Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 49

Verses 1-26

Isaiah 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

Isaiah 49:1 Comments - In her book A Divine Revelation of Heaven Mary K. Baxter writes, “An angel of the Lord said to me, ‘From the time of conception, a baby is an eternal soul…’” [67]

[67] Mary K. Baxter, A Divine Revelation of Heaven (New Kensington, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House, 1998), 117.

Scripture References - Note a similar verse:

Psalms 22:10, “I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.”

Isaiah 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Isaiah 49:6 “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth” Scripture References - Note:

Isaiah 52:10, “The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Isaiah 49:15 Comments - My wife and I have had three children. It is my observation that there is no time when a human bond is greater than between a newborn and a mother. She can devote her entire attention to a new born and not think about herself. Yet, Isaiah 49:15 tells us that God’s love for us is greater than that bond of affection. In fact, the next verse (Isaiah 49:16) states that He will never stop thinking about us; and this is exactly how a mother is towards her newborn baby.

Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:16 “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hand” - Comments - Jesus bore the scars of Calvary in the palms of his hands.

Isaiah 49:16 “thy walls are continually before me” Comments - The city walls of Jerusalem, or Zion, never forgotten by God because He has an everlasting covenant with Israel.

Isaiah 49:13-16 Comments God’s Love for Israel - God brings out an illustration of how much He remembers us by comparing it to a woman with a suckling child. A woman with such a young child is almost never at a time when her attention is not towards the child or doing for the child while it sleeps, etc. How much more are we, even in heavy chastisement, always before God.

Illustration - One evening I was feeling down and I could not understand how God could have granted me repentance from those six years of staying away from Him. I read Hebrews 6:4-6 again and wondered if God could have even saved me. Later that evening I opened my Bible and read these passages. The Lord answered my doubting questions with much mercy and grace.