What is the meaning of Isaiah 55:4?

Behold

The opening word tells us to stop and focus. God Himself is putting a spotlight on what follows.

• Throughout Scripture this call jolts the reader into attention (John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God,”).

• It underlines the certainty and importance of the promise that is coming (Isaiah 42:1; Revelation 21:5).

---

I have made him

God states an accomplished fact, not a wish or possibility.

• The initiative is divine; no human council appointed this figure. “The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:7).

• The tense reminds us that the Messiah’s role was settled in God’s eternal plan before it unfolded in history (Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:20).

---

a witness to the nations

The Messiah testifies to who God is and what He has done.

• Jesus told Pilate, “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37).

• His life, death, and resurrection display God’s character to every nation, fulfilling Isaiah 42:6, “I will make You… a light for the nations.”

• The global scope is clear: salvation is offered beyond Israel (Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8).

---

a leader and commander of the peoples

The Messiah does more than speak; He rules.

• “The government will rest on His shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6).

• As leader, He guides; as commander, He possesses rightful authority—seen in “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matthew 28:18).

• His commands bring life and peace to those who obey (John 10:27-28).

---

summary

Isaiah 55:4 unveils God’s Messiah as divinely appointed, globally proclaimed, and sovereignly authoritative. God calls us to look (“Behold”), believe that He Himself has accomplished this (“I have made him”), receive the Messiah’s testimony (“a witness to the nations”), and submit to His benevolent rule (“a leader and commander of the peoples”).