Christ in the Old Testament

Isaiah 49:1

Listen to me, you islands;
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 49:1-13

Isaiah 49:1-7 is the second of four “Servant Songs” that depict the Messiah as a servant. We looked at the first one a short time ago in Isaiah 42:1-9. This Servant of Yahweh will speak extensively throughout the next four chapters giving us enough content to cover almost two months of prophecies if we cover one each day. So let’s settle in and see what Isaiah the literary artisan has in store for us.

Isaiah 49 begins with a prophecy telling us that the Messiah was called by God before he was born “from my mother’s womb.” He doubles down on the prophecy in verse 5 telling us, “he who formed me in the womb to be his servant.” The obvious truth here is that the Messiah will be human, flesh and blood, born of a woman. That doesn’t seem to be that bold of a prediction until we begin to also see other passages speaking of the Messiah being with God before the world was created.

Passages like Micah 5:2 that says:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

This Servant of Yahweh will be the Messiah who is both born of a woman and also existed before the world began. Micah even eludes to this duality in saying that the Messiah will come from the clan of Judah to rule over Israel in the same verse where he speaks of his origins from ancient times.

Not only is Isaiah telling us that the Messiah will be human, born of a woman, but by omission he is also telling us that the Messiah will be born of a virgin. Usually the father would be mentioned here to indicate the lineage of the Messiah and not the mother. But by not mentioning the father, Isaiah is hinting that the Messiah would not have an earthly father. This is clearly easier to see in hindsight with the help of the gospel writers.

Jesus fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy recorded in Luke when the angel Gabriel visits Mary to tell her, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33).

I see a parallel between us as Jesus’ followers and Jesus the Messiah in these Scriptures. Jesus was called by God before he was born. Our verse today says, “Before I was born the Lord called me.” Jesus was given a mission by God before he was born. He was born with a purpose.

We are also born with a purpose. A quick word search reveals that the word “called” shows up over 200 times in the New Testament. Here are a few examples:

• “God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace” (Gal 1:15).
• “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God… And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:1, 6)
• “But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24).
• “Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them” (1 Cor 7:20).
• “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim 6:12).

Just as Jesus was called to fulfill his purpose, we are also called for a purpose. We are called to do a lot of things. We are called to peace, love, live holy lives, be free, etc. But our “calling” by God always comes back to one primary mission. We are called to bring glory to Jesus in everything that we do. Peter sums it up with one sentence:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet 2:9).

Today’s Prayer: Thank you God for calling me before I was born to declare your praises and bring you glory. Help me to passionately find my purpose today.