How far does the Gentile salvation promised in Isaiah 49:6 reach?
Isaiah 49:6 promises that God's salvation for the Gentiles reaches to the end of the earth. The light given to the Gentiles is meant to carry His salvation beyond Israel to the whole Gentile world, fulfilling the Old Testament expectation that God would turn to the nations.
Les explains that this promise was part of the Old Testament covenants: the day would come, after Israel's promises, when God would turn to the Gentile world. In Isaiah 49:6, the servant is told it is a light thing to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved of Israel; Jacob represents the nation as a whole, while Israel represents the believing remnant. God then says He will give the servant as a light to the Gentiles, that He may be His salvation. Les asks how far, and answers: to the end of the earth. Israel was to have had that opportunity and did to a certain extent, since every word of this book was written by Jews, but God had even more for the nation. They rejected it in unbelief, yet God's idea was to go to the Gentile world through this covenant people. Les emphasizes that God from the beginning knew the day would come when He would go to the whole Gentile world with His salvation. Because Israel constantly rejected it, He had to send the nation into dispersion, taking away their temple and land.
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
More Questions
Who is God speaking to in Isaiah 49:6 when He says 'I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles'?
In Isaiah 49:6 the servant called 'thee' whom God gives as a light to the Gentiles is the nation of Israel, whose task was to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved of Israel.