Isaiah 49:21

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

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Isaiah 49:21 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 49:21

Then shalt thou say in thine heart
In, a way of admiration, secretly within herself, astonished at the numerous crowds flocking in; who hath begotten me these?
not their natural parents, nor they themselves; for they are not born of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the will
of the flesh;
nor ministers of the Gospel, though they are instruments, yet not the cause; but God only, Father, Son, and Spirit, to whom regeneration is only ascribed: regeneration is a wonderful work of God; it is unaccountable to the natural man; it is amazing to the saints themselves; and it is matter of astonishment to the church of God; especially when on a sudden, and without means, and in great numbers, men are born again; and particularly when these come from among the Gentiles, which seems to be the case here: seeing I have lost my children;
by captivity and the sword, by the tyranny and cruelty of the man of sin: and am desolate;
or alone, as if without a husband, or any to take care of her: this represents the church in the wilderness, during the reign of antichrist, ( Revelation 12:14 ) , while she seems to be forsaken of the Lord her husband, though she is not: and a captive;
to the Romish antichrist; see ( Revelation 13:10 ) : and removing to and fro;
being forced to flee from place to place, by reason of persecution: there is, no doubt, an allusion in all this to the case of the Jews in the Babylonish captivity: and who hath brought up these?
the same that begot them, even the Lord himself; who nourishes and brings up his children with the milk of the Gospel, and the breasts of Gospel ordinances; so that they are brought up from children to young men, from young men to fathers, till they become perfect men; even the church in the wilderness, with her children, are nourished by him, for a time, and times, and half a time, ( Revelation 12:14 ) which is wonderful: behold, I was left alone;
seemingly without husband or children, in a desolate and wilderness state: these, where had they been?
in the ruins of Adam's fall; in a state of darkness; in the graves of sin; in a pit wherein is no water; in the hands of Satan, and among wicked men; even in Babylon itself, but now called out; see ( Revelation 18:4 ) .

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Isaiah 49:21 In-Context

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 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.

The King James Version is in the public domain.