Restored for a Reason

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Opening Prayer

Gracious Lord, may the work of my hands praise You. May the intentions of my heart honor You.

Read Isaiah 49:8-26

^[8] This is what the LORD says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, ^[9] to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. ^[10] They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. ^[11] I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. ^[12] See, they will come from afar- some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.” ^[13] Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. ^[14] But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” ^[15] “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! ^[16] See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. ^[17] Your children hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. ^[18] Lift up your eyes and look around; all your children gather and come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride. ^[19] “Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away. ^[20] The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’ ^[21] Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these-where have they come from?'” ^[22] This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips. ^[23] Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” ^[24] Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives be rescued from the fierce? ^[25] But this is what the LORD says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save. ^[26] I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Meditate

“Hope is not what you expect. It is not a granted wish or a favor performed. It’s a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us” (Max Lucado). Israel was called to hopefulness and so are we.

Think Further

Major disasters sometimes have happy endings, as survivors are rescued from collapsed mines or earthquake rubble. Our hearts leap with happiness as we see images of relieved and grateful faces. All involved see the old world with new eyes. The Lord here anticipates such rejoicing in the significant change of circumstance for his captive people as they are restored to the abundance of their once-desolate land.

The mention of “you” being “a covenant for the people” may be a continuation of the message to God’s chosen servant, addressing his role in the restoration to come (8-13). The road to freedom, return and reunion would be a reversal of the hardships and scattering of the Exile. The protection and provision described are somewhat reminiscent of the earlier Exodus experience, and become the cause of even cosmic rejoicing. The Lord directly encouraged the captive nation, recognizing that they had felt forsaken and forgotten (14-26). The images are mixed, but each, with its poignant and often intimate aspects, reinforced God’s deep commitment never to forget his people.

This would be played out in social and psychological terms in the new society. There would be an optimistic sense of expansiveness coming as a surprise after their years of bereavement and confined exile (20,21). There would be an overriding sense of hopefulness, despite the disbelief that rescue and restoration were possible. Most importantly, there would be a clear reason for acknowledging God’s rescue and protection: that the whole human race would know he was their Lord, Redeemer and Savior (Rev. 15:3,4). These implications of faith are true also for those of us who have, likewise, been “ransomed, healed, restored, and forgiven” (Henry Francis Lyte, 1793-1857).

Apply

What does it feel like to be a “forsaken captive” (14)? What can cause you to feel that way? Do you feel like that? How can the situation be resolved (15-18)?

Closing prayer

Loving Father, when trouble hits I find it so easy to choose despair. Today, Lord, I want to choose hope. I trust Your promise to make all things new.

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