REACHES TO THE ENDS
Isaiah 49:1-7
he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (6)
chapter 49
1. Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.
3. He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor."
4. But I said, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God."
5. And now the LORD says - he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength -
6. he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
7. This is what the LORD says - the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel - to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1. This passage is a Messianic prophecy. It talks of a “servant of the Lord” who is a reflection of our Lord Jesus. The Israelites have been living in oppression and exile, like a lowly tribe among mighty empires of the world. However, this word of the Lord brought a message of hope and deliverance. This hope is for you and for me, and to those at the very ends of the earth. The ends of the earth are not just the Gentiles, but those we may never have imagined God saving. The gospel is often considered offensive not because of those it excludes, but because of those it welcomes.
2. Jesus spent his limited time on earth with those on the margins of society including the lower class, women, the sick and demon possessed, children, racial minorities, outcasts and public sinners. The gospel very quickly became a message of salvation to all people because God’s heart and love extends to all who are suffering and feel excluded. Such grace was offensive to those in power, but it has power to change the world.
Prayer: Father, thank you for extending grace and salvation to me. May this grace overflow and expand in my heart to the very ends.
One Word: God’s salvation reaches to the ends