Shout, ye heavens; and be joyful, thou earth; and break forth into singing, ye mountains for Jehovah hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted ones.
Isaiah 49 has just described the Servant of the Lord. His own nation rejected Him, and His work looked wasted. Yet God gave Him as a light to the nations and as the one who brings scattered Israel home. Verse 13 is the song that answers all of that. Why does it call heaven, earth and mountains to join in, when the comfort is for one afflicted people?
Israel had been God's servant, and Israel had failed. The chapter puts a true Servant in that place. The song comes only when His work is finished.
Israel failed as God's servant, so God set Israel aside and put Christ forward as the true servant. Yet Christ says, "I have laboured in vain," because Israel rejected Him. God's answer comes in verse 5 and the verses after it. It was too small a thing for Him only to raise up the tribes of Israel; God would lift Him high and give Him as a light to the nations. In verse 8, God gives Him as a covenant to the people, to deliver them at the end.
Hamilton Smith reads verse 13 as the last step in a sequence running through the chapter. He also names who gets the credit.
Seventh, the Servant will finish the will of Jehovah at last. God will restore the nation. He will bring the nations into blessing. Kings and princes will bow and worship at His feet. Then at last the heavens and the earth will join to sing His praise. The whole creation will burst into song, and all will admit that the Lord has done it all.
The people comforted here are the ones named just before: prisoners and people in dark places, coming home from far away. How God treats them matters as much as who they are.
Verse 13, though, seems to point mainly, perhaps only, to an afflicted remnant of Israel. Some will be prisoners. Some will be hiding in dark places. They come over the mountains from far-off places in the north and the west, and even from "the land of Sinim," which some take to be China. At last the comfort announced in the opening verse of Isaiah 40 will have reached "His people." Those who had been "His afflicted" for so long will find mercy. Mercy, notice — not merit.
The very next verse has Zion saying she has been forsaken and forgotten. So this comfort is not general encouragement. It answers one despair, and it answers with a love stronger than the closest human bond.
No wonder the call goes out for the heavens to shout and the mountains to sing. Comfort has come to God's people through Israel's Restorer. Zion thought she had been abandoned for good. A woman may forget her own baby, against all nature; but Jehovah does not forget His own people. He comforts Zion. He consoles her, and He quickly increases the number of her children.
Earlier in the chapter the call went out to the distant coastlands. Here the audience widens past anything human.
No wonder the call to rejoice goes out not only to the islands, but to heaven and earth… These are the last days. Jehovah is looking back over His goodness and calling the whole universe to be joyful.
This song fits a wider pattern. Writers tie creation's joy to one coming event, and the prophets and the apostle name that event in different ways.
The apostle hangs all this joy of creation on "the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8). The prophets hang it on the redemption of Israel (Isa. 44:23; Isa. 49:13; Isa. 55:12). The testimonies differ because apostles and prophets had different ministries. In one place the Psalmist joins the two in a few words, touching the note where their harmonies meet — "when the Lord builds up Zion, He appears in His glory." (Ps. 102:16)
That is why the call reaches the mountains. Creation has been waiting, and its release comes at the same moment.
There has already been a creation song. The earth came fresh from the hands of God, and "the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7). Then sin spoiled that beautiful creation. Singing gave way to weeping, and songs to groans. In the thousand-year day to come, God will make the earth new. Creation's groan will fall silent, and heaven and earth will join in a new song.
- Cause. The song rests on the Servant. Israel rejected Him, and He said He had laboured in vain. God then gave Him as a light to the nations and a covenant to the people.
- Gift. The afflicted receive mercy, not merit. The comfort promised in Isaiah 40 reaches prisoners and exiles gathered from as far away as the land of Sinim.
- Answer. Zion said she was forsaken and forgotten. A mother may forget her child; God does not forget His people.
- Reach. The call widens from the far-off coastlands to heaven, earth and mountains. The whole universe joins in one nation's relief.
- Result. Creation's groan falls silent. The prophets tie that release to the redemption of Israel; the apostle ties it to the revealing of God's sons. One day, one song.
But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.
Isaiah 49 has just announced mercy reaching out to distant nations, and at that very moment the city at the centre of God's promises says God has dropped her. Her words are a complaint, not a fact, and the rest of the chapter is God's reply.
One writer reads the chapter as a scene with two speakers, and names it after both.
In this beautiful passage of the prophet, we hear Messiah telling His own history, from the womb of the Virgin to the throne of the kingdom. But Zion, as though she had been listening, complains as one forgotten. She cannot find her own place in this history. Messiah answers this fear and this complaint with good words and comforting words. So I may call this "Jesus and Jerusalem."
One writer measures Zion's bond with God against the strongest human tie he can name.
And it will be unexpected mercy, as the following verses show. Zion stands for the godly seed who will receive the mercy. Pushed to the limit, they will be tempted to think their God has forsaken and forgotten them. But He has not. Among human beings there is no stronger tie than a mother's love. Yet under extreme pressure even that tie may break. The godly in Israel have a tie with the LORD that will never break.
Centuries have passed, and Zion still waits. One writer traces the delay to a greater sin than any before it — the crucifixion of the Messiah.
Many scriptures show the intensity of the LORD's feelings for this beloved city. That same unchanging affection for Zion speaks again through Zechariah and — if we may put it this way — stirs up the LORD to step in for her deliverance and restoration. She may still have to wait. Centuries may roll by, because of her yet greater sin in the crucifixion of the Messiah. But the eyes and heart of the LORD will rest on her continually.
God does not deny how things look to Zion. He answers with something stronger than appearances.
And although Israel now seems to be cast off and rejected, the Word of God tells us it will not always be so… And listen to these words spoken to Israel in reply to her complaint. It looks like that just now, but is it truly so? Listen: "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me."
Part of Zion's fear is that blessing for distant peoples has replaced her. One writer answers it from the way Christ treated those closest to Him.
His grace towards the Gentile does not blunt His heart in the least to the claims of natural relationship… This is the very pattern by which He was to deal, and will deal, with Israel. Zion may say of the Lord who laboured in vain, whom the nation abhorred, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Not so.
God spoke Isaiah's promise to Israel first. One writer says believers may take its comfort too, and that the New Testament makes it firmer still.
Cast down we may be, and often are, and it is good for us too, for "God comforts the downcast" (2 Cor. 7:6) — but cast off, never. God cannot deny Himself… These words are meant in the first place for Israel, but we may take them for ourselves. But the New Testament makes the assurance more assured, for there we are in our own sphere, and we read, "He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."
- Complaint. Zion hears the Messiah's story and decides she has no place in it. The verse records her fear, not God's verdict.
- Pressure. The words belong to people pushed to the limit, who read their situation as proof that God has left them.
- Delay. Centuries of silence follow the rejection of the Messiah. His eyes and heart still rest on her.
- Answer. God does not argue with how it looks. He points to a love stronger than a mother's, and to Zion engraved on His own hands.
- Reach. Mercy going out to the nations never displaced Zion, and the same faithfulness holds for anyone who feels forgotten.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even these forget, but I will not forget thee.
Zion — God's chosen city — has just cried out that the LORD has forsaken and forgotten her. This verse is His reply, and it points to the closest bond people know: a mother and her nursing baby.
The verse answers a specific complaint. One commentator puts it beside the cry that provoked it, and follows the answer to its end.
"But Zion said, Jehovah has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." But Jehovah answers Zion's reproach. He says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child…? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you." The enemies of Israel disappear. Israel comes forward, long forgotten in appearance, but now to be established for ever.
God compares Himself to a mother with her baby. The comparison carries an admission inside it: even that tie can break.
Zion stands for the godly seed who will receive the mercy. In their worst hour they will be tempted to think their God has forsaken and forgotten them. But He has not. Among mankind there is no stronger tie than a mother's love. Yet under extreme pressure even that tie may break. The godly in Israel have a tie with Jehovah that will never break.
Another writer follows the promise on to what God then does for Zion:
Zion thought she was forsaken altogether. A woman may, unnaturally, forget the child of her womb; but Jehovah does not forget His own people. He comforts Zion; He consoles her, and rapidly increases her children.
This promise has waited a long time. One writer gives the reason for the delay, and what stays fixed through it:
Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me"… "Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you"… This same unchanging love for Zion speaks again through Zechariah. If the words may be used with reverence, it stirs Jehovah up to step in and deliver and restore her. She may still have to wait. Centuries may pass, because of her even greater sin in crucifying the Messiah. But the eyes and heart of Jehovah will rest on her without a break.
God says this to people who forget Him. One writer sets Peter's collapse beside the promise:
Peter was full of self-confidence, yet he truly loved his Master. He vowed that he would face prison and death for his beloved Lord. Yet at the voice of a servant girl he denied his Master with oaths and cursing! Peter sinned, but his faith did not fail… "My people have forgotten Me days without number." Jer. 2:32. "Yet I will not forget you." Isa. 49:15.
The promise rests on something fixed: God has engraved Zion on His hands. One writer applies those hands to Christians now.
Only the nail-pierced hands can carry us through the wilderness to the rest of God that lies ahead of us. Those hands were pierced for everlasting service… He said to Israel, "Can a woman forget her nursing child…? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." Yes, beloved Christians, and we too are engraved on the palms of His hands. Those hands hold us in everlasting safety. They are lifted up in intercession for us and in blessing over us — the nail-pierced hands.
Commentators differ on how far the promise stretches. Some hold it to Zion and her future restoration. Others, like Mawson, take the same assurance for believers today.
- Complaint. Zion says she is forsaken and forgotten. The verse is God's answer to her, not a general saying about love.
- Comparison. God sets His faithfulness beside the strongest human tie there is. Even a mother's love can break under pressure. His cannot.
- Contrast. A mother forgetting her child would be unnatural, and God never forgets His own. His people forgot Him "days without number," and He still says He will not forget them.
- Continuation. The waiting is long, and the crucifixion of the Messiah made it longer. Yet His eyes and heart rest on Zion, and she will be established for ever.
- Certainty. The proof is not a feeling but an engraving on His hands. Writers see those hands now as the nail-pierced hands, lifted in intercession.
Lo, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Zion has just said out loud what suffering people always say: God has walked away and lost track of me. God's reply is not an argument. He points to an engraved hand and to ruined walls He still keeps in view.
God is answering a city that looked abandoned for centuries:
The rest of the chapter speaks of the Lord's faithfulness and love for His earthly people. That love is seen in the restoration of Zion, the city of God's sovereign choice. For long centuries she seemed "forsaken" and "forgotten," yet the Lord loves her with a compassion greater than a mother's love for a child. Her walls are continually before the Lord. The day is coming when her children will hurry back and every destroyer will leave the city.
The verse just before compares God's love to a mother's love for her child.
Zion here stands for the godly people who will receive the mercy. In their extreme trouble they will be tempted to think their God has forsaken and forgotten them — but He has not. Among mankind there is no stronger tie than a mother's love. Yet under extreme pressure even that tie may break. The godly in Israel have a tie with the Lord that will never break. While they are set aside as a nation, God has wider purposes of blessing that reach the most distant peoples. Yet He keeps perfect faithfulness to all His promises.
Engraving is stonework. The same craft cut the names of Israel's tribes into the jewels the high priest wore on his chest and shoulders.
The precious stones were engraved too, both on the shoulder plates and on the breastplate. God said of Zion, "Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." Engraving means something no one can erase or rub out — it lasts. These engraved stones are a moving picture. They show the deep and lasting place believers have in the heart of Christ.
The second half of the verse turns to Zion's walls. One writer asks what a wall stands for:
The first thought of a wall is separation from the evil outside, but there may be another thought, and that thought is ownership. The thought of ownership is also seen in Isaiah 49:16… God's people belong to the Lord. He owns what is His, and the words "your walls are continually before Me" stress it.
Writers link the palms in this verse to the hands nailed to the cross. Those hands still serve.
God has committed us to His hands. Because we are His children, He could not have committed us into any other hands. It would not have been enough to put us into the hands of Gabriel or Michael. Only the nail-pierced hands, bored for everlasting service, can carry us through the wilderness to the rest of God that lies ahead… In the same way we too are engraved on the palms of His hands. Those hands hold us in everlasting safety. He lifts them up in intercession for us and in blessing over us — the nail-pierced hands.
The engraved hand leads to a change on the ground:
The enemies of Israel disappear, and Israel comes forward. She seemed forgotten for a long time. Now God will establish her forever.
One writer applies these words to any believer who fears God has written them off:
Cast down we may be, and often are, and it is good for us too, for "God… comforts the downcast" (2 Corinthians 7:6) — but cast off, never. God cannot deny Himself. He cannot be false to His word. There are wonderful words in the Old Testament that assure us of this. They were meant in the first place for Israel, but we may take them for ourselves: "Can a woman forget her nursing child?… Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." But the New Testament makes the assurance even surer. There we are in our own sphere, and we read, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
- Complaint. Zion says she is forsaken and forgotten; this verse is God's direct reply to that feeling, not a rebuke of it.
- Compared. A mother's love is the strongest human tie, yet it can break under pressure — the tie God has with His people never will.
- Carved. "Engraved" is stonecutter's language, like the tribal names cut into the high priest's jewels. Nothing can rub it out.
- Claimed. The walls kept continually before Him mark ownership — the city, and the people it stands for, belong to God.
- Carried. Writers see the palms as the nail-pierced hands. Those hands hold believers safe and rise in intercession and blessing.
Thy sons shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that laid thee waste shall go forth from thee.
Zion has just cried out that God has dropped her and forgotten her, and this verse is His reply: the wreckers leave the city while her children stream back in. Who are these returning ones, and when does a ruined city ever see such a reversal?
A note on wording: where the ESV says "your builders," the writers quoted below follow an older reading, "your children."
This promise sits at a turning point. Isaiah 49 opens a new dispute between God and His people, and the subject has changed.
Isaiah 49 begins the second charge — the rejection of Christ, not idolatry — and it runs to the end of chapter 57. (Compare the end of Isaiah 48.) Israel, having rejected the Messiah, this is said to be of little value. God sets Him as a light to the Gentiles, and Zion is to be re-established.
So God promises this restoration to a people at their worst point, not their best.
Verse 17 is the second half of an answer. Zion complains; God replies first with a mother's love, then with this picture of traffic reversing at the city gates.
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Jehovah answers her reproach. He says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. Your children shall make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go out from you" (vv. 14-17). The enemies of Israel disappear, and Israel comes forward — long forgotten in appearance, but now to be established forever.
Two crowds move in opposite directions in a single sentence.
The verse is not a prediction about Zion's strength. It rests on an affection that centuries of ruin have not cooled, and it is still waiting to be filled out.
The rest of the chapter speaks of Jehovah's faithfulness and love for His earthly people. That love shows itself in the restoration of Zion, the city of God's sovereign choice (Ps. 78:68). For long centuries she seemed "forsaken" and "forgotten," yet the city is loved with a compassion greater than a mother's love for her child. Her walls are continually before the Lord, and the day is coming when her children will hurry back and all her destroyers go out from the city.
The chapter's earlier verses explain why God can speak this way at all. One writer also warns against reading the promise as a picture of the Church.
Turn now to Isaiah 49. Israel failed as God's servant and is set aside. God presents Christ as the true Servant. Yet He says, "I have labored in vain," for we know that Israel rejected Him... In verse 8 God gives Him as a covenant to the people, to deliver them in the end... The idea of applying this to the Church is almost too far-fetched to be worth a comment. When does the Church ever say, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me" — and that at the very time when the blessing is complete?
Jerusalem has been rebuilt before, and each time few people lived in it. Those past recoveries fall short of what this verse promises.
How different it will be in the coming day of Jerusalem's glory. Then the city will still be "large and great," but the people will no longer be few. In that day the land will be too narrow for the number of people living in it, and of the city they will say, "The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in" (Isaiah 49:14-21). This reminds us that reformation, restoration and revival, however bright and blessed, fall far short of the glory that is to come. There had been reformation in the days of the kings. There had been restoration in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, and those restored people had enjoyed their revivals. But whether reformation, restoration or revival, it was always a time of outward weakness.
- Charge — Isaiah 49 opens God's second dispute with His people. The issue is now the rejected Messiah, not idolatry.
- Complaint — Zion cries that God has forsaken and forgotten her. He answers with love stronger than a mother's.
- Exchange — One sentence moves two crowds: the destroyers walk out, the children hurry in. Israel's enemies disappear and Israel comes forward.
- Ground — The comfort rests on the true Servant. His labour looked wasted, yet God gives Him as a covenant to deliver the people in the end.
- Reach — Every past rebuilding was small and weak. The promise here is a city too full to hold its own people, and it is still ahead.
Lift up thine eyes round about and behold they all gather themselves together, they come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt indeed clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on as a bride doth.
Isaiah 49 turns from the charge of idolatry to the rejection of the Messiah, and then to a city that says God has forgotten her. Verse 18 is His reply: lift your eyes and look at the crowd coming home.
The section this verse belongs to opens a new accusation against the nation, and a new answer from God.
Isaiah 49 begins the second charge, the rejection of Christ, not idolatry, and it goes on to the end of chapter 57. (Compare the end of Isaiah 48.) Israel has rejected the Messiah, and so Israel is said to be of little value. God sets Him as a light to the Gentiles, and Zion is to be re-established.
Zion has just said that God has forgotten her. He answers with something she can see.
Zion thought she was forsaken altogether. A woman may forget the child of her womb, unnatural as that is; but Jehovah does not forget His own people. He comforts Zion and consoles her. He quickly increases her children, saying to her, "Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you" (v. 18).
Writers see this crowd as the scattered tribes coming home to those already in the land.
What a home-coming it will be after long centuries of wandering and desolation! What joy to God, and what blessing for the people of His choice! And what a meeting of the tribes after dreary ages of separation and estrangement! Isaiah 49:18-23 describes their meeting in vivid detail. To those already in the land — the two tribes — the Lord says: "Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you." Those already there will wear the returning tribes like a garment, and the land will be too narrow because of the number of people in it.
Her beauty is a gift. The One who gives it makes her His bride and His queen.
And she shall be the bride of the Lord of the earth, and the queen in the day of His power. He will clothe her with ornaments fitting a bride and queen, rejoice over her, and give His name to her. He will have her so honoured and cherished by the whole world that He treats contempt for her as an insult to Himself.
God swears by His own life: "As I live." So when is a promise like that kept?
Such is the future that Jehovah guarantees to Israel after the rejection of the Messiah. So the return from captivity in Babylon cannot exhaust this chapter. It clearly speaks of the far more complete gathering at the end of this age. This opens the new subject: Christ rejected by His people, and His people gathered in after God has made Him a light to the end of the earth.
Kelly also notes what happens to those who ruined her.
The enemies of Israel disappear. Israel comes forward — forgotten for a long time, so it seemed — but now to be established for ever. So their God calls upon them to see a wondrous sight.
The verses that follow say the land will be too small for its people. Smith sets that fullness against every partial recovery God's people have known.
How different will it be in the coming day of Jerusalem's glory. Then indeed the city will still be "large and great," but no longer will the people be few... This reminds us, as another writer has said, that reformation, restoration and revival, however bright and blessed, fall far short of the glory that is to come. There was reformation in the days of the kings. There was restoration in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, and those restored people enjoyed their revivals. But reformation, restoration or revival always came in circumstances of outward weakness.
- Rejection. The chapter charges the nation with rejecting the Messiah. God's answer is that Zion will be re-established.
- Sight. To a city saying she is forgotten, God does not argue — He tells her to lift her eyes and watch her children arrive.
- Reunion. Writers read "all these" as the scattered tribes coming home to those already in the land, after long ages apart.
- Ornament. Her returning children are her jewels. The Lord puts that honour on her, and makes the whole world respect it.
- Fullness. God seals the promise with His own oath. It reaches past any earlier homecoming to a crowded land — not the "few" of every reformation and revival until then.
For [in] thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy destroyed land, thou shalt even now be too straitened by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
The verse looks at ruined ground and promises a crowd too big for it. That raises two questions: where will such a crowd come from, and when has anything like this ever happened?
Zion is Jerusalem, spoken of here as a mother who has lost her children. She had long seemed forgotten. This verse marks the turn.
The enemies of Israel disappear, and Israel comes forward, long forgotten apparently, but now to be established for ever. So their God calls upon them to see a wondrous sight.
Notice which ground fills up. Not new territory, but the ruined places themselves.
Zion will be exalted as the nation of Israel gathers to the city. The long waste and desolate places will prove too narrow because of the crowd of inhabitants. Astonishment will follow, as the long hidden ones of Israel come to light.
Where do all these people come from? Commentators point to the ten tribes of Israel, scattered so long ago that no one can now tell who they are.
It is the harvest of joy for the chosen but guilty people, after the long sowing in tears. And now there seems to be no room to house all the children… It is the joining together of the dispersed of all Israel, those who had been forgotten. At the present time the Jews are the only ones clearly known to be of Israel; but those so long hidden are the ten tribes. The Jews will have the certainty that they are Israel and yet not known to them. They had been in the dark for ages.
So the land fills up, and the nations take notice. The honour they pay has a stated reason.
In the days of her sinful desolation all her children were lost. Now they appear in such numbers that the land cannot hold them. The nations — even their kings and queens — will honour them, and that because of the glory and power of their God.
Did the return from Babylon fulfil this? Writers set beside it Zechariah's vision of Jerusalem: a city measured out to grow, with no walls, and the spoilers themselves spoiled. The history since, they say, does not match.
Jerusalem will be measured out with a view to growing and filling with people, like towns without walls — without limits. The Lord will be a wall of fire around it, and will be the glory in its midst; compare Isaiah 49:19-20. After the glory of the Lord has been shown on the earth, He will send to the nations and make a spoil of those who have spoiled Israel, whom He values as the apple of His eye… It is clear that nothing answering to this has taken place since the captivity.
In Nehemiah's day the rebuilt city was wide and large, but the people in it were few. This verse promises the opposite.
How different it will be in the coming day of Jerusalem's glory. Then the city will still be "wide and large," but the people will no longer be few… This reminds us that reformation, restoration and revivals, however bright and blessed, fall far short of the glory that is to come. There had been reformation in the days of the kings. There had been restoration in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, and these restored saints had enjoyed their revivals. But whether reformation, restoration or revival, it was always in a setting of outward weakness. It is no different today.
- Forgotten — Zion had long seemed forgotten. God answers with a picture of a land too crowded to hold her children.
- Reversed — the destroyers leave and Israel comes forward. The ruined ground itself grows too small for the crowd.
- Hidden — the crowd includes Israel's long-lost tribes. Even their own people no longer know them, after ages in the dark.
- Honoured — kings and queens will honour them. The reason is the glory and power of their God.
- Ahead — nothing since the captivity matches this. Every reformation, restoration and revival has come in weakness, and points on to a glory still ahead.
The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me make room for me, that I may dwell.
Zion has said that the Lord forgot her. Isaiah 49 is God's answer, and this verse is that answer at its sharpest: her lost children come back in such numbers that she runs out of room. Who are these children? When does this happen? Has any return in history matched it yet?
God does not answer her complaint with an argument. He answers with a mother's love for her baby, and with walls He keeps in front of Him.
"But Zion said, Jehovah has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." But Jehovah answers her reproach. He says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands: your walls are continually before Me. Your children shall make haste; your destroyers and those who made you waste shall go out from you" (vv. 14–17). The enemies of Israel disappear. Israel comes forward — forgotten for so long, it seemed — but now to be established forever.
The children who speak here belong to a mother who had lost her family. Kelly reads their arrival as a homecoming of Israelites long out of sight.
It is the harvest of joy for the chosen but guilty people, after the long sowing in tears. And now there seems to be no room to put all the children… This is the gathering together of the scattered of all Israel, the ones who had been forgotten. At the present time the Jews are the only ones clearly known to be of Israel; but those so long hidden are the ten tribes.
The crowding shows up in the land itself. Even the ruined places will not hold the crowd that comes home.
(Vv. 18–21). Zion will be exalted as the nation of Israel gathers to the city. The long waste and desolate places will prove too narrow because of the crowd of people living there. There will be astonishment when the long hidden ones of Israel are brought to light.
Zechariah saw the same picture: a city with no walls and no limits. One writer sets the two passages side by side.
Jerusalem is to be measured so that it may be enlarged and lived in like towns without walls — without limits. Jehovah will be a wall of fire around it, and will be the glory in the middle of it. Compare Isa. 49:19-20… Jehovah will dwell among His people, and many nations will be joined to the Lord: Jerusalem will be His earthly centre… It is perfectly clear that nothing matching this has taken place since the captivity.
The same truth appears from the other side. A city can be large and great and still hold only a few people.
How different it will be in the coming day of Jerusalem's glory. Then indeed the city will still be "large and great," but the people will no longer be few. In that day the Land will be too narrow because of the number of people in it. Of the city they will say, "The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in" (Isa. 49:14-21). This reminds us… that reformation, restoration and revivals, however bright and blessed, fall far short of the glory that is to come.
Commentators differ over whether the verse describes something already happening. Kelly quotes Calvin on this verse, and then answers him.
Calvin says that Zion here, as in other passages, means captives and exiles… He adds that Paul rightly concludes from Isa. 49:20 (the passage cited in Rom. 11), "that it is impossible that there shall not be some remnant that come to Christ." This is quite a misconception. The apostle had already shown that a remnant comes to Christ now, but he contrasts that present remnant with the day when "a nation" shall be brought in at once, and all Israel shall be saved.
- Room lost. Zion speaks as a mother who has lost her children. She says God has forsaken and forgotten her. This verse is His reply.
- Room remembered. Her walls are engraved on God's hands. A mother may forget her nursing child; He will not.
- Room refilled. The children who come back are the scattered of all Israel. They include the ten tribes, hidden from view for so long, and they come until there is nowhere left to put them.
- Room outgrown. Even the waste and desolate places prove too narrow. The city spreads out like a town with no walls and no limits.
- Room still to come. Nothing since the captivity has matched this. Reformation, restoration and revival all fall short of the day when the cry is for more space.
And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?
Zion had said that the Lord forgot her. God answers by pointing to a crowd of children she cannot account for, and this verse is her stunned reply.
Zion's losses run back over centuries. One writer pictures the home-coming that ends them.
What a home-coming it will be after long centuries of wandering and desolation! What joy to God, and what blessing for the people of His choice! And what a meeting of the tribes after dreary ages of separation and estrangement! … No wonder they ask. For centuries Zion has been bereaved of her children. The land has long kept her Sabbaths. But when Jehovah's time comes, how marvellous and glorious the change!
The words "who has brought up these?" point to a family raised somewhere out of her sight. Commentators connect this with the tribes carried away long before and never traced since.
It is the harvest of joy for the chosen but guilty people, after the long sowing in tears. And now there seems to be no room to put all the children. … It is the joining together of the scattered of all Israel, those who had been forgotten. At the present time the Jews are the only ones clearly known to be of Israel; but those so long hidden are the ten tribes. The Jews will be sure that these are Israel, even though they had not known them. They had been in the dark for ages.
The same writer answers those who ask where the lost tribes could be now.
No one knows clearly or certainly where the ten tribes are; neither does it seem anyone's business to search beforehand. We may leave them in the obscurity that God has put them in. We know, if we believe His word, that as surely as He has preserved the scattered remnant of the two tribes, so will He bring out of their hiding-place the descendants of the ten. … God will fulfil every letter of the promises. Scripture cannot be broken.
One account ties the question to a reunion of the two parts of the nation.
From Isaiah 49:18-23 we learn that the Jews (that is, the two tribes) will again recognise Israel (the ten tribes), saying, "Who has borne me these … from where have these come?" In that day God will put it into the heart of the nations to bring these lost ones back to their land. There they will be made ready to receive their Messiah — at least the godly ones among them. … Sceptics may say, How can this be, since they have disappeared among the other nations? But we know that God has His eye upon them.
She asks "in your heart" because the mercy takes her by surprise.
And it will be unexpected mercy, as the following verses show. Zion stands for the godly seed who will receive the mercy. In their distress they will be tempted to think that their God has forsaken and forgotten them. But He has not. Among mankind there is no stronger tie than a mother's love. Yet under extreme pressure even that tie may break. The godly in Israel have a tie with Jehovah that will never break.
One writer hears another voice in these words besides Zion's.
No doubt the words used in verses 20 and 21 will have their fulfilment when Israel is back in the land. But we can also see a contrast here. The Lord was lonely when all His followers deserted Him. In the coming day of glory He will say: "Who has borne Me these? … Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?" As we read at the end of Isaiah 53: "Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied."
Nothing in history has yet matched this scene.
This reminds us that reformation, and restoration, and revivals, however bright and blessed, fall far short of the glory that is to come. There had been reformation in the days of the kings. There had been restoration in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, and these restored saints had enjoyed their revivals. But whether reformation, restoration or revival, it was always in circumstances of outward weakness. Nor is it otherwise today.
- Loss. Zion speaks as a woman left alone. Centuries of emptiness stand behind her question.
- Hidden. The children she cannot place include tribes no one has traced for ages. God has kept His eye on them.
- Unexpected. The mercy arrives without warning, resting on a tie that, unlike even a mother's love, never breaks.
- Carried. She does not gather them; God moves the nations to bring her sons and daughters home to her.
- Satisfied. One writer hears the same question on the lips of the Lord, once left alone and at last satisfied. Every past revival still falls short of that day.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my banner to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in [their] bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder.
Zion has just asked in wonder where her crowd of children came from, since she sat alone and childless. God's answer is this verse: He raises a signal among the nations, and they carry her sons and daughters home — but who are these children, and why do the nations carry them?
Zion looks at herself for an explanation. The answer lies in what the Lord does.
Their astonishment is answered when they see this: Israel's recovery comes from the Lord lifting up His hand to the Gentiles and setting up a standard for His people. Then the long hidden ones will come to light. They will flock to the standard of the Lord, and the great ones of the earth will help to restore them.
Another writer names the long hidden ones: the ten tribes.
This is the joining together of the scattered of all Israel, those who had been forgotten. Today the Jews are the only ones clearly known to be of Israel. Those hidden so long are the ten tribes. The Jews will be certain that they are Israel, even though they were not known to them. They had been in the dark for ages. But now Jehovah makes His will known to the nations of the earth.
One writer follows the banner through Isaiah. In some places it gathers the peoples; in one place it stands against an enemy.
The first mention of it is in Isaiah 5:26: "He will lift up a Banner to the nations." The last mention is in Isaiah 62:10: "Lift up a Banner for the peoples." That one has in view the salvation and blessing of the city. So it is in Isaiah 49:22. God sets up His Banner to the peoples, and they bring the sons and daughters of Israel to Jerusalem. The next to last mention, though, shows an attacking enemy: "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a Banner against Him" (Isa. 59:19).
The shoulder has a settled meaning in Scripture, and it fills out the picture here.
Scripture often speaks of the shoulder as the place of strength, the place where a person carries burdens. The high priest wore the names of the twelve tribes on his shoulders, as in a place of safety... When God blesses Israel in their land, the Gentiles will carry Israel's scattered daughters on their shoulders. That is, they will give them substantial help.
This scene belongs to a coming order, not to the present one.
In the kingdom of Christ, the Gentiles are to be subject to Israel. They are to hold a lower place. This matters. Under the present arrangement the great truth is that "in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, Barbarian nor Scythian, slave nor free." It will not be like that in the kingdom of Christ. The Old Testament foretells it in passages such as Isaiah 49:22-26 and Isaiah 60:3-16.
The same writer sets this verse at a later stage of the return. It is not the first arrivals, but a search for those still left among the nations.
But it seems that besides all this, messengers will be sent out from the place where the Lord has appeared in glory and destroyed the enemies of His people. They will bring back any Israelites still found among the nations... Isaiah 60:4-9, Isaiah 52:10-12, and Isaiah 49:22-23 seem to refer to this part of the subject.
This chapter opens with the Servant rejected by Israel. God's answer sends His salvation further, to the ends of the earth.
Then Christ, by this same prophetic Spirit, says, "I have laboured in vain." For we know that Israel rejected Him. Verse 5 gives the answer. He will be glorious. It would be a small thing to restore the remnant of Israel. He will be the salvation of Jehovah to the ends of the earth... But to fulfil God's purposes, the verses that follow carry us on to the millennium.
- Signal. God lifts His hand to the nations and sets up a standard. They move because He signals.
- Standard. The banner gathers the peoples here. Elsewhere in Isaiah it stands against an enemy who comes in like a flood.
- Carried. The shoulder is the place of strength and safety. To carry Israel's children there is to give them substantial help.
- Found. The long hidden ones come to light. They are the ten tribes, in the dark for ages.
- Reversed. In the kingdom of Christ the nations take the lower place and serve Israel. This comes through the Servant, who is salvation to the ends of the earth.
And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their princesses thy nursing-mothers they shall bow down to thee with the face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet. And thou shalt know that I [am] Jehovah; for they shall not be ashamed who wait on me.
Zion, the city of God's own choice, had just said that the Lord had forgotten her. This verse is His answer, and it raises three questions: who are these kings, when does this come, and what does the last line mean for anyone waiting on God today?
The rest of the chapter answers a people who thought God had left them for centuries.
The remaining verses of the chapter speak of the faithfulness and love of Jehovah for His earthly people. They show it in the restoration of Zion, the city of God's sovereign choice. For long centuries she seemed "forsaken" and "forgotten," yet He loves her with a compassion greater than a mother's love for a child. Her walls are continually before the Lord, and the day is coming when her children will hurry back and all her destroyers go out from the city.
The word behind "foster fathers" carries more than affection. Moses used the same word for his own work with Israel in the desert.
"Nurse" or "foster-parent" is used in the general sense of one who is "instructor" and "protector." Moses, speaking to Jehovah, uses it to describe his office of leadership of Israel in the wilderness (Num. 11:12). See also Isa. 49:23.
Some read this as fulfilled when the exiles came back from Babylon. One writer argues the scale is far bigger.
Such is the future that Jehovah guarantees to Israel after the rejection of the Messiah. It is impossible to exhaust this chapter in the return from the Babylonian captivity. It speaks beyond doubt of the far more complete ingathering at the end of this age… But when Zion might have thought herself entirely forgotten, Jehovah turns His hand toward these little ones and puts down the nations of the earth. Either their kings and queens become the servants of Israel, or He makes an example of them in divine judgement.
The verse ends with knowledge. Two groups reach it by two different roads.
The great ones of the earth will help in their restoration, while those who have opposed God's ancient people will lick the dust at their feet. Then it will be known that Israel's God is Jehovah – the unchanging and eternal God.
The prophet has already foretold that Israel will know the Lord God is Jehovah through their restoration and blessing (verse 23). Now we learn that the nations – all flesh – will know by judgment that Jehovah is the Saviour of Israel, their Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Many have claimed this promise for the church, with rulers as her patrons. Commentators warn that the Christian hope is of a different kind.
The Christian promises do not lend themselves at all to human feeling or worldly ambition. We can understand how a Jew might take a worldly delight in looking forward to the day when, as Isaiah predicted, kings will be Zion's foster fathers and Gentile princesses her nursing mothers.
But "spiritualizing" the prophecies in fact makes the Church worldly. The promises are not made spiritual at all. No one turns the earthly into the heavenly; people simply apply earthly promises, as earthly, to a heavenly people. What else can that do but make the people earthly?
The last line reaches beyond Israel to anyone in trouble. But it carries a condition.
"Those who wait for Me shall not be put to shame." … But we must remember how much those three words carry: "wait for Me." The waiting must be real. It will not do to say we are waiting on God while our eye glances sideways at some human prop or creature confidence. We must be shut in to God alone.
Two prisoners illustrate the difference between waiting on a man and waiting on God.
Joseph asked the chief butler to remember him at his promotion, and the butler forgot him. He put his confidence, for the moment, in man, and he was disappointed. The dying criminal, on the other hand, prayed in his distress, but in faith: "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." He received the immediate answer, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." His confidence was also in a Man. But that Man was the Messiah, David's Son and David's Lord, so he was not put to shame.
- Forgotten — Zion thought God had left her. His love outlasted centuries of silence.
- Fostered — A foster father is a guardian and teacher. Kings will protect the people they once opposed.
- Future — This is too large for the return from Babylon. It points to a final ingathering, when rulers either serve Israel or face judgment.
- Known — Israel learns who the Lord is by restoration. The nations learn it by judgment.
- Waiting — No one who waits on God is put to shame. But the waiting must be on God alone, not on God plus a human prop.
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? and shall he that is rightfully captive be delivered?
Isaiah has been promising rescue to a people held down by stronger enemies. This verse raises the obvious doubt: can anyone pull plunder out of a strong man's grip, and can a captive held by right ever go free?
(The ESV says "the captives of a tyrant." The older translation quoted below says "the lawful captive" — a captive held by right.)
The question is not a taunt. It is how things look when you weigh the oppressor's strength against Israel's weakness.
But Israel's foes are mighty. To human reason alone it may seem impossible that the poor, downtrodden Jew will ever be freed from the oppressor. Jehovah answers their fears with this promise: "The captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered." And God will deal with those who have oppressed His people.
The word "lawful" is the hard part. The captivity was not bad luck. The people had earned it, and that is why release looks impossible.
That intervention will mean the deliverance of all those who fear His Name. Many of them will be in a captivity brought on them by their nation's sins. Isaiah asks this question, and in the next verse he answers it... He will take possession of them by taking captive those who held them in captivity.
Israel did once come home from exile in Babylon. One writer argues that this promise reaches much further.
"For thus says Jehovah, Even the captive of the mighty shall be taken away... and I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children... and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob" (vv. 24-26)... So, applied that way, this chapter cannot be exhausted by the return from captivity in Babylon. Without doubt it speaks of the far more complete gathering in at the end of this age.
God does not simply overpower the claim against His people. He satisfies it, and then the rescue becomes public.
It will all be done in righteousness as well as in grace: "the prey is taken from the mighty, and the lawful captive delivered" (v. 24). Then everyone sees His salvation. "And all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (v. 26).
Other writers apply the question to the gospel. There the strong one holding the prey is Satan, and the rescue had a cost.
Christ is our only hope. He is stronger than the strong, and has overcome the enemy... But how was this deliverance brought about? How was the victory won? By death. Through death the Saviour brought to nothing the one who had the power of death (Heb. 2:14)... By submitting to death for one brief moment He has broken the power of Satan for ever. Like David with Goliath, He has cut off the enemy's head with his own weapon.
Applied to one person, "lawful" becomes an accusation you cannot answer:
Your sins had made you a lawful captive. For your sins you deserved the just judgment of God. You could be saved only when that judgment was satisfied and Satan's power was broken.
What Isaiah could only ask, the gospel now answers each time someone believes.
"Shall the prey be taken from the mighty and the lawful captives delivered?" was asked long ago. We have the answer to that question today. The gospel about God's Son has delivering power. Every soul saved is a fresh piece of ground torn out of Satan's rule — a fresh piece of ground added to the Lord's kingdom.
- Lawful — sin earned the captivity. That is what makes the question look unanswerable to human reason.
- Answered — Isaiah does not leave the question hanging. The very next verse promises that the captives of the mighty will be taken away.
- Righteous — God frees the prisoner in righteousness as well as grace. He never sets His own justice aside.
- Costly — the victory came by death; the Saviour broke the enemy's power by submitting to it.
- Public — the outcome reaches beyond Israel. All flesh will know the Lord as Saviour and Redeemer, and every soul saved today is ground won back.
For thus saith Jehovah Even the captive of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; and I will strive with him that striveth with thee, and I will save thy children.
Zion has just heard that God cannot forget her, yet one doubt remains: her captor looks far too strong to rob. Verse 25 is God's reply — a rescue for Israel, and for every sinner Satan holds.
Verse 24 asks whether prey can ever be taken from a strong captor. God's reply settles the fear and tells the nations who He is.
Israel's foes are mighty. To human reason it may seem impossible that the poor, beaten-down Jew will ever be freed from the oppressor. Jehovah answers their fears with this promise: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued." What is more, God will deal with those who have oppressed His people… By this judgment the nations — all flesh — will know that Jehovah is the Saviour of Israel, their Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Some read the chapter as fulfilled when the exiles came home from Babylon. Commentators here argue the promise is far too large for that, and that it reaches Zion's little ones too.
God's severe vengeance on the enemies of Israel has come. This is the future that Jehovah guarantees to Israel after the rejection of the Messiah. So this chapter cannot be used up by the return from the captivity in Babylon. Without doubt it speaks of the far fuller gathering in at the end of this age… When Zion might have thought herself completely forgotten, Jehovah turns His hand toward these little ones and puts down the nations of the earth.
God does not send help from a distance. He takes the quarrel as His own. Writers place the rescue at the moment Israel looks most lost, and they name the One who steps in.
When this great mercy reaches Israel, their plight will be very great. We can gather that from verse 24, and the opening verses of Zechariah 14 confirm it. Just when they seem to be the helpless captives of their foes, Jehovah will step in and deliver them. The New Testament makes it very clear who this Jehovah is. According to Zechariah 14:3 He goes out to fight against those nations, and He is none other than our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. By His hands "the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued."
Older translations call them lawful captives in verse 24. The word matters. The captor's hold was not just brute force; it had a legal claim behind it. So the rescue cannot be a raid. It must satisfy justice.
He will do it all in righteousness as well as in grace — "the prey is taken from the mighty, and the lawful captive delivered" (v. 24). Then everyone sees His salvation.
One writer imagines the devil making that claim out loud, and shows what silences it.
Suppose the devil had stood up and challenged God's right to bless us. Suppose he had said: "They are my lawful captives, slaves to sin and under the condemnation of death, and Your enemies. You cannot bless them righteously, and You must condemn them if You are still to be the just Ruler of the Universe." God's answer is that in the Beloved they have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. That is conclusive and final… The blood of the Beloved answers every claim.
A rescue like this needs someone stronger than the captor. Commentators press the question Isaiah leaves open: how is the prey taken?
Christ is our only hope. He is stronger than the strong, and He has overcome the enemy… But how did that deliverance happen? How was the victory won? By death. Through death the Saviour brought to nothing the one who held the power of death (Hebrews 2:14). Isaiah 53:12 puts it this way: God will divide Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death. By submitting to death for one brief moment He has broken the power of Satan for ever. Like David with Goliath, He has cut off the enemy's head with his own weapon.
God has answered the question. Now it becomes an errand to carry.
Long ago this question was asked: "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty and the lawful captives delivered?" We have the answer to that question today. The gospel about God's Son has delivering power. Every soul saved is a fresh bit of territory pulled out of Satan's rule — a fresh bit of territory added to the Lord's kingdom.
- Question. Human reason says no one escapes a captor that strong. This verse overturns that despair.
- Claim. The captives are called lawful. The captor had a legal hold, so the rescue must be righteous as well as gracious.
- Cost. The blood of Christ answers that claim. The Stronger One broke the captor's power by going into death Himself.
- Contender. God does not send aid from a distance. He fights the battle Himself, and writers name that Deliverer as Christ.
- Reach. The promise reaches past Babylon to Israel's final gathering and her children — and today to every soul won back from Satan.
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with new wine. And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, [am] thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Isaiah 49 ends with Zion doubting that anyone could ever pull her out of the grip of the strong. God answers that He will take back the captives and turn the oppressors on themselves. The last line gives the reason for the rescue: the whole world will learn who Israel's Saviour is. The commentators below call Him Jehovah, the name the ESV prints as "the LORD".
Verse 24 asks whether anyone can take prey from the mighty. One writer treats the closing verses as God's answer to that fear. He also marks a difference between what verse 23 promises and what verse 26 promises.
But Israel's foes are mighty. To human reason it may seem impossible that the poor, crushed Jew will ever be freed from the oppressor. Jehovah answers their fears with this promise: the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be rescued. What is more, God will deal with those who have oppressed His people. The prophet has already said that Israel will know the Lord God is Jehovah through their restoration and blessing (verse 23). Now we learn that the nations — all flesh — will know through judgment that Jehovah is the Saviour of Israel, their Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Another writer places the rescue at Israel's lowest point and names the One who carries it out.
Just when they seem to be the helpless captives of their foes, Jehovah will step in with a mighty act to rescue them. The New Testament makes it very clear who this Jehovah is. According to Zechariah 14:3 He will go out and fight against those nations, and He is none other than our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. By His hands the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be rescued.
One writer ties this vengeance to Israel's rejection of the Messiah, and says the return from Babylon is too small to fulfil it.
The well-deserved vengeance of God on the enemies of Israel has come. This is the future Jehovah guarantees to Israel after they reject the Messiah. So this chapter cannot be used up by the return from the Babylonian captivity. It speaks beyond doubt of the far fuller gathering in at the end of this age.
One writer notes which of Israel's two names the closing title is attached to, and what this future rescue rests on.
This will be a work of redemption by power. But, as we know, its righteous basis will be the redemption by blood carried out at His first coming. At the present time the poor Jew still rejects the righteous basis while hoping for national deliverance. It will be different when their Redeemer does appear in power. He will then be shown as the "Mighty One" of poor crooked "Jacob," and not just as the Mighty One of Israel.
Another writer traces the same title through Isaiah, and describes the state Israel was in when God came to them.
There was no man to lift them up. They had sinned, they had fallen, and to all appearance there was no way back. But the Lord their God came to where they were. He worked in grace, and wisdom, and righteousness, and He says, "all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (Isa. 49:26). This divine title occurs only three times in the Old Testament, and all three times in Isaiah (Isa. 1:24; 49:26; and 60:16).
One writer sets this line beside similar statements in Isaiah and asks who Jesus must be.
Many Old Testament passages spoken to Israel tie their salvation to God stepping in Himself for them. They prove that He alone could save them… "all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (49:26)… The name Jesus carries divine glory with it. It means Jehovah the Saviour. These great texts make it clear that none but God could be the Saviour… but of Jesus the angel said, "He will save His people from their sins." Then who else could He be but God?
One writer makes the reach of that final clause the mark of the age to come.
The change will bring in an age completely different in character from the present one. Right now God is gathering out from the nations a people for heavenly blessing. The mark of that coming age will be a worldwide knowledge of Jehovah in His relation to Israel. Jer. 31:34; Zech. 14:9. "All flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." Isa. 49:26. The Lord Himself will reign over the earth in righteousness.
- Fear. Zion says no one can take prey from the strong. Human reason has no answer; God does.
- Fight. The Deliverer is Jehovah Himself. Commentators identify Him with the Lord Jesus, who goes out to fight the nations.
- Fall. The oppressors turn on themselves. Commentators read this as vengeance still to come, too large for the return from Babylon.
- Name. He is the Mighty One of Jacob, the crooked name. This rescue by power rests on redemption by blood already accomplished.
- Fame. The point of it all is knowledge: Israel knows through blessing, the nations through judgment, until all flesh knows.