Isaiah 49:1

Isaiah 49:1 says, 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.  The message from God was now extended to the isles, or the Gentiles.  It didn’t matter how far away from Israel they might be, God’s message still applied to them.  That message was that God was going to send a Redeemer to them, One Who had been made known when He was still in His mother’s womb.  God had revealed to Mary and Joseph Who Jesus was even begore He was born.  We may tend to think that the gospel going to the Gentiles, that would be us, was something new that happened after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but the Old Testament tells us many times that God’s intention was always to save everyone who would accept His gift of salvation. 

Verse two adds, And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;  Isaiah said that this coming Messiah would be like a sharp sword, and Matthew Henry adds two-edged.  He would divide the truth from the lies and those who put their faith in Him from those who didn’t.  He is still doing that today.

Verse three continues, And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.  This coming One would declare Israel to be His servant through whom He would be glorified.  This was always God’s plan for Israel.  He was not to glorify them, but they were to glorify Him.  As followers of Christ, we do not put our faith in Him so that we might be glorified, but we put our faith in Him and should live our lives so that He might be glorified.