Isaiah 49:7
Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
The Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, speaks this promise to Christ as His chosen Servant, despised by men and hated by the nation and made a servant of rulers, yet to be seen by kings who will rise and by princes who will worship because the Lord is faithful. In His work of mercy to uplift and save the world He rested on this word when faced with apparent failure, obstruction and humiliation, assured that God would preserve and honor Him unto final victory and refusing to fail or be discouraged. He was given as a covenant for the people to free prisoners, care for those in darkness and need and guide them, and His work reaches beyond Israel to be a light to the Gentiles and God's salvation to the ends of the earth. Human rejection does not undo the Lord's choice and faithfulness, so those who humble themselves and look to Jesus in living faith are assured that God hears and helps in His time and will vindicate, preserve and uphold them. In its further reach the word also marks God's despised and oppressed commandment-keeping people, subject to rulers and man-made laws, whom the faithful Lord has chosen so that kings and princes will honor them at their deliverance, and it marks all whom redeeming love lifts from degradation and shame to a standing even above angels who never fell.
Servant's Identity and Assurance
The verse is a promise spoken by the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, to Christ as the one despised by men and abhorred by the nation. Christ is the Lord's chosen servant who, though despised and hated by people and made a servant of rulers, will be seen by kings who will rise and by princes who will worship because the Lord is faithful and has chosen Him. That recognition rests wholly on the faithfulness of the Lord and the Holy One of Israel and on His choice, and the promise joined to it gives Christ as a covenant for the people to free prisoners and to guide those in need.
In His work of mercy to uplift and save the world, Christ rested on this word when confronted with apparent failure and constant obstruction and would not be discouraged. His apparent lack of success did not mean His work had failed, for through humiliation He relied on God's faithful promise, confident that God would preserve and honor Him unto ultimate victory. He refused to fail or be discouraged, and the assurance that He would be given as a covenant for the people to bring deliverance and care to those in darkness and need sustained Him. The word is true and righteous, not a tantalizing of God's people, and it shows part of the way by which Christlike character may be obtained.
Human rejection does not undo the Lord's choice and faithfulness. Those who humble themselves and look to Jesus in living faith are assured that God hears and helps at the appointed time. He can vindicate, preserve and uphold them despite human rejection, even as He preserved His despised servant and caused kings and princes to honor him.
Covenant Work for All
The verse stands within a larger promise in which the one despised by men and abhorred by the nation, made a servant of rulers, is preserved and given as a covenant for the people. That covenant work is to hear and help at the appointed time, to free prisoners, to bring deliverance and care to those in darkness and need, and to guide and feed them even in high places. The apparent lack of success and humiliation do not overturn it, for the promise assures preservation and ultimate honor through the faithfulness of the Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, who has chosen him.
His commission is not limited to restoring Israel but extends to being a light to the Gentiles and carrying God's salvation to the ends of the earth. The same chapter calls God's people as Israel and the church to serve and proclaim His truth, and though that work may be difficult and opposed, God's work continues in His appointed way. God's messengers and ministers today are represented by that despised yet chosen servant, called to raise up and restore, to be a covenant of the people and a light and salvation, to establish, to free prisoners and those in darkness, and to feed the flock. That prophecy foretells the work of presenting the warning message to the world.
Application to Believers Today
The promise belongs to God's commandment-keeping people who are despised by men and abhorred by the nation because they bear the sign of the original Sabbath and remain true and obedient to the laws of Jehovah. They are made a servant of rulers, required by man-made laws to disregard the law of God, and stand as the hidden ones scattered by enmity against that law. They are oppressed by all the powers of the earth and driven by the violence of adversaries into dens and caves of the earth because they will not yield obedience. Yet kings shall see and arise and princes shall worship because of the faithful Lord and the Holy One of Israel who shall choose them, so that deliverance comes to the people of God while to their enemies He shows Himself as a God of just retribution.
The same word declares that the Christian who continually renounces self will be chosen and honored by God. Such a one deepens in repentance, remembers past evil with shame, knows that no good dwells in the flesh, glories only in the cross, and opens the lips in no self-glorification, for the one who humbles himself shall be exalted. Though spoken to one despised by man and hated by the nation, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel pledges that kings will see and rise and princes will give honor because the Lord is faithful and has chosen him. Redemption thus exalts those brought low by sin, so that people once despised, degraded and shamed are chosen and honored through redeeming love. Though sin brings shame and degradation to those striving to become like God, that love brings still greater honor and exaltation, raising their standing even above that of angels who never fell, and rulers will honor them because the Lord is faithful.
The word is also a call to all to make diligent work for repentance. That call includes physicians seeing the importance of establishing small sanitariums in connection with schools, and true medical missionary workers laboring under God's direction to fulfil His purpose. It extends to the Lord's workers in every line cherishing pure, clean principles free from any taint of selfishness, as the only principles acceptable to God.