“It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” Isaiah 49:6.

There is a plan that is well underway. Even before Jesus was born, God had an all-encompassing plan for His Son. The plan began with the nation of Israel as Jesus came to His own, but the plan is far greater than this tiny nation that has thus far rejected Him as their Messiah (John 1:11). His ultimate destiny is to be a light to all nations and peoples, and for salvation to extend to the entire world.

We cannot help wondering how current events in Israel and Gaza, and the alarming rise of radical anti-semitism, factor in to the plan to “raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel.” Surely there will come a time when those who have so stubbornly rejected their Messiah will turn in faith to Him (Romans 11:25-27).

He who is a light to the nations is brightly shining so that salvation will reach to the end of the earth. He is shining through His own people who also are light (Matthew 5:14-16) so that this salvation goes out to all. It is ordained that His message will go forth before the end of the age (“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” Matthew 24:14).

The Messiah speaks prophetically in Isaiah 49:4 “But I said, ‘I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God.’”

We can likely relate to these words. Sometimes our efforts in sharing the gospel, and working to advance the cause of the kingdom, can seem to be for naught. But a lesson is to be learned from these words: “surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God.” The ultimate measure is not how things appear, but in the God who rewards His faithful people. Rejection by His own people did not stop Jesus, nor should it stop us. Press on, faithful servant.

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