Key Verse: "I will not forget you! See, I
have engraved you on the palms of My hands;"
Isaiah 49:16A
This is an interesting passage of scripture
that, once again, describes Messiah, referred to here as, "The Servant of
Israel." It is impossible to miss the description of Jesus' ministry in
the first thirteen verses of this passage.
It begins even before His birth, and describes
how He was set apart. "Before I was born the Lord called Me; from My birth
He has made mention of My name. (Is. 49:1) Do you remember the angels on the
hillside outside Bethlehem?
"He made My mouth like a sharpened
sword," (Is. 49:2) Jesus mentioned more than once the divisive nature of
His message and ministry.
"In the shadow of His hand He hid
me;" (Isaiah 49:2B) There was the flight to Egypt to escape Herod. Then,
He grew up out of sight in Galilee where nothing good was expected. (John 1:46)
In Isaiah 9 Galilee is said to be the place where people were living in
darkness!
"I will make You a light to the Gentiles,
that You may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth." (Is. 49:6B) He
had not only come to restore Israel to the One true God, but has attracted the
Gentiles, like us, as well.
He was, "despised and abhorred by the
nation," (Is. 49:7) as we saw at the cross. Yet, this was for the Lord's
glory.
They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will
the desert heat or sun beat upon them." Is. 49:10) How many times did
Jesus feed the multitudes? Is it any wonder then that all the other promises of
restoration, which are also found in this passage were expected to be fulfilled
as well?
Yet, I'm sure that, on that Sabbath, the
lament of Jesus’ followers was more like this: "The Lord has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me." (Is. 49:14) To them, it was all over. God had
not been victorious. Jesus was dead. He had come so close to what they had
expected and longed for, but alas, they had been mistaken once again.
They didn't understand yet how near God still
was to them. God seems to go on to ask an absurd question. "Can a mother
forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has
born?" (Is. 49:15) Any healthy mother will understand just how impossible
that would be. Yet God declares that His love is even more than the strongest
bond known to man. "Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I
have engraved you on the palms of My hands;" (Is. 49:16A) Remember the
nails through the palms of His hands, bearing our names to set us free.
We've been spending a lot of time thinking
about our sin and our need for a savior. We've been thinking about how we are
responsible for Christ's death because of our unholiness. While it is true that
we are partially responsible for the nails, it is amazing to realize that those
nails not only pierced His hands to hold Him on our cross, but they also
engraved our names in His palms, assuring us of His unconditional love.
He can never forget us. He sees the mark of
our sin, but He also sees our name every time He looks at His hand. Our name,
on His palm, reminds Him of His love and commitment to us. He had not deserted
His disciples on that Sabbath, He had made an indelible mark and commitment of
love. His hands bear the signed contract of His forgiveness. Just as Abraham
sat and watched God go between the pieces of the Covenant by himself because
God knew that Man could not keep the contract, (Genesis
15) His hands now bear the new proof that He did what only He could do for
us.
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