Isaiah 49:1-16: a reflection

1Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: the LORD has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name. 2He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. He has made me a polished shaft. He has kept me close in his quiver. 3He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 4But I said, “I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength in vain for nothing; yet surely the justice due to me is with the LORD, and my reward with my God.” 5Now the LORD, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, says to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in the LORD’s eyes, and my God has become my strength. 6Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.” 7The LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up, princes, and they shall worship, because of the LORD who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” 8The LORD says, “I have answered you in an acceptable time. I have helped you in a day of salvation. I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage, 9saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights. 10They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them, for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water. 11I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be exalted. 12Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.” 13Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth! Break out into singing, mountains! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. 14But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.” 15“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you! 16Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are continually before me.

This chapter speaks of God's servant, called from the womb to be a light to the nations, words fulfilled in Christ. But it also speaks tenderly to a people who felt abandoned. Zion had said, The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me. And God answers with some of the most tender words in all Scripture: 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.

Notice the tenderness of God's assurance to those who feel forgotten. He compares his care to a mother's love for her nursing child, the least forgetful of all loves; and then he says his love is even more constant, for even a mother might forget, but he will not forget his people. And he gives a striking image: he has engraved them on the palms of his hands, so that they are always before him, never out of his sight or mind.

That assurance is for us when we feel forgotten by God. There are times, like Zion's, when we feel that God has forsaken us, forgotten us, left us alone in our trouble. But God's answer stands: he does not forget his people; he holds them constantly before him, engraved on the palms of his hands. Christian eyes cannot miss that those hands would one day be pierced for us, our names, as it were, written there in his own wounds. When you feel forgotten by God, hold onto this: he has not forgotten you. You are engraved on the palms of his hands, always before him, never out of his sight. The God whose hands were pierced for you does not forget those he has redeemed; you are held constantly in his love.

Lord, when Zion said, the LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me, you answered with tenderness: can a mother forget her nursing child? Even she may forget, yet I will not forget you; I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Speak that assurance to me when I feel forgotten. There are times when I feel that you have forsaken me, forgotten me, left me alone in my trouble. But your answer stands: you do not forget your people; you hold them constantly before you, engraved on the palms of your hands. And I cannot miss that those hands would one day be pierced for me, my name written there in your own wounds. When I feel forgotten by you, help me hold onto this: you have not forgotten me. I am engraved on the palms of your hands, always before you, never out of your sight. You, whose hands were pierced for me, do not forget those you have redeemed; help me rest, held constantly in your love.