Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap.

Today we hit one of the most important sections of prophecy in the Old Testament.

I can't wait to talk about those sections, but let's start in chapter 49.

First, you may be wondering who exactly the text is referring to when it uses the word

coastlands. One of the first verses we read said, listen to me, oh coastlands, the general

opinion is that this is a catch all word for all the nations of the world reaching to

the far corners of the earth. God tells Israel, I will make you as a light for the nations

that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. He says that although Israel is a

despised nation, he's chosen them and will use them to bless all the nations that despise

them. So how will he do that and what exactly has he chosen them for? He's chosen them

to be the lineage of the Messiah and that Messiah will say people from among every nation.

His love will reach to those who hate him and the people of his lineage and then he will

turn his enemies into his family. In the meantime though, Israel feels forgotten and ashamed.

Waiting can feel shameful and lonely. I'm sure you can relate. But God says those who

wait for me shall not be put to shame. He reminds them that he cannot forget his people.

They're engraved on the palms of his hands. By the way, I used to think this was a reference

to Jesus and the nail marks in his hands and maybe it is, but then I learned that Roman

crucifixion put the nails in the wrist between the radius and all the bones, not in the palms

of the hands. So who knows?

Chapter 50 brings us some beautiful prophecies of Christ. Here are a few of the things it

says to point us to him. Verse 4 says he knows how to sustain with a word, him who is weary.

This reminds me of the way Jesus spoke to so many people he encountered. From the woman

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