A God Who Remembers
5/19/26 Bible Thought (Isaiah 49-50)
Main Idea: God will not forget His people.
A Look at the Text:
In today’s text, the “servant” motif comes to the surface for both the second and third times in Isaiah (Isa. 49:1-6; 50:4-11). Whereas Israel would continually let God down in their God-given role, this Israel, the Servant of the Lord, would not.[1]
He would gather the tribes of Jacob and be a light for the nations (Isa. 49:5-6). He would bring God’s salvation to the end of the earth (Isa. 49:6).
Yet, that grand return awaited a future time. At present, Israel was subjected to many sorrows. The nation had split. Israel was conquered. Judah was barely spared from the Assyrians, only to be conquered by the Babylonians a little more than 100 years later.
In the midst of these upheavals, the people of Judah felt abandoned by God (Isa. 49:14). Yet, God hadn’t forsaken them. Even though a woman could forget her own child, God would not forget nor forsake His people:
“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isa. 49:16).
Jerusalem was on God’s mind. Even more, on His hands. Their walls were ever before Him. He would not forget. He would not forsake. A day was coming when His people would be regathered (Isa. 49:22), and they would see that He was a God worth waiting for (Isa. 49:23).
Bringing it Home:
It was easy for the people of Judah to complain that God had forgotten them as they underwent trials. However, the sad reality was that the source of their trials was their very own abandonment of God! While they quickly forgot God, He could not forget them. On the contrary, they were engraved on His hands.
Even today, it can be easy for the believer to struggle during the hard and disappointing times of life. Often, the question “Where is God in this?!” rises to the surface when the pressures of life abound.
But let us be incredibly careful not to presume that we are forgotten simply because life isn’t going as expected. God will not, in fact, He cannot forget His people whom He purchased for Himself.
We were bought at a great price (see 1 Cor. 6:20) by the Servant’s perfect obedience and great suffering (Isa. 50:5-6). If we ever feel forgotten, we need only remember that His hands were engraved with Roman nails.
Fascinatingly, when Christ was raised from the dead, the holes weren’t filled (see John 20:27). Though experiencing the glories of resurrection, there was the ever-present reminder of the great cost at which we were purchased. A reminder of His steadfast love for us that couldn’t be overlooked.
If we ever feel forgotten or believe God doesn’t care, let us simply take another look at nail-pierced hands.
Challenge:
Do I ever struggle to understand that the hardships of life are not representative of God’s lack of love for me?
[1] David Jackman, Teaching Isaiah: Unlocking Isaiah for the Bible Teacher, ed. Robin Sydserff, Teach the Bible (Ross-shire, Scotland; London, England: PT Media; Christian Focus, 2010), 210.