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Commentary on Isaiah 49 verses 13–17
The scope of these verses is to show that the return of the people of God out of their captivity, and the eternal redemption to be wrought out by Christ (of which that was a type), would be great occasions of joy to the church and great proofs of the tender care God has of the church.
I. Nothing can furnish us with better matter for songs of praise and thanksgiving, Isa 49:13. Let the whole creation join with us in songs of joy, for it shares with us in the benefits of the redemption, and all they can contribute to this sacred melody is little enough in return for such inestimable favours, Psa 96:11. Let there be joy in heaven, and let the angels of God celebrate the praises of the great Redeemer; let the earth and the mountains, particularly the great ones of the earth, be joyful, and break forth into singing, for the earnest expectation of the creature that waits for the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:19, Rom 8:21) shall now be abundantly answered. God's people are the blessings and ornaments of the world, and therefore let there be universal joy, for God has comforted his people that were in sorrow and he will have mercy upon the afflicted because of his compassion, upon his afflicted because of his covenant.
II. Nothing can furnish us with more convincing arguments to prove the most tender and affectionate concern God has for his church, and her interests and comforts.
1.The troubles of the church have given some occasion to question God's care and concern for it, Isa 49:14. Zion, in distress, said, The Lord has forsaken me, and looks after me no more; my Lord has forgotten me, and will look after me no more. See how deplorable the case of God's people may be sometimes, such that they may seem to be forsaken and forgotten of their God; and at such a time their temptations may be alarmingly violent. Infidels, in their presumption, say God has forsaken the earth (Eze 8:12), and has forgotten their sins, Psa 10:11. Weak believers, in their despondency, are ready to say, "God has forsaken his church and forgotten the sorrows of his people." But we have no more reason to question his promise and grace than we have to question his providence and justice. He is as sure a rewarder as he is a revenger. Away therefore with these distrusts and jealousies, which are the bane of friendship.
2.The triumphs of the church, after her troubles, will in due time put the matter out of question.
(1.)What God will do for Zion we are told, Isa 49:17. [1.] Her friends, who had deserted her, shall be gathered to her, and shall contribute their utmost to her assistance and comfort: Thy children shall make haste. Converts to the faith of Christ are the children of the church; they shall join themselves to her with great readiness and cheerfulness, and flock into the communion of saints, as doves to their windows. "Thy builders shall make haste" (so some read it), "who shall build up thy houses, thy walls, especially thy temple; they shall do it with expedition." Church work is usually slow work; but, when God's time shall come, it shall be done suddenly. [2.] Her enemies, who had threatened and assaulted her, shall be forced to withdraw from her: Thy destroyers, and those who made thee waste, who had made themselves masters of the country and ravaged it, shall go forth of thee. By Christ the prince of this world, the great destroyer, is cast out, is dispossessed, has his power broken and his attempts quite baffled.
(2.)Now by this it will appear that Zion's suggestions were altogether groundless, that God has not forsaken her, nor forgotten her, nor ever will. Be assured, [1.] That God has a tender affection for his church and people, Isa 49:15. In answer to Zion's fears, God speaks as one concerned for his own glory (he takes himself to be reflected upon if Zion say, The Lord has forsaken me, and he will clear himself), as one concerned also for his people's comfort; he would not have them droop, and be discouraged, and give way to any uneasy thoughts. "You think that I have forgotten you. Can a woman forget her sucking child?" First, It is not likely that she should. A woman, whose honour it is to be of the tender sex as well as the fair one, cannot but have compassion for a child, which, being both harmless and helpless, is a proper object of compassion. A mother, especially, cannot but be concerned for her own child; for it is her own, a piece of herself, and very lately one with her. A nursing mother, most of all, cannot but be tender of her sucking child; her own breasts will soon put her in mind of it if she should forget it. But, Secondly, It is possible that she may forget. A woman may perhaps be so unhappy as not to be able to remember her sucking child (she may be sick, and dying, and going to the land of forgetfulness), or she may be so unnatural as not to have compassion on the son of her womb, as those who, to conceal their shame, are the death of their children as soon as they are their life, Lam 4:10; Deu 28:57. But, says God, I will not forget thee. Note, God's compassions to his people infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents towards their children. What are the affections of nature to those of the God of nature! [2.] That he has a constant care of his church and people (Isa 49:16): I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands. This does not allude to the foolish art of palmistry, which imagines every man's fate to be engraved in the palms of his hands and to be legible in the lines there, but to the custom of those who tie a string upon their hands or fingers to put them in mind of things which they are afraid they shall forget, or to the wearing of signet or locket-rings in remembrance of some dear friend. His setting them thus as a seal upon his arm denotes his setting them as a seal upon his heart, and his being ever mindful of them and their interests, Sol 8:6. If we bind God's law as a sign upon our hand (Deu 6:8, Deu 6:11, Deu 6:18), he will engrave our interests as a sign on his hand, and will look upon that and remember the covenant. He adds, "Thy walls shall be continually before me; thy ruined walls, though no pleasing spectacle, shall be in my thoughts of compassion." Do Zions' friends favour her dust? Psa 102:14. So does her God. Or, "The plan and model of thy walls, that are to be rebuilt, is before me, and they shall certainly be built according to it." Or, "Thy walls (that is, thy safety) are my continual care; so are the watchmen on thy walls." Some apply his engraving his church on the palms of his hands to the wounds in Christ's hands when he was crucified; he will look on the marks of them, and remember those for whom he suffered and died.
(Verse 14 and following) And Zion said: The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb? Even if she forgets, I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are always before my eyes. Your builders have come, and those who destroyed and devastated you will depart from you. Lift up your eyes all around and see; all these have gathered together, they have come to you. I live, says the Lord: that you may be adorned with all these, and that you may surround yourself with them as a bride, for your desolate and deserted places, and the land of your ruins, will now be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who devoured you will be far away. They will still say in your ears, the sons of your barrenness: It is too small for me, make room for me to live. And you will say in your heart: Who has borne these for me? I am barren and not bearing children, a wanderer and captive: and who raised them? I am abandoned and alone: and where were they? LXX: But Zion said: The Lord has forsaken me, and God has forgotten me. Will a woman forget her infant, that she would not have compassion on the child of her womb? But even if a woman were to forget these, I will not forget you, says the Lord. Behold, I have engraved your walls on my hands: and you are always before me. You will be rebuilt quickly by those from whom you were destroyed; and those who scattered you will come out from you. Lift up your eyes all around and see: all these have gathered together, they have come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall put them all on like an ornament, and wrap them around you like a bride's necklace: for your desolate and ruined places and your destroyed land will now be too small for your inhabitants, and those who humbled you will be far away from you. For they will say in your ears, your sons whom you have lost: There is narrow space for me: make room for me to live. And you will say in your heart: Who has borne these for me? And I, without children and a widow, who has brought up these for me? I have been forsaken alone, and where were they? Jerusalem and Zion are understood in four ways in the holy Scriptures, as we have often mentioned. One, according to the Jews, which the Lord laments in the Gospel, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the Prophets, and stones those who are sent to you (Matthew 23:37). And in another place: When you see Jerusalem surrounded by an army, then know that its desolation is near (Luke, XXI, 20). Secondly, the congregation of the Saints, who are established in the peace of the Lord and in the towers of virtues, are rightly called Zion, of whom it is said: Its foundations are on the holy mountains: the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Psalm LXXXVI, 1). For the foundations of the Jewish Zion, which we see to be destroyed, were not loved by the Lord, nor could that which was loved by the Lord be destroyed. Thirdly, Jerusalem is called the multitude of Angels, Dominions, and Powers, and everything that is established in the ministry of God. Concerning this Jerusalem, the Apostle speaks: But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all (Galatians 4:26). And in another place: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Fourthly, Jerusalem is called the one which the Jews and our Judaizers, according to the Apocalypse of John, think should be placed in the celestial realm as a golden and bejeweled one, which they do not understand (Apocalypse 21), whose boundaries and infinite breadth are also described in the final part of Ezekiel. Therefore, since these things are so, let us now examine more closely what Zion has said: The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me. There is no doubt that the congregation of the saints, which was once among the Jews and was abandoned by the Lord, laments this and bitterly mourns that it has been deserted and deprived of the Lord's help. To this, God responded, using a natural analogy: Can a mother forget her infant, be without mercy towards the child of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you. I will say something more: even if she has forgotten, overcome by the hardness of her mind, the laws of nature; I, however, will not forget my creature, and I will always keep the souls of the saints in my heart. For you should know that what you think is completely abandoned, is written and depicted in my hands; and your walls always remain before my eyes. From this we learn that Jerusalem is not to be sought in the region of Palestine, which is the worst of the whole province, and is rough with rocky mountains, and suffers from scarcity of water, so much so that it needs heavenly rains and makes up for the scarcity of springs with the construction of cisterns; but it is in the hands of God, to which it is said: Your builders have hastened. Or according to the Septuagint: 'You will quickly be rebuilt by those by whom you were destroyed. For it was destroyed by the Jews, it was built by the Jews. It was deserted because of the fault of the Scribes and Pharisees, but it was gathered together for the preaching of the Apostles of Christ, both from the Jews and from the nations. It follows: And those who destroyed and scattered you will come out of you: the worst teachers; so that you do not follow at all the commandments and traditions of men (Matt. XV), but the law of God.' And it is said to her, to raise her eyes around, and to see the children who had gathered to her. Of whom also the Lord spoke: Lift up your eyes, and see that the harvest is already white for reaping (John 4:35). And to make us secure: As I live, says the Lord (which is said according to the custom of swearing in the Old Testament), you will be clothed with all these as with ornaments, and you will surround yourself with them, as a bride adorns herself with a necklace. Blessed is he who has such great merit and virtue that he is called an adornment of the Church. I think, however, that these various spiritual graces are signified, by which the bride is adorned. And this is sung about in the forty-fourth psalm: The queen stood at your right hand, in a garment adorned with gold, surrounded by variety (Ps. 44:10). For those places which were previously deserted and fallen into ruins, with the coming of Christ's Gospel, will be restored and will have such a multitude of inhabitants that they cannot be contained. So, while the persecutors are kept far away, or those about whom we have spoken above: Those who destroyed you and scattered you, will go out from you. And the sons of your barrenness, whom you thought you had completely lost, and that you were widowed by them, will say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me in the synagogues, make room for me in the Churches, so that I may dwell more expansively, so that I may not be constrained by the blasphemies of the Jews, so that the whole world may contain your wideness with you.' But unable to express the magnitude of my joy with my mouth, you will think silently in your heart, and say: Who has given birth to these for me? I was barren and a widow, forsaken and captive among the people of Judah, I had ceased to have children, for a long time I had not given birth. After Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi, I had seen no other prophets until John the Baptist; and how is it that being alone and deprived of the help of a husband, I have now begun to have so many children? But so that we may know that Christ is built upon a rock and foundation from both peoples, Paul speaks to the believers: Built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20.) From this it is clear that the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets is one, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Since by the command of the apostle we are not allowed to understand this as about the Jewish people but about Christians, what are we to understand in that which Isaiah says here, “you will quickly be built up by those from whom you fled,” except the kings of the earth who formerly persecuted the church and later would help it as much as previously foretold.
It is the king of Babylon who has destroyed Jerusalem and the king of the Persians who has ordained its reconstruction. But as these last were formerly subjects of the Assyrians, they also joined with them in taking the city. Thus, he can say that the same men both destroyed the city and reconstructed it. “And they that made you desolate shall depart from you.” It is to levy the punishment for their faults that they have been delivered into the hands of their enemies. But it is the demons who are the cause of their faults, those they served in giving them the name of gods. He, therefore, predicts the end of the cult of idols and the deliverance from error.
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SUMMARY
Isaiah 49:17 serves as a profound prophetic declaration of God's unwavering commitment to restore His people, Zion, from their desolate state. It promises the swift return of her scattered "children" (exiles) and the decisive expulsion of her "destroyers" and those who "made thee waste," signifying a dramatic reversal of fortune orchestrated by divine intervention. This verse assures that the era of oppression is definitively over, replaced by a new season of flourishing and re-establishment for God's chosen people.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Isaiah 49:17 employs several potent literary devices to convey its message of hope and restoration. Personification is evident in the portrayal of Zion as a mother whose "children" return and from whom "destroyers" depart, giving the abstract concept of a city or nation a relatable, living quality. This enhances the emotional impact of the prophecy, making Zion's suffering and subsequent joy more tangible. There is a strong Contrast between the "children" who "make haste" to return and the "destroyers" who "shall go forth," highlighting the dramatic reversal of fortune. This juxtaposition emphasizes the completeness of God's restorative work—the good returns swiftly, and the evil is swiftly removed. The verse also functions as a Prophetic Declaration, using declarative language ("shall make haste," "shall go forth") to convey the absolute certainty and divine authority behind the promised events. This rhetorical certainty instills confidence in the fulfillment of God's word, assuring the audience of the inevitability of divine intervention.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Isaiah 49:17 is a profound testament to God's enduring covenant faithfulness and His redemptive power. It underscores the theological truth that God does not abandon His people, even in their deepest despair and desolation, but actively intervenes to fulfill His promises. The restoration of Zion's "children" and the expulsion of her "destroyers" prefigure the broader biblical narrative of God's ultimate victory over all forces of evil and His establishment of a new creation where righteousness dwells. This prophetic vision extends beyond the historical return from Babylonian exile, pointing to a grander eschatological hope for the Church—the spiritual Zion—where all tears will be wiped away, and the presence of evil will be definitively removed, culminating in a state of perfect peace and flourishing under God's righteous reign.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Isaiah 49:17 offers profound encouragement for believers facing personal or communal desolation. Just as God promised to restore a seemingly "wasted" Zion, He assures us of His active intervention in our lives, communities, and circumstances that feel broken or beyond repair. This verse reminds us that God's power is not limited by the extent of the damage or the strength of our adversaries. It invites us to trust in His sovereignty, knowing that He can and will remove obstacles, heal wounds, and bring about swift and decisive restoration. When we feel overwhelmed by "destroyers" in our spiritual lives, relationships, or the world, this prophecy calls us to anticipate God's timely and powerful action, fostering a posture of hopeful expectation rather than despair. Our God is a God who rebuilds, gathers, and expels, ensuring His purposes prevail and bringing about His intended flourishing for His people.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who are "thy children" in this verse?
Answer: In the immediate historical context, "thy children" refers primarily to the exiled people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the surrounding land who were scattered during the Babylonian captivity. God promises their swift return to their homeland, signifying the restoration and rebuilding of the nation. However, in a broader theological sense, "children" can also represent all those whom God gathers into His covenant family, including the spiritual descendants of Abraham and ultimately, the Church, as seen in the New Testament's understanding of God's family (e.g., Galatians 3:26-29).
Who are "thy destroyers and they that made thee waste"?
Answer: These terms refer to the foreign nations and empires, most notably Babylon, who were instrumental in the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of Judah. They represent the oppressive forces that brought ruin and suffering upon God's people. The prophecy declares that these adversaries will be removed, signifying the end of their dominion and the liberation of Zion. This removal is a testament to God's ultimate sovereignty over all earthly powers, as expressed in passages like Daniel 2:21.
Does this verse have a future fulfillment beyond the return from exile?
Answer: Yes, while it had a literal fulfillment in the return from Babylonian exile, prophetic passages often have multiple layers of fulfillment. This verse speaks to a broader principle of God's ongoing restorative work throughout history and points to an ultimate eschatological fulfillment. It anticipates the final gathering of God's people and the complete removal of all evil and suffering in the new heavens and new earth, as described in Revelation 21:1-4. It assures believers that God will ultimately triumph over all "destroyers" of peace and joy, bringing about a final and eternal restoration.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Isaiah 49:17 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the true gatherer of God's "children," not merely from physical exile but from the spiritual bondage of sin and death. Through His atoning work, Christ brings forth those who were scattered by the "destroyers" of sin, Satan, and death, gathering them into His eternal kingdom. The "haste" of the children's return is mirrored in the urgency and decisiveness of Christ's redemptive mission, culminating in His swift victory over the powers of darkness on the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15), thereby expelling the ultimate "destroyer" who held the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Those who believe in Him are given the right to become "children of God" (John 1:12), establishing a new, spiritual Zion—the Church—that will never again be laid waste. Ultimately, Christ's return will usher in the new heavens and new earth, where all former things have passed away, and there will be no more destroyers, sorrow, or pain (Revelation 21:4), perfectly fulfilling the promise of a restored people and a liberated dwelling place in His eternal presence.