Isaiah 42
Notes
Transcript
The Lord’s Chosen Servant
The Lord’s Chosen Servant
We come to chapter 42 this week in the book of Isaiah.
Last week there were two large sections to the chapter 41, the first being that we did not need to fear for the Lord was with us no matter the place we found our self.
The second part of that chapter dealt with the worthlessness of idols.
People put themselves harms way claiming the power of these carved figures of stone or wood. Yet they are nothing.
But even in their idolatrous state, God loved and called them to come back.
He is with us and we take comfort in that as they did in that time
So lets start here with verse 1...
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
As we start off here, we do not know whom the prophet is speaking to, maybe to the general audience but here, we do see God referring to this person or group of people as simply ‘My Servant”.
So instead of the idol worshiping people, he is speaking of His servant.
And notice what God says about this servant… whom I uphold, refers to him as my Chosen and whom my soul delights...
He will uphold the servant to that the servant can do or fulfill God’s will.
My chosen, as a person of Israel, the Lord has called for his specific purposes. Think for a moment, why did God call Abraham? To bring about the Son in due time.
In whom my soul delights.. speaks of divine satisfaction. God is pleased in them, they have a godly characteristic
And so look at what God has done… He says I have put my Spirit in him… so what does that mean? Through the outpouring of God’s Spirit, he is empowered.
Think of Ezek in Ezekiel 2:2
2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
or in Samuel’s work I Sam 16:13
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
And with this empowerment of God, He will do what is right and bring justice to the world.
Now verses 2-3 Isa 42:2-3
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
And here Isaiah also shares what God says the person will not do as he establishes God’s justice upon the earth.
He will not cry out… he will not yell out or scream for righteousness. He will not act like other oppressive demanding kings. The task will be difficult, but the Lord’s servant will not cry out in frustration. Instead, he is guided by patient endurance. God’s servant will have a steadfast spirit.
And the other part of this passage is that he will not crush the weak, but instead will defend them. He will bring justice for all people.
Verse 4 Isa 42:4
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
God’s servant will succeed. The nations will know real justice, a rule that is fair and just in every way.
Verse 5 Isa 42:5
5 Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
So the Lord speaks here, the one who created all that there is is the one who gives breath to his people.
But not only has God given physical life to his people, but the last line says that He has given spiritual life as well. Wow...
So in order to restore the earth, God will someday send his servant to reintroduce the rule of God in a sinful world.
Well we know who that servant is, Jesus is the one who came bringing God’s true justice and redemption.
Verses 6-7 Isa 42:6-7
6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
When God says here I am the Lord to Isaiah, He is proclaiming His personal name, He is YHWH. This should give those listening a confidence that God will do as He has said.
Do they trust God or not?
Do we trust God or not?
He says I have called you into righteousness. God is speaking of His servant here.. Jesus will establish God’s justice in the world.
I will take you my the hand and keep you.... to take his servant and strengthen Him. And to keep him, He is protected from those who would seek to destroy him.
IN a physical sense, think of Jesus as a baby, did the Lord our God not tell Joseph to take Mary and the baby to Egypt to protect them? Yes he did...
In a physical sense, look at Moses, Jeremiah, Daniel or even Job, they did suffer for following God, but He will with them and He brought them back.
The purpose of all this? a light to the nations. Israel were to be a light to the world around them.
If there was ever a sin for the children of Israel, we see they were to be a light to the world but they didn't do this.. they hid their light, they were God’s people and they were not letting anyone else in… they were exclusive instead of being Inclusive.
God’s message was meant to call the nations to God.
Why? To give sight to the blind, to set the captives or prisoners free.
Blinded by the darkness of sin and held in captivity of darkness… But the message of God’s love and forgiveness could set them free.
Now consider this, are we guilty of the same????
Yes, if we are not communicating the gospel messaged we are leaving people dead in their sin and help captive in darkness.
And this is heart breaking my friends....
Verses 8-9 Isa 42:8-9
8 I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
Look at this… that first line is powerful. I am the Lord, that is my name. His divine name speaks of who He is, his character, and key principles that guide His work.
The covenant God, YHWH is the real power that controls the world and his people. He have confidence because of who He is...
God’s purpose is to reveal himself and his salvation to the world. All that the Lord does must bring glory and honor to His name.
think of is, why did God save you… to bring glory to himself. It was His work that blessed us and we praise His name, correct? yes.
One of the proofs that YHWH is the only true God is his ability to predict the former things that have already happened just as He said they would happen.
He has told them in the past and they came to being..
He has told us that the final day will come, we know not the day or the hour of our Lord’s return, but we know and have confidence that he is coming, correct?
Why? Because we love and believe God...
Now verse 10, there is a new call here, lets look..
Verses 10-12 Isa 42:10-12
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
It begins with an exhortation, the people of the world are called to sing a new song to the Lord. Its not really the song of praise is new, but the attitude of the people will change, and thus the praise is new. You can look back and see the call for praise in Ps 33:3 and 40:3 in the text....
But the people are encouraged to sings a new song, people from the ends of the earth. It is a universality of praise to the Lord from all the earth.
From the dessert tribes to the coast lands, tells us that even those who hated Israel. In the dessert we find the Arab tribes to the Edomites, what a glorious transformation that has come…
I think the view here is even those who once were alienated to God will give him praise in the future.
Verse 13 Isa 42:13
13 The Lord goes out like a mighty man,
like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.
The picture here is a God marching out like a mighty man or warrior with a battle cry. God is one who defends, who carries and sustains His people.
so in these first 13 verses we are not clearly shown who the Servant is, but we know it is the Lord. The Lord Jesus was a servant and Messiah. The Lord was one who would heal, lift up and set the captives free.
We should shout from the mountain tops, remember what God has done, the coming Son who died in our place and ascended to heaven is coming again.
Does that make you praise the Lord.
Now lets look at the last section of this chapter, verse 14
14 For a long time I have held my peace;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
I will gasp and pant.
God in the past did not intervene in the lives of His people, but now he can no longer be still or keep quiet.
But now, he is active, not just today but the rest of time.
Now instead of being restrained, He is as vocal as a woman who is in the middle of child birth, hollering...
Verse 15 Isa 42:15
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
and dry up the pools.
In the future, as enemies try to to harm, God will leave nothing for them to desire… it is destroyed or dried up.
Verse 16 Isa 42:16
16 And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.
God says he will lead the blind. He will lead them in a path they have not known, in truth he is leading them back to Him. They were in darkness and not they have been given light to see the pathway they are shown.
And not only that, he will destroy their enemies. He will not forget.
( Some wonder if this refers to them on their way back from Babylon. a future promise revealed, but we are not sure..)
Regardless,, if it is this the truth remains God will not forsake His people and he will keep his promises.
Verse 17 Isa 42:17
17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
who trust in carved idols,
who say to metal images,
“You are our gods.”
But those who still want to trust in idols, those stand warned, they will be turned back and put to shame.
Isaiah has already said that when God lays waste the land (42:15) he will defeat these forces, but here one learns that they will “retreat, return back, take flight” (the verb sûg) in great shame, terms that elsewhere describe the retreat of the Egyptian army (Jer 46:5) and imagne the shame those idolaters will find when they realize their gods are nothing
Now verses 18 -25 make up the ending of this chapter...
Verses 18-19 Isa 42:18-19
18 Hear, you deaf,
and look, you blind, that you may see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf as my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as my dedicated one,
or blind as the servant of the Lord?
here the call is for the blind and deaf, which is really those who are unable to understand and unwilling to follow God’s instruction.
They are called to perceive and know, see and understand what God is doing....
God has not given up on the blind or deaf ones, for they are still his people and he speaks to them so that they can change their behavior
You see they cannot do for God if they remain spiritually bind and deaf, they have to see and follow the Lord to change.
Verse 20 Isa 42:20
20 He sees many things, but does not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.
They were guilty, they knew better to act they way they did… God told them many things through his prophets so they had enough revelation to do better then they did..
But they choose, made the decision to act in a way the violated God’s ways.
Verse 21 Isa 42:21
21 The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,
to magnify his law and make it glorious.
God had told them how to follow his ways… God did not withhold his wishes or hid what was involved in keeping the covenant relationship.
He viewed these divine instructions as a great and glorious revelation of his character, something that would set the wise Israelites apart from the other nations (Deut 4:6).
Verse 22 Isa 42:22
22 But this is a people plundered and looted;
they are all of them trapped in holes
and hidden in prisons;
they have become plunder with none to rescue,
spoil with none to say, “Restore!”
Nevertheless, the people of Israel were not experiencing the joys of a blessed life at this time, for the people “were being plundered and looted,” so the present circumstances of the Israelites were very discouraging
Why was everything so discouraging? They lived at one point blind and deaf, not seeing or or understanding God’s will
The term plundered and looted refers to being invaded and overcome, which we know Nebuchadnezzar did this, taking the young people and the treasures from the temple.
They had no one to rescue them....
Some people fled to the mountains and to caves to hid themselves and or remain safe.
Now lets look at verse 23
23 Who among you will give ear to this,
will attend and listen for the time to come?
Who will hear and listen to this, and act on what God is telling them.
Verses 24-25 Isa 42:24-25
24 Who gave up Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk,
and whose law they would not obey?
25 So he poured on him the heat of his anger
and the might of battle;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.
In their sin, God chastised them, he allowed them to fall into capture and exiled to a foreign land. God allowed this because of sin...
remember what happens when you fail to listen to God word. There are consequences to sin.