Isaiah 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, you people, from far; The LORD had called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother had he made mention of my name.
‘Me’ – The Messiah is the only one that could fulfil Isaiah 49:1-12. Eight proofs: Of all the theories regarding who this refers to – Christians, Israel, Isaiah, or the Messiah – the acceptable one pertains to the Messiah, for He is the only one who could fulfil the prediction about being called and named from the womb (49:1; Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:21). None of the statements in Isaiah 49:2-4 could be made of Christians, Israel as a nation, or Isaiah; so they must refer to the Messiah. The work of this servant – to bring Jacob to God again, raise the tribes of Israel, restore the preservation of Israel, be a light to the Gentiles and salvation to the ends of the earth – could never be that of anyone but the Messiah (49:5-6). The statements of God’s Holy One, whom men would despise and Israel would abhor, could only refer to the Messiah (49:7). God’s choice of the person referred to was to cause kings and princes to worship Him, and this could only be the Messiah. The Messiah was the only person who could be for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth and cause the waste places of the earth to be restored and inhabited, as in Isaiah 49:8. The Messiah is the only one from Isaiah’s time until now who could lose prisoners and those sitting in darkness so that they would never hunger or thirst again, who could keep them from the elements, and lead them as a shepherd, as predicted in Isaiah 49:9-12. The Messiah is the one that will regather Israel, as predicted in Isaiah 49:5-6, 12 (Matt. 24:29-31). Since neither Isaiah nor any other prophet ever did or ever will fulfil all these things, since neither Christians nor Israel ever will fulfil them, and since the Messiah will do so, then we must understand Him to be the one predicted in Isaiah 49:1-12.
‘Hearken, you people, from far.’ Six commands to the people: Listen, O isles (maritime countries). Hearken, you people from afar. Sing, O heavens (49:13). Be joyful, O earth. Break forth into singing, O mountains. Lift your eyes around about (49:18).
‘Called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother had he made mention of my name.’ Calling and naming the Messiah was fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:28-35; 2:1-19.
End times: Prophetic Scriptures 