When We Feel That God Has Forsaken Us, We Must Ask If We Have Forsaken and Forgotten God

The Savior’s Threefold Mission to The Discouraged:

Reaching All Who Feel Forsaken and Forgotten. (Isaiah 49:14–26; 50:1-3) 

¹⁴Yet, they say, “My Lord deserted us; he has forgotten us.”

¹⁵“Never! Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son? Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you. ¹⁶See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm, and ever before me is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. ¹⁷Soon your rebuilders shall come and chase away all those destroying you. ¹⁸Look and see, for the Lord has vowed that all your enemies shall come and be your slaves. They will be as jewels to display, as bridal ornaments.

¹⁹“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land shall soon be crowded with your people, and your enemies who enslaved you shall be far away. ²⁰The generations born in exile shall return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’ ²¹Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile, leaving me here alone. Who bore these? Who raised them for me?’”

²²The Lord God says, “See, I will give a signal to the Gentiles, and they shall carry your little sons back to you in their arms, and your daughters on their shoulders. ²³Kings and queens shall serve you; they shall care for all your needs. They shall bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from off your feet; then you shall know I am the Lord. Those who wait for me shall never be ashamed.”

²⁴Who can snatch the prey from the hands of a mighty man? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go? ²⁵But the Lord says, “Even the captives of the most mighty and most terrible shall all be freed; for I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children. ²⁶I will feed your enemies with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with rivers of their own blood. All the world shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.”^[1] (Isaiah 49:14–26)

The Lord asks, Did I sell you to my creditors? Is that why you aren’t here? Is your mother gone because I divorced her and sent her away? No, you went away as captives because of your sins. And your mother, too, was taken in payment for your sins. ²Was I too weak to save you? Is that why the house is silent and empty when I come home? Have I no longer power to deliver? No, that is not the reason! For I can rebuke the sea and make it dry! I can turn the rivers into deserts covered with dying fish. ³I am the one who sends the darkness out across the skies.^[2] (Isaiah 50:1-3)

 

The Savior Was Given a Specific Threefold Mission to Help the Discouraged.

In these verses, the prophet Isaiah is picturing a conversation between the Lord and Zion. Zion represents the Jews who were suffering through the Babylonian captivity and those who had been left behind in the devastated land of Judah. Due to the hardship of the captivity and the devastation of their land, the people had become extremely discouraged. They knew an important fact from history: once a nation was conquered and its people deported, they never returned to their homeland. After decades of captivity, the Jews began to feel abandoned by God. They felt as though God had forgotten and forsaken them. Even when they prayed, God seemed far, far away, unconcerned with their suffering. It was as if the Lord did not know about their hardships, for their prayers seemed to go unanswered. God appeared totally out of reach.

But this was the furthest thing from the truth, and God spoke up to share the truth of the situation. What He had to say is one of the strongest declarations of His love ever given to His people or, for that matter, to the human race. Assuring His people of His love and His power, the Lord compared Himself to a loving mother (vv. 15–23), a mighty warrior (vv. 24–26), and a forgiving husband (50:1–3). In comparing Himself to these three people, the Lord was describing His mission to the discouraged. When His people feel forsaken, forgotten, abandoned, and all alone, He reaches out to them in love, seeking to encourage and reassure them.

A. The Lord’s Mission Is to Reveal His Love to The Discouraged (Vv. 15–23). His love can be compared to the love of a mother for her nursing child. Could a mother forget to feed and nourish her baby? Could she abandon and have no love for the child? Not likely! But even if she did, (1) God will not forget His people (v. 15), for they are engraved, carved, and chiseled on the palms of His hands. This means that God’s people are permanently in His hands, under His care, protection, and provision. But this is not all: those protected inside Jerusalem’s walls are ever before Him. They are always in His sight, and they will stand forever before Him as a memorial. He will always be with His people, looking after them and the Holy City. 

For this reason, (2) God will cause the Israelites’ descendants to return to the promised land and cause their enemies to flee (vv. 17–21). The descendant’s return is guaranteed by the Lord’s oath (v. 18). He swears that as surely as He lives, they will return. And the returning people will be a spectacular sight (v. 18b), for each returnee will be like a piece of bridal ornament to add sparkle to the nation. Although the land of Judah had been ruined and its population decimated, the influx of returnees will be so great that the land will be too small for them (v. 19). They will need more space to live in (v. 20). The number of returnees will be surprising and unexpected because so many had died during their captivity and exile (v. 21). Remember that only a few exiles returned to Judah from Babylon when they were released by King Cyrus of Persia. Therefore, this prophecy was not fulfilled in those days. It clearly refers to the coming Messianic Kingdom, the day when Christ will return to establish His kingdom on earth. 

When Christ returns to establish God’s kingdom on earth, (3) He will arouse the nations to release and return His people to the promised land (vv. 22–23). The nations will even help transport the returning captives (14:2; 43:6; 60:9). Moreover, all the rulers of the nations will subject themselves to Jerusalem because the Lord will make it the capital of His government. When Zion becomes the seat of worldwide government, the rulers of the earth will look after and care for the Holy City just as a foster father or a nursing mother would. They will even bow down with their faces to the ground to honor and worship Christ. 

(4) In that day, God will prove two great truths: that He alone is the Lord and that those who hope in Him will never be disappointed or ashamed. By keeping their eyes on the future, God’s people could conquer their discouragement. Holding fast to God’s promises, they could know that they were neither forsaken nor forgotten. They were etched on God’s hands, ever before His face. They were under His continued care, protection, and provision. 

B. The Lord’s Mission Is to Reveal His Power to Deliver His People (Vv. 24–26). Note that His power is compared to the strength of a mighty warrior. Who can take plunder or rescue captives from a mighty warrior? No one! No one except the Lord that is. The discouraged can rest assured of three wonderful promises:

1)      The Lord will save His people from their enemies and free them from their captors (v. 25). No matter who opposes or attacks them, God Himself will take up the fight. As surely as He is God, He will rescue His people from their adversaries and their oppression.

2)      The Lord will cause the oppressors of His people to turn against one another (v. 26). The statement that they will eat or feed on their own flesh is a picture of internal strife, conflict, and civil war.

3)      The Lord will prove the most basic truth in all the universe (v. 26)—that He is the Lord, the Savior, and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Israel).  

C. The Lord’s Mission Is to Pay the Ransom Price Necessary to Redeem His People. He Will Liberate Them from Their Captivity (Ch. 50:1–3). Note that God’s redemption is compared to the love of a forgiving husband. Although the Israelites were guilty of serious sin, (1) the Lord had not divorced or sold them to creditors, as so many men did their wives in that day. When men divorced or sold their wives, they gave them a certificate of divorce, but Israel had no evidence to prove that God had divorced her. There was no certificate, nothing in the history of Israel to suggest that God had ever severed connections with His people. They were sent away from their homeland and sold into captivity because of their sins, not because God had divorced them. To the contrary, the Lord had continually reached out to be reconciled with His people. But when He appealed to them to return to Him, few responded in repentance. Most of the people continued in their sinful, adulterous ways, refusing to repent and turn back to the Lord. 

Nevertheless, (2) the Lord always had the power to redeem His people, the power to rescue and deliver them from their captors (vv. 2–3). His power had been proven in the past when He dried up the Red Sea (Ex. 14:1–31) and the Jordan River (Js. 3:14–17). And it was proven when He darkened the sky in the plagues of Egypt (Ex. 20:21). The Israelites’ discouragement was due to their own sin, not to the Lord’s forsaking or forgetting them. They were in captivity and feeling abandoned because they had chosen to walk in the wicked ways of the world. Nevertheless, the Lord’s mission was to reach the discouraged. 

Today the Lord still reaches out to those who are disheartened. He reaches out in love to be reconciled with all who feel forsaken or forgotten, deserted or alienated, lonely or friendless, isolated or homeless, outcast or rejected, destitute or unloved. 

V  “And behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mt. 9:2).

V  “And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not; therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven” (Mt. 10:28–33).

V  “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:28).

V  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Lu. 4:18).

V  “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.… Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end” (Ps. 73:2–3, 17).

V  “Thus, my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.… But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works” (Ps. 73:21–26, 28).

V  “Fear thou not; for I am with thee be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.… For I, the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee” (Is. 41:10, 13).

V  Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Is. 43:1–2).^[3] 

The people of Israel felt that God had forgotten them in Babylon, but Isaiah pointed out that God would never forget them, as a loving mother would not forget her little child. When we feel that God has forsaken us, we must ask if we have forsaken and forgotten God (see Deuteronomy 31:6).

God would prove to the world that he is God by doing the impossible—causing warriors to set their captives free, and these warriors would even return the plunder they had taken from the captives! God had done this before at the Exodus and would do it again when the exiles returned to Israel. Never should we doubt, that God will fulfill his promises. He will even do the impossible to make them come true.

God promised to fight for Israel, but Israel sold itself into sin. Israel had caused its own problems. The people of Israel forgot God and trusted in other countries to help them. God had not rejected Israel, but Israel had rejected God.^[4]

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^[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^[2] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

^[4] Life Application Bible Notes. 2007. Tyndale.