Isaiah 49

Foreword:
Upon starting Isaiah 50, I realized that the relationship between "the Servant" and "the Master" holds a much deeper meaning than I had originally understood it to be. I did a quick search and found this commentary, which I found to be much more insightful than my current understanding:
http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/2349.htm


I share still my original thoughts below, but please read on knowing that it was a very crude understanding of the text, which requires far more learning.


Isaiah 49:1–6.

- Israel is the Lord’s servant, and the Lord calls on His servant to display His splendor, to restore Israel, to return to God. Israel will be saved and protected by the Lord, and Israel will also be a light for the Gentiles, so that salvation may be offered to the entire world.

Isaiah 49:7–13

Jeremiah 31:31–34

Ezekiel 36:35–37

Luke 22:20

2 Corinthians 3:6

Hebrews 8:6–12

- The new covenant is made with Israel, and it is not like any other covenant made before, the covenant that was broken by the people of Israel. This new covenant will restore Israel and will be known to the entire world, not just to the Israelites.

- Non-Israelites are the Gentiles, and through this new covenant, the Gentiles are now granted salvation as well. That is, God’s love extends to all the people in the world.

- Israel will be blessed, through this new covenant, with God’s salvation. God will protect the Israelites and restore their land. Famine will end, and the people will no longer hunger nor thirst. God will show compassion and guide them through all difficulties.

Isaiah 49:14–21

- Israel said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” Israel would mutter such despair because it has been defeated and left desolate by their enemies. Their enemies showed no mercy and struck them down. Under such a massive attack, the Israelites cannot help but wonder if God has left them.

- However, God did not forget Israel. In response to Israel’s desperate cry, God reminded the Israelites that He will never forget them. In fact, God will bless them with a great number of descendants, to restore glory once again to Israel.

Isaiah 49:22–26

- When Jesus Christ returns, He will be the King of all Christians and the world, ruling for a thousand years in the city of Jerusalem. Israel will be restored to reflect the full glory of God (Revelation 20-21).

The nation of Israel has already been restored.

Today, Israel, is in fact, acknowledged as an independent nation. Hence, by definition, the broken and defeated Israel of Isaiah’s prophesy has been restored.

After World War II, the State of Israel was declared in 1948. And so, in name, the nation of Israel was restored. Between then and 1967, Israel continued to rebuild, and during the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel defeated a number of neighboring nations. At the end of this war, Israel’s territory expanded immensively and proved to all nations that Israel is a strong and formidable military power in the region that can threaten Damascus, Cairo, and Amman. The most important thing is, Israel obtained full control of Jerusalem, which is still its capitol city to this day.