May 21, 2025: Isaiah 49:23 (Part 2 of 7) - They Shall Bow Down to Thee

“And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” - Isaiah 49:23

Note to readers: Because of the length of this devotional, I have decided to split it up into seven parts. This is part 2. I also have a link that contains the entire devotional.

God had compassion on both Hagar and her son and provided water for them, saving their lives. We read in Genesis 25:12-17 about Ishmael and how, as God promised (Genesis 17:20), he would have twelve sons, whom the Bible calls “twelve princes according to their nations.” (Genesis 25:16) Ishmael would live to be 137-years old before he would die. It is interesting to me that both Ishmael and Jacob, who would be Isaac’s son, had twelve sons, but Jacob’s twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of Israel.

It is interesting to note that in Genesis chapter 21, God never refer’s to Hagar’s son by his name of “Ishmael”; rather, He refers to him as her son or Abraham’s son. I suspect that is because God wanted to differentiate clearly between Isaac and Ishmael: Ishmael was not to be the heir of Abraham; he was not to be the recipient of the covenant that God had made with Abraham and his descendants. The mocking that Ishmael did toward Isaac and his family has never ceased. To this day, there is hatred not only from the descendants of Ishmael but from much of the world, toward the descendants of Isaac. This hatred seems to be coming to a boiling point, so much so, that Israel may be ready to make a covenant with the one who promises to bring peace but in fact, seeks only their destruction.

Returning to what happened after Hagar and Ishmael left, we read something shocking. after waiting so long to have children and finally having had his son Isaac with his wife, Sarah, one day God said to Abraham:

“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Genesis 22:2)

Did you notice that in the above Scripture verse, God referred to Isaac as Abraham’s “only son”? That is because in God’s eyes, only Isaac was Abraham’s true son, the son whom God had promised and miraculously provided between an old man and an old woman, who was way past her childbearing age. Ishmael had been born by sinful human intervention and not according to the promise of God. Ishmael had been born because Sarah had grown inpatient as she waited for God to act. Instead of remaining steadfast in the promise of God to him to provide a son, Abraham had agreed with her and had sexual relations with Hagar. Thus, God wanted to know whether Abraham truly trusted in Him, and God was going to test him. There are many similarities between what followed next and when Jesus Christ came to earth the first time and was crucified, and because of that, I want to read the relevant Scriptures in their entirety. Let us read what happened next:

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning , and saddled his ass [donkey], and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave [split] the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spoke unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh [The LORD Will Provide or See]: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed [descendants] as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.” (Genesis 22:3-19)

After waiting so long to have Isaac, here was Abraham, willing to sacrifice his beloved son because he trusted in God’s promises to him. God had told Abraham that of his seed, he would make a great nation and that it would be through his son, Isaac. Thus, Abraham trusted that even if he were to sacrifice his own son, God would fulfill his promises to him. We read about Abraham’s faith in God in the New Testament book of Hebrews, in what is known as the “Hall of Faith” chapter. The chapter opens with these words:

“Now faith is the substance [realization] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed [prepared] by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear [are visible].” (Hebrews 11:1-3)

In order to have true faith, we must trust in God, even when we can’t see things with our own eyes and we can’t understand the ways of God in our own minds. Abraham had trusted in God when He had told Abraham to leave his father’s house and go into a land that God would show him. Abraham likely had never been to that land and knew not what lied ahead of him, but he took his wife, his nephew, Lot, and all that he had and moved to that land, as God had commanded him. Abraham could have ignored God’s commandments to him and refused to go, but he didn’t; he had faith in God:

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went [where he was going].” (Hebrews 11:8)

Though Sarah had stumbled and sinned when she grew impatient and decided to take matters into her own hands, God forgave her, and miraculously enabled her to conceive a child by her husband, Abraham. Sarah, too is mentioned in the hall of faith:

“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of [bore] a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” (Hebrews 11:11-12)

If Isaac had been born of a man and a woman of childbearing ages, it would not have been anything special. However, Isaac was born of a man who, as the Scripture reads above, was good as dead, and a woman who was approximately 50 years past her childbearing age when bore Isaac at age 90. This clearly illustrates to us that God doesn’t work in the natural but in the supernatural. God truly is in the business of working miracles, with the purpose of bringing glory to Himself, for He is God and there is no other. We are to give glory to Him and to no other.

Now, let us read what is written about Abraham’s faith when he was tested by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac:

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried [tested], offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure [figurative sense].” (Hebrews 11:17-19)

In the Scriptures from Genesis 22, can you see the parallels between Abraham and Isaac and God the Father and Jesus Christ? Just as Abraham offered up his only begotten Son, so too, did God the Father, when He offered up Jesus Christ. Just as God spared Isaac from being sacrificed and provided a lamb, so too, did God provide the Lamb of God as a sacrifice to spare all who believe in Jesus Christ. Just as Isaac had to carry the wood on which he would be sacrificed, so too did Jesus carry the wooden cross, on which He would be sacrificed. Gotquestions.org has an article that lists other parallels. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Abraham-Isaac.html) Clearly, God was showing us a picture of Jesus Christ in the book of Genesis, long before Jesus would come to earth the first time, and would be rejected by His own people, crucified, give up His life on a cross, but would be resurrected to life three days later, and ascend to heaven 40 days thereafter.

As Hebrews 11 attests to, if our faith is only in what we can see with our own eyes, it is not faith but it is only trusting in the known. Faith is obeying God’s commandments to us, even when we don’t understand why, even when it makes no sense to us. Faith in God is trusting in the unknown circumstances, and knowing that the One we know, Almighty God, knows what we cannot know, and that He has a plan for us and for our lives, just as He did with Abraham and Sarah. May we live by our faith in God and not by our sight.

Sarah would die before Abraham, at the age of 127 years.  When Isaac was of marrying age, Abraham didn’t want him to marry a Canaanite woman but a woman of the land where his father’s family lived, before God brought him to the land of Canaan. Abraham made an oath with his lead servant to go to the land of his father and find a woman who would marry Isaac:

“And the servant said unto him, Peradventure [perhaps] the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring [take] thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring [take] not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed [descendants] will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring [take] not my son thither again.”  (Genesis 24:5-8)

Abraham made it clear that if a woman was found but was not willing to leave the land where she lived and come to the land where Isaac was, then Abraham’s servant would have fulfilled his duty to Abraham. Abraham was clear that Isaac must remain in the land that God gave to Abraham and his descendants and not to go and live in the land where Abraham used to live.

The servant took men with him and ten camels, and they went to the land of Abraham’s father’s house, to the city of Nahor in Mesopotamia. Before going into Nahor, the servant came to a well of water outside the city, where the women went to draw water. He then “made his camels kneel down” (Genesis 24:11). The servant then prayed to God and asked for a sign: that when he would ask a woman to give him a drink of water and if she did and also offered to provide water to his camels, then “let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.” (Genesis 24:14) Before he had finished speaking this prayer to God, a woman named Rebekah came to the well “who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder.” (Genesis 24:15) Thus, she was the great-niece of Abraham and second cousin to Isaac. Rebekah not only gave water to the servant but also to his camels. The servant then wondered if this truly was the woman that God wanted Isaac to marry. The servant then gave her a golden earring and two bracelets of gold for her hands and asked her whose daughter she was, and she told him. He asked her if her father had room in his house for him and his men to lodge in. She told him who her father was and that they had enough room and food for him. What did the servant do next?

“And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute [forsaken] my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” (Genesis 24:26-27)

The servant knew that it was only by the power of Almighty God that He had led him to his master, Abraham’s family, and he gave thanks to God. May we remember to give thanks to God for the prayers He answers in our own lives and acknowledge who He is, that He is God and there is none else and none like Him. (Isaiah 46:9)

Rebekah then went to her house to tell her family about all that had happened, including her brother, Laban. Laban ran out to meet the servant at the well, and Laban invited him to come into their home and to shelter and feed his camels. The servant and his men fed their camels, washed their feet, and came into their house. They offered to feed the servant a meal, but he told them he would not eat until he told them why he had come. He told him about his master Abraham and why he had sent him, and how he had prayed to God for a sign so that he would know whom would be the woman God chose to be Isaac’s wife. The servant then said that after he had come upon Rebekah, who offered to provide water to him and his camels:

“And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right [true] way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.” (Genesis 24:48-49)

Let us read what happened next:

“Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment [clothing], and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.” (Genesis 24:50-53)

When it was time for the servant and the men who were with him to leave, Rebekah’s brother and mother asked the servant to let Rebekah stay at least ten days, but he told them not to delay him so that he could return to his master. Laban and his mother then asked Rebekah to see if she was ready to leave, and Rebekah told them, “I will go.” (Genesis 24:58) Rebekah and her nurse were ready to leave with the servant and his men, but before they left:

“And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed [descendants] possess the gate of those which hate them. And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.” (Genesis 24:60)

Little did they know but when they blessed Rebekah, their words that they spoke, specifically, “and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them” were the same words that the angel of the LORD had spoken to Abraham, when Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac: “and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.” (Genesis 22:17) Thus, we can clearly see that it would be through Isaac and his wife Rebekah that the promise of God to Abraham would be fulfilled.

Rebekah was willing to give up everything she had known all of her life to go and marry a man she didn’t even know, nor had never met. Though her mother and brother wanted her to stay longer, she was ready to go, without even any hesitation. It reminds me of another account in the Bible when Jesus came to earth the first time and began preaching and choosing His apostles:

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [near]. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” (Matthew 4:20)

Rebekah’s words also remind me of the account of Ruth in the book of Ruth. Ruth was from Moab, and she married an Israelite son. Her father-in-law was Elimelech, and her mother-in-law was Naomi, and they lived in the country of Moab. Elimelech and Naomi had left their homeland of Judah due to famine and had moved to Moab. Naomi also had another son who was married to another Moabite woman named Orpah. Elimelech had died prior to his two sons being married to the two Moabite women. Sometime later, Naomi’s two sons also died, leaving just Naomi and her two daughters-in-law. Upon hearing that the famine in Judah was over, Naomi decided to return to their. On their way to Judah, Naomi thanked her daughters-in-law for dealing kindly with her family and herself and told them that they should return to their people, for she was too old to marry again and bear children and have sons whom they could marry. Orpah and Ruth wept for their mother-in-law. Orpah decided to leave, but Ruth clung to Naomi, and then:

“And she [Naomi] said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not [urge me not] to leave thee, or to return from [turn back] following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou longest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” (Ruth 1:15-17)

Ruth would go on to marry Boaz, who was a family member of Naomi’s deceased husband, Elimelech. Boaz was very wealthy and purchased all that Elimelech owned, including Ruth. Boaz and Ruth’s son, whose name was Obed, would become the father of Jesse, King David’s father. It would be through the line of David that Messiah, Jesus the Christ, would come, and He too, like David, was born in Bethlehem Ephratah. Here we see that although Ruth was a Moabitess, because of her faithfulness to the one true God, He used her in a mighty way:

“And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilean’s and Mahlon’s [Elimelech’s two deceased sons], of the hand of Naomi. Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day. And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem: and let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed [offspring] which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman [redeemer], that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon [Salmah], and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.” (Ruth 4:9-22)

In all three of these accounts of Rebekah, Simon (Peter) and Andrew, and Ruth, we see that they were willing to give up everything and to trust in God and to go where He was leading them. These are three wonderful examples of how we should live our lives, as believers in Jesus Christ.

Returning to Rebekah, she and her nurse, the servant, and his men, after leaving Rebekah’s home, drew near to the place where Isaac lived. Isaac was in the field meditating, and he looked and saw the camels coming. Rebekah saw him and asked the servant who the man was, and the servant told her it was Isaac. She came off the camel and met Isaac, who took her into his mother’s tent. Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife and he loved her. The Bible also tells us that “Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” (Genesis 24:67) Isaac and Rebekah wanted to have children but she was barren, unable to have children. Isaac then pleaded with God, and sometime later, Rebekah conceived. The Bible tells us:

“And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so [well], why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau [Hairy]. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his named was called Jacob [Supplanter or Deceitful, lit. One Who Takes the Heel]: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.” (Genesis 25:22-26)

The boys grew, and Esau was a skilled hunter and loved being outdoors, whereas his brother Jacob was a mild man who dwelled in tents. The Bible tells us “Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28) One day when Esau was out in the field, he came in the house and was feeling faint. Jacob had cooked a red stew, and Esau asked Jacob to give him some of the red stew because he was feeling faint. The Bible tells us of Esau, “therefore was his name called Edom [Red].” (Genesis 25:30). Instead of just giving Esau some of the stew, Jacob proposed a trade for it:

“And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage [stew] of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.” (Genesis 25:31-34)

We have two very different types of personalities here. First, we have Esau, who was being very dramatic because he was hungry, even claiming he was going to die if he didn’t eat some of the stew. We have on the other hand, Jacob, who instead of just giving his brother some of the stew, took advantage of the situation in order to get something he wanted, something very important, and that was Esau’s birthright as the eldest son of Isaac. Birthright is very important in the Bible. There is a good article from gotquestions.org that explains it (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/birthright-Bible.html), but in summary, when the father of a family dies, the oldest son assumes his authority and responsibilities, and the oldest son also received a double portion of the father’s belongings. In the times that Esau and Jacob lived, they knew the importance of birthright. However, Esau desired more to fill his stomach with food than to receive his birthright from his father, which he would have to wait to receive until his father Isaac died; Esau wanted things immediately and didn’t want to wait a period of time to receive his birthright. He did not take his birthright status seriously. In a sense, Esau was living in a fast-food mentality, whereas Jacob was looking at the big picture. How many people today are living like Esau, with their minds focused on the here-and-now rather than looking at the big picture, looking at their eternity?

Next, we are told that there was a famine in the land in which Isaac and his family lived, and Isaac went to the king of the Philistines, king Abimelech, in Gerar:

“And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed [descendants] to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries [lands]; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Genesis 26:2-5)

God had reiterated to Isaac the covenant that He had made with his father, Abraham. Isaac did as God commanded him to do and did not go into the land of Egypt but lived in the land of Gerar.