It doesnt take much to notice that getting inked is very popular these days. Some tattoos are so small that one barely notices them. Othersfrom athletes to actors to everyday peoplehave opted to cover much of their bodies with multicolored inks, words, and designs. The trend seems like its here to stay, a trend that netted $3 billion in revenue in 2014and an additional $66 million for tattoo removal.
Regardless of how you may feel about tattoos, Isaiah 44 speaks metaphorically about people writing something on their hands: The Lords (v. 5). This self-tattoo is the climax of an entire paragraph that speaks of the Lords care for those He had chosen (v. 1). They could count on His help (v. 2); and their land and descendants were marked for blessing (v. 3). Two simple, powerful words, The Lords, affirmed that Gods people knew they were His possession and that He would take care of them.
Those who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ can confidently say of themselves, The Lords! We are His people, His sheep, His offspring, His inheritance, His dwelling. These are the things we cling to in the varied seasons of life. While we may have no external mark or tattoo, we can take heart that we have the witness of Gods Spirit in our hearts that we belong to Him (see Romans 8:1617).
INSIGHT
Isaiah was the most prolific of the writing prophets, but the great size of his book is eclipsed in importance by its content. Commentator John Gill wrote: He should rather be called an evangelist than a prophet . . . certain it is that no one writes so fully and clearly of the person, offices, grace, and kingdom of Christ; of his incarnation and birth of a virgin; of his sufferings and death, and the glory that should follow, as [Isaiah] does. Isaiahs focus on Messiah and His mission was vital to preparing the way for Christs coming, for it provided Israel with critical identifiers of Christ and certain hope in His promised victory.
For more on Isaiah, check out Knowing God Through Isaiah at discoveryseries.org/sb151.