I Will Save Thy Children

I had occasion to come across this scripture again the other day.

Isaiah 49:25 … "But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."

This is a promise, or at the least a word from God proclaiming He was going to deliver Israel from the seventy year long Babylonian captivity. Before I speak about considering this scripture as a promise for us today, I want to give a little background on the captivity Israel finds itself in.

In Jeremiah Chapter 25, the prophet is speaking of this same Babylonian captivity and proclaims: "... the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened ... go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me ..."

God's word given by Jeremiah is a warning for Israel to repent; and if not ... invasion, desolation, and captivity are threatened. The people are told of God's coming judgment which Babylon is to bring on Judah and all the surrounding nations. This is the same invasion of Judaea, in which Daniel and his friends were carried captive to Babylon.

Jeremiah 25:8-9 & 12 speaks about the captivity and a promise of deliverance seventy years later ...

"Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants ... And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity ..."

The first thing I noticed was the statement by God saying ... "Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant."

I have used the following quote many times, which I guess if I am really honest about it ... only alludes to my thinking that God can and does use "evil" including the devil to fulfill His designed plans and purposes. Look at it again ... "God afflicts not willingly, but if it must be done, let Satan do it."

If Nebuchadrezzar was God's servant, then is it not true that God used this evil king to bring judgment upon Israel? It is also true that Satan delights in bringing misery to man and will do so at every opportunity given to him.

History records that after Babylon captured a nation, they would take the healthiest men, women and children back to Babylon as slaves ... the ones they didn't skin alive, just for the fun of it, that is. Babylon was perhaps the cruelest regime in history concerning the treatment of a conquered people. They were evil almost beyond description. Every healthy man, woman and child of all ages were striped naked, chained together in two lines and marched back to Babylon without hardly any food or water. When someone would fall, they would be trampled by the others and then run over by the wheels of the war wagons until they looked like road kill. As I said ... Satan delights in causing misery of the worst kind and Babylon consented.

This is the setting Israel now finds itself in ... Babylonian captivity.

An interesting question is asked and then answered by God in Isaiah 49:24 ... "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?"

The mighty one spoken of would be the Babylonians, and on the surface it would look as if they could not be overcome ... at least not by Israel. But God had other ideas. If God gave Israel into the hands of Babylon ... as a lawful captive ... taken in war, then could He not also deliver Israel from them. All this was decided, planned and set in operation by God.

God's answer to this question is Isaiah 49:25 ... our key verse.

"Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away" ... This undoubtedly refers to the Jews held in captivity in Babylon. God was saying the captive Jews taken by the mighty and terrible Babylonians will be rescued and restored to their own land.

"For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee" ... God was saying that He will contend with, (to engage in battle against) and punish the nation of Babylon that had inflicted this captivity on His people, and that He will rescue them from bondage.

The Keil & Delitzsch Commentary translates the promise of Isaiah 49:25 this way ...

"Yea, thus saith Jehovah, Even the captive hosts of a giant are wrested from him, and the booty of a tyrant escapes: and I will make war upon him that warreth with thee, and I will bring salvation to thy children."

I have taken a long time getting to the main point of my discourse. In the last three thousand years or so, man hasn't changed much ... so today, many people have also been taken captive and placed in bondage to sin. I am of the belief that the same God who delivered Israel from Babylon can and will deliver men from the captivities of their sin ... if they want Him to.

In some cases, the captives ... may be your own children. They may or may not be in the grip of sin. It may be they are in other difficulties, or in situations they can't seem to get out of. Either way ... tell God that you are claiming this scripture for them today.

I knew this promise was a very powerful word from the Lord, and after reading it again, I am convinced that God is saying the following to believers ...

"I am taking over your fight against your enemies and the enemies of your children. It has now become My fight ... and I will save your children."

Lastly ... consider another promise found in Isaiah 54:15-17 ...

"Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD."

With the phrase, "I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire" ...

God is saying ... "Everything that can effect your welfare is under my control. The smith who manufactures the instruments of war or of torture is under me. His life, his strength, his skill, are all in my hands, and he can do nothing which I shall not deem it best to permit him to do. So it is with the waster who destroys. I made him, and he is wholly under My control and at My disposal."

Yes, I realize that God originally was speaking about Israel; but if we are going to make this same promise ours today ... then it also means God will be contending with Satan and his principalities, as well as the anti-christian rulers that fight against and oppress the Lord's people wherever they may be.

Deuteronomy 29:29 … "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever ..."

I hope God has clearly revealed to you that this promise can be for us today and for ... our children forever.

 

Comments welcome.