Old Testament Supplemental Study

The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 49

Gospel Doctrine Class, Sunday School Lesson #38

"Beside Me There Is No Saviour"

Reference: OLD TESTAMENT STUDENT MANUAL KINGS-MALACHI, pp. 191-195

Book Reference: The Old Testament Made Easier, Part three, by David J. Ridges, pp. 166-171

Isaiah 49 – Israel will yet help to preach the gospel to all the nations of the earth

Note: The entire chapter of Isaiah 49 is quoted in 1 Nephi 21 except for half of verse one.    And almost every verse is reviewed in the Old Testament Student Manual, II.  I have used it extensively in my summarization of Isaiah chapter forty-nine as it is more correct than my own interpretations (sometimes quoted without attribution to keep a smooth flow of the text). 

Ridges explains that in this prophecy Isaiah presents Israel as a person who is “thinking about her past and feels like she has been a failure as far as her calling and mission from the Lord is concerned.  Then she is startled by her success in the last days” (p. 166). 

“Listen, O isles [scattered remnants of Israel throughout the world] unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; the LORD hath called me [Israel] from the womb [before I was born]; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name” [Israel was foreordained in premortality to assist the Lord in His work] (v. 1).  “And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword” because she possessed the word of God to preach to all the nations of the earth.  However ancient Israel failed to live the teachings of the Lord and did not receive the blessings promised by the Lord in the Abrahamic Covenant (see Abraham 2:11).  It is believed that verses two and three may refer to latter-day Israel.  “[I]n the shadow [protection] of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me” (v. 2). 

Monte S. Nyman explains: "'in the shadow of his hand' is clarified in the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord declares that the priesthood holders of this last dispensation are ‘lawful heirs, according to the flesh and have been hid from the world with Christ in God' (D&C 86:8-9).…[These lawful heirs of scattered Israel were lost to the world], but the Lord knew and had concealed them in his protective hand. 

"The polished shaft hidden in the Lord’s quiver may be a reference to Joseph Smith as the Lord’s 'choice seer' of the latter days." (Great Are the Words of Isaiah, pp. 173-74, quoted in the Student Manual, p. 192.)

“Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified” [Israel will yet fulfill its stewardship] (v. 3). 

Between the time when Israel was dispossessed and the Restoration, Israel became discouraged that she had “laboured in vain” and her strength was spent for naught [apostasy and false worship]. And yet her “judgment is with the Lord [only the Lord can judge Israel] and my work with my God” (v. 4).  “Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength” (v. 5).  Jacob will yet be raised and restored and stand as “a light to the Gentiles” and as a beacon of “salvation unto the end of the earth” (v. 6). 

“In an acceptable time,” God will hear their cry and “give thee [my servant, see 1 Nephi 21:8] for a covenant of the people” (v. 8).  That began with Joseph Smith.  Since then, the call has gone forth to others, “to [spiritual] prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in [spiritual] darkness, Shew yourselves” (v. 9).  They shall be fed with the fruits of the gospel—not “hunger nor thirst”—and shall be gathered into the gospel net “from far…from the north and from the west” (vv. 10, 12). 

Even though the Lord has clearly promised that Zion will be restored and smitten no more, Zion in her forlorn condition will come to view herself as one “forsaken” of the Lord (v. 14).  But He will show that He has not forsaken her.  "Can a woman forget her sucking [nursing] child."  The Lord answers that question, “Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel” (see 1 Nephi 21:15).  All that the Lord has promised will be fulfilled, for His covenant people are so a part of Him that it is as if their name has been carved on his hands [the Atonement] or on the walls that are continually before His eyes (v. 16).  For this reason Israel’s children [or descendants] shall “make haste against [their] destroyers; and they that made thee waste [their enemies] shall go forth of [flee from] thee (v. 17). 

President Wilford Woodruff said: “But the set time has come to favor Zion, and the Lord Almighty has decreed in the heavens that every weapon formed against her shall be broken” (Journal of Discourses, 15:8-9, quoted in the Student Manual, p. 193). 

In verses 18-21, the latter-day gathering of Israel is spoken of as a bride who adorns herself for her wedding. So will the Zion of the latter days spiritually clothe those who come to her for blessings (v. 18). 

"The imagery of Christ as the Bridegroom and His covenant people as His bride is also found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, Revelation and the Doctrine and Covenants (see also Revelation 19:8)."

"So many people will come, both to Zion and the old Jerusalem, that they will complain that the land is “too strait [narrow] for me: give place to me that I may dwell” (v. 20).  This has happened in the modern Church where the need for chapels and leadership has been difficult to keep up with due to the many converts (SM, p. 193).  Then the modern Israelites will say: “Who hath begotten me these…,where had they been?” (v. 21).   In other words, where in the world did all these people come from?  Now, Isaiah speaks of the day when God’s promises will be fulfilled and of how it will be done.  The “how” is made clear in verses 22-23.  God will set up His “standard,” [the gospel, or the new and everlasting covenant] (see D&C 66: 2), “and they [the Gentiles] shall bring thy [the house of Israel’s] sons in their arms and thy daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.  And kings shall be thy nursing fathers and their queens thy nursing mothers” (vv. 22-23).  "The 'when' of the prophecy is now.  Converts from throughout the world have joined the Church and then gone throughout the world to reclaim the house of Israel and bring them back to the Lord" (SM, 193). 

“Nursing fathers and nursing mothers” could refer to Great Britain and other countries including the United States who supported the mandate over Palestine after the end of World War I, for the preparation of the gathering of the scattered Jews.  In 1947, the United Nations voted to partition Palestine and create a Jewish state in the land for the first time in nearly two thousand years" (SM, p. 194).

In verse 24, the “prey” mentioned is the house of Israel in her scattered condition.  She is “prey” or “captive” because she has been unable throughout the centuries to return to her promised home or to claim her gospel blessings.  Although many nations still will not allow the gospel to be preached freely, all that will change, for “even the captives [Israel] of the mighty [Israel's enemies] shall be taken away [from their enemies], and the prey [victims] of the terrible shall be delivered [set free]” (v. 25) (Ridges, p. 171). 

"For the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people, For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contendeth with thee—…and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (2 Nephi 6:17-18).

"First, the Lord predicts it, then He brings it to pass; only a 'mighty one' could perform such a task.  Nephi made it very clear that all who seek to thwart the Lord in bringing this great thing [gathering] to pass shall be destroyed, for 'they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord'" (1 Nephi 22:14) (SM, p. 194).