May 22, 2025: Isaiah 49:23 (Part 3 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 3. I also have a link that contains the entire devotional.
Many years prior, Isaac’s father Abraham, who was still called Abram at that time, had gone with his wife Sarai and family to Egypt because there was a famine in the land in which they lived. Because Sarai was a beautiful woman and fearing that the Egyptians would want to take her and kill him, Abram asked Sarai to tell them that she was his sister. She did, and Pharaoh brought her into his house and treated Abram well because of her. However, God sent plagues upon Pharaoh because of Sarai, and Pharaoh went to Abram and asked why he had told him Sarai was his sister and not his wife, which caused the plagues to be sent. Abram told him because he feared for his life. Pharaoh told Abram to go get his wife and leave, and they did and took all of their belongings. (Genesis 12:9-20) In another instance when Abraham and Sarah came to the land of Gerar, they came to Abimelech, the king of Gerar, and once again, Abraham said Sarah was his sister instead of his wife, and Abimelech took Sarah. God appeared to him in a dream and told him he would be a dead man because the woman he took was married. Abimelech told God that he did not know she was married and that Abraham had said she was his sister. God also told him:
“And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.” (Genesis 20:6-7)
Abimelech then told all his servants what happened, and he also called Abraham to him and asked him why he had done this to him. As before, Abraham told him why, and Abimelech not only gave Sarah back to Abraham but also gave him livestock and menservants and womenservants and told them:
“…Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.” (Genesis 20:15)
Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and maidservants, of whose wombs God had closed because of Sarah.
Returning to Isaac, like his father had done twice before, Isaac deceived the men in Gerar and told them that Rebekah was his sister and not his wife. They lived there a long time until one day, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, saw Isaac caressing her and he knew that she was not Isaac’s sister. He called Isaac to him and asked him why he had lied to him. Like his father had done twice before, Isaac told him he lied because he was afraid they would kill him because they would want his wife. Abimelech then told all of his people not to touch Isaac or Rebekah or his people would be killed. They did leave them alone, and Isaac’s wealth increased 100 times in one year and even more so over time. He became so wealthy that the Philistines envied him and filled the wells that Abraham’s servants had dug long ago with dirt to force them out. Abimelech told Isaac to leave them, “for thou art much mightier than we.” (Genesis 26:16) Isaac took his family and all that he had and moved to the valley of Gerar. Isaac and his servants dug new wells of water. However, two times the other people that also lived there claimed that the water was theirs and quarreled with him. Finally, he moved a third time and no one argued with him about the water. He named the well “Rehoboth,” which means “Spaciousness,” and said, “For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” He then went to Beersheba and God appeared to him that night and told him:
“I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.” (Genesis 26:24-25)
Did you notice that God told Isaac not to fear? I think God was preparing him for what would happen next. God also reconfirmed His covenant that He had made with Abraham, Isaac’s father. Next, Abimelech, the man who previously had told Isaac and his family to leave, came with his friend and the chief captain of his army, to where Isaac and his family now lived. That must have been a bit unnerving for Isaac, and I believe that is why God told him not to fear. Let us read what happened next:
“And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant [treaty] with thee; that thou wilt do us no hurt [harm], as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes [early] in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shebah [Oath or Seven]: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba [Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven] unto this day.” (Genesis 26:27-33)
Abimelech and his friend, and his chief captain of the army had seen how the Lord God was with Isaac and had blessed him. It appears fear had been in them and they were concerned what God might do to them. Thus, they wanted to make a peace treaty with Isaac, and Isaac did so.
In Genesis 26:34-35, we are told what Esau, Isaac and Rebekah’s oldest son did:
“And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.” (Genesis 26:34-35)
The next thing we read in the Bible about Isaac is that he was old in age and could not see, and he called Esau to him and told him he wanted to bless him before he died. He told Esau to go in the field and hunt venison for him and cook it for him, and then he would bless Esau. Before reading what transpired, let us first remember what had happened to Rebekah when she was still pregnant with her twin boys, Esau and Isaac:
“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.” (Genesis 25:22-23)
Because God knows everything, including things that will happen before they happen, He knew that it would not be the oldest son that would be blessed by Isaac but the youngest son, and that the oldest son would serve the younger son. That is exactly what happened. Let us read how it came to fruition. When Rebekah heard that Isaac wanted to bless Esau, she told Jacob about it and told him to go kill two goats and she would cook them and then Jacob could bring the food to Isaac. Jacob then told his mother that Esau was hairy and that Isaac would know he was not Esau and “I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.” (Genesis 27:12) Rebekah took Esau’s clothing and goat skins and had Isaac put them on his hands and neck in case Isaac would touch his son. She gave Jacob the food, and he went in to see his father. His father recognized that it was not Esau when Jacob spoke to him and said, “who art thou, my son?” Jacob told him he was Esau and that he had brought the savory food that he liked. Isaac asked him to come near to him so he could feel him. Isaac said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned [recognized] him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.” (Genesis 27:13-23) Isaac kept having doubts that the son speaking to him was Esau, but after he felt his hands, he asked Jacob to bring the food, and Isaac ate it. He asked Jacob to come kiss him, and when Jacob came near, he smelled the clothing, which was Esau’s, and recognized it as Esau’s. Isaac then blessed Jacob and said:
“See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn [grain] and wine: let people [peoples] serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.” (Genesis 27:27-29)
The words of Isaac above are a prophecy given to him by God that has not fully happened yet but will happen in the future. The prophecy was reiterated in Isaiah 49:23, and it will come to pass. Before discussing this prophecy further, let’s read about what happened after Isaac had unknowingly blessed his younger son, Jacob. Let us also remember that God knew this would happen before it happened, and it was God’s plan all along that the elder would serve the younger. I am taking this deep-dive into the history of Jacob and his family because it is through the lineage of Jacob that Messiah would come.
Immediately after Isaac blessed Jacob, Esau, who had no idea what had just happened, came in from hunting. He cooked the venison he had gotten and brought it to his father. He told his father it was ready for him to eat and asked him to bless him. Isaac, being confused, asked who he was, and Esau told him he was his firstborn son, Esau. Isaac told him he had already eaten the venison and had blessed him who had brought it. Esau then let out a great and bitter cry and told his father to bless him too. Isaac told Esau that his brother had deceived him into blessing him. Esau then said that Jacob was rightly named, for his name means “supplanter,” and he had supplanted him twice, the first time when he took away his birthright. However, we must remember that Esau’s birthright meant nothing to him, for he was quick to give it away for a bowl of red stew. God knew this about Esau, and that is why God did not let Esau be blessed by Isaac. Esau asked his father again to bless him too and started to weep again:
“And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth [of the fertility], and of the dew of heaven from above; and by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion [become restless], that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.” (Genesis 27:39-40)
Esau then planned in his heart to kill Jacob after his father died. He also told his mother what he planned to do. Rebekah told Jacob that his life was in danger and told him to leave and go to her brother, Laban’s house in Haran, until Esau’s temper would cool off and he would come to his senses. She told Jacob she would notify him when it was safe to come home. However, before Jacob left, Isaac called him to him. Isaac commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman, and instead, to go to his mother’s brother’s house and marry one of his daughters. Isaac then told Jacob:
“And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.” (Genesis 28:3-4)
Next we are told that upon hearing the blessing that Isaac gave to Jacob and his commandment not to marry a Canaanite woman, Esau, after having already married a Canaanite woman named Judith, decided to rebel against his father and marry another Canaanite woman:
“And Esau, seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto [in addition to] the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.” (Genesis 28:8-9)
It seems that Esau was quick to act on impulse, to react quickly based on feelings instead of thinking things through and what the consequences of his actions might be. I believe it’s yet another reason as to why God did not choose Esau to receive the blessing that normally the eldest son would receive from his father.
I am spending time on the account of the lineage of the Israeli people because in order to understand what is going on in our world today, we must know our history. We must know and understand that God called His people, Israel, to be separate and apart from the rest of the world, for it is through the nation of Israel that all nations will be blessed through Jesus Christ, who many years later after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would come and offer salvation first to His own people, Israel, and then to the rest of the world, the Gentiles, after His own rejected Him. Now, let us continue reading from Genesis 28:11-22 that describes what happened after Jacob left his father’s house in Beer-sheba and was going to his uncle Laban’s house in Haran:
“And he lighted upon [came to] a certain place, and tarried [stayed] there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father; and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed [descendants]; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful [awesome] is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el [House of God]: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth [a tithe] unto thee.” (Genesis 28:11-22)
In his dream, God told Jacob that He would bring him back into the land where Jacob had laid his head to sleep, the land that He had promised to give Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather and Abraham’s descendants. It was then that Jacob realized the power of God, saying to himself, “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.” (Genesis 28:16). Jacob continued on his way to Haran and drew near to his uncle Laban’s house:
“And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well’s mouth in his place. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day [early in the day], neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.” (Genesis 29:2-11)
In the above Scriptures we read of when Jacob first saw Rachel, who was taking care of her father’s sheep. However, I believe there is a deeper meaning to the Scriptures above, and it relates to Israel and Jesus Christ. We are told that Jacob first saw three flocks of sheep lying by a well. I don’t think it’s coincidence that it specifically says Jacob saw three flocks of sheep. I explain below why I believe three flocks are mentioned and what they represent. We are also told that normally all of the flocks would be gathered by the well and then the stone would be rolled away from the well in order to give water to all of them. Jacob then asked the men that he saw in the field where they were from. When they said they were from Haran, he asked if they knew Laban and if he was well, and they said yes, they knew him and that he was well. They then told Jacob that Laban’s daughter was coming with the sheep. Then Jacob said something that struck me as a little odd. Here Jacob, who had just met these men, began to tell them that they should water Rachel’s sheep and then go and feed them. However, they told him that it wasn’t time yet, for they would wait until all of the flocks would be gathered together and then they would roll the stone from well’s mouth and water all of the sheep. Then something happened that, to me, was very significant, and that was when Jacob went and rolled the stone away and watered the sheep that Leah was tending, which belonged to her father Laban. Now, this is what I believe this may be the deeper meaning of what is written in Genesis 29:2-11, and I believe it is a foreshadowing of the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. It is through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come.
In Genesis 29:2-11, we are first told that normally the shepherds wait until all of the sheep are gathered together in the field before they are watered. Let us contrast that to what happened when Jesus came to earth the first time. When He came the first time, He came to offer salvation to His own, the people of the twelve tribes of Israel, most rejected Him, but some did believe in Him, including some people who were not Jewish, including the Samaritan woman, whom He met at Jacob’s well. Jesus came upon her and asked her to give Him a drink of water:
“Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle [livestock]? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well [fountain] of water sprinkling up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” (John 4:9-15)
Next, Jesus then told the woman to go call her husband, and she told him she had no husband. She must have been shocked that Jesus then said to her that she told the truth and that she had had five husbands previously and the man she was currently with was not her husband. She responded by saying, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.” (John 4:19) Let’s read what happened next:
“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” (John 4:20-25)
Here Jesus was speaking to a woman that the Jews at that time would never think of speaking to, for she was a Samaritan woman, meaning she was half Jewish and half Assyrian, and was shunned by the Jews. But Jesus did speak to her, and He also told her that only He can give her living water. He also told her that He IS the Christ.
Now, returning to what I believe the Scriptures from Genesis 29:2-11 represent. I believe the three flocks of sheep that Jacob saw are represented as follows:
The first flock represents all those who believed in Jesus at His first coming, which included some Jews and, as we read above, those who are a mixed race of Jews, including the Samaritans. We also have Biblical accounts of Gentiles, non-Jews, who believed in Jesus at His first coming and before His death and resurrection. Jacob made sure this first flock of sheep, which belonged to Laban and were kept by Rachel, were watered. Jacob was acting as a good shepherd of the sheep and made sure that this flock was watered. Just as Jacob rolled a stone away in order to water the sheep, acting as a shepherd to the sheep, a stone was rolled away at Jesus’ tomb after the third day of Jesus’ death. Jesus, who is THE Good Shepherd, was not found in the tomb, for He had resurrected to life, and it is He who gives living water freely to anyone and everyone who believes in Him. As Jacob watered this first flock of sheep, Jesus didn’t wait to give living water to those who believed in Him at His first coming.
“Then said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:7-11); “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold [flock], and one shepherd.” (John 10:14-16)The second flock represents primarily the Gentiles who have been saved after Jesus’ ascension to heaven after His first coming and who will be saved up until the end of the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble. This represents the time of the Gentiles as discussed by the apostle Paul in Romans 11:25.
The third flock represents the one-third remnant of the Jews that will be saved by Jesus Himself at His second coming after the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble. This is discussed in Zechariah 13:8-9.
It is interesting to me that Jacob first saw Rachel in the field, when she came with her father’s sheep to a well to water them. In a similar circumstance, Abraham’s servant first saw Rebekah at a well drawing water, and Rebekah eventually married Isaac, Abraham’s son and Jacob’s father. Many years later, it would also be at a well that Moses would see the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, drawing water from a well to water their father’s flock. The shepherds would drive the women away, but Moses would help the women and water their flock. Moses would go on to marry one of the daughters, Zipporah. (Exodus 2:15-21). Water represents life, and without it, our physical lives would end. Living water represents spiritual life, and as Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, only Jesus Christ can give it:
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly [heart] shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38)