nations. His Name would be great, above all names: Chosen of God.
Isaiah 49:8 NLT
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.
Earlier in this lesson, I pointed out that there were two principals that are alluded to in Isaiah’s prophecy. The first is very obviously Jesus, of whom Isaiah provides the fullest, most complete foreshadowing of His person and ministry. The second is Zerubbabel, the grandson of Jehoiachin, the King of Judah who was taken into captivity during the second carrying away into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in, or around 597 BC. Zerubbabel, born in Babylon, was the rightful heir to the throne of David. He led the first wave of Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem after the fall after Babylon fell to Cyrus sometime around 538 BC.
This section of Isaiah is as much about Zerubbabel as it is about Christ. In fact, so much so, that there are many Jews who believe that Zerubbabel was a Messianic figure. The Church sees him as a type of Christ, but certainly, he was not the Messiah. However, he commandeered the re-habitation of Jerusalem, which led to the eventual reestablishment of Israel as a nation. He led the largest group of Jews back to Jerusalem, around 42,000 souls. He also returned most of the articles of worship that had been taken from the Temple during its destruction back to Jerusalem. Additionally, he led the effort to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and alongside Jeshua, the priest, they began the reinstitution of worship in Jerusalem. Zerubbabel’s mark on history cannot be overstated.
So then, it was through Zerubbabel that God re-established Israel and reassigned it to her people, the Jews. However, where Isaiah makes mention of covenant, we are reminded that Christ has sealed us by means of the new covenant that he appropriated and ratified by His death at the cross. So while Zerubbabel was birthed from the womb of Babylon, Jesus was hidden in the womb of eternity until the day when God’s mercy and salvation should be revealed.
Isaiah 49:9 NLT
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.
Psalm 23:1-3 NLT
1
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
So then, both Zerubbabel and generations later, Christ were called to lead God’s people out of abject darkness. Christ calls us out of captivity into freedom. Like prisoners trapped underground, freedom is at first a burden. Light and sound assault our senses. It is at first disorienting and frightening. But freedom is God’s plan for us Beloved. We must embrace it, trusting God to strengthen our feeble limbs, to return us to a place of health and hope as He brings us rest beside peaceful streams. Beloved, He is our Good Shepherd.
Isaiah 49:10 NLT
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.
3 John 2 NLT
2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.
Proverbs 17:22a
22
A cheerful heart is good medicine,
Relationship with God comes with benefits. If we will trust Him with our soul, He will see to it that our soul prospers. God blesses from the outside to the inside, and then back out. We hear His Word. His Word refreshes and renews our spirit. We grow and prosper from the spiritual nourishment He has provided. We serve a good God. He cares for us as His little children. Rejoice!
Isaiah 49:11 NLT
11
And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.
The highways will be raised above the valleys.
Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Over the last two years, I’ve had some health challenges. In response, I started walking. At first, it was two or three times a week, but after a worrying diagnosis from my physician, I increased my routine to seven days a week. Over a period of 18 months, I’ve lost fifty pounds and my health has seen marked improvement. As I have grown stronger, the path that I walk every day has become easier. What was a struggle has become easier. My mountain has leveled up somewhat. The low places, formerly opportunities for stumbling, have become more manageable as my balance and stability improved. Beloved, the process of sanctification is a lot like that. Remain faithful to God. He will put within you what is necessary for your success. There will be challenges along the way. Don’t give up. Your Help has drawn near.
Isaiah 49:12 NLT
12
See, my people will return from far away,
from lands to the north and west,
and from as far south as Egypt.[b]”
At the time of Isaiah’s prophecies, Babylon represented the eastern edge of civilization, some 1700 miles from the city of Jerusalem. When Zerubbabel led his people home, it was from Babylon that he led them. However, as the nation of Israel was re-established, God’s people came from the North (Asia), West (Cannan), and from the South (Africa: Egypt and Aswan). Isaiah was foretelling of a time when God would call His people back to Israel, but he was also prophesying of a day in the distant future when God would call His people, those of us who have trusted His Son, from even more remote places from around the globe. People of every creed, color, and ethnicity. Isn’t that good news! I was discussing this with Brother Eric last week and it occurred to me: God has left the seeds of redemption throughout the earth awaiting the great and glorious day of the Lord when those seeds would blossom into redemption for all.
Isaiah 49:13 NLT
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.
Luke 2:8-14 NLT
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
And all of creation exalts at the unveiling of God’s great redemption. Beloved, We have received so great an inheritance in, and by Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let us join that great cloud of witnesses in lifting up His great Name.
Selah!
wb
Isaiah 40:1-5 NLT
1
“Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your God.
2
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
for all her sins.”
3
Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
4
Fill in the valleys,
and level the mounta1ins and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.
5
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken!”[a]
I really liked this one Wayne thank you for blessing me with this. ready to go out and be the light of the world. God Bless Brother !!
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