ISAIAH 42: “The Lord Says, “Behold My Servant!”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at chapter 41 of Isaiah and how that Isaiah had begun to build upon his theme
of focusing the eyes of a generation not yet born and living 100+ years future
of him of the hope that they have in the Lord fulfilling His promises and
providing deliverance from their captivity which they would be in, as he has
already announced prophetically, in Babylon
1.1.1.
We saw that the whole of
chapter 41 unfolded as a court room scene in which the Lord as judge asks the
nations and it’s leaders to come before His bench and present their case that
they in fact have powers like the Lord to call things into being that did not
exist and to declare the future before it happens
1.1.1.1.We saw that the Lord stands alone among men and gods in His ability to
do these things
1.1.2.
We saw also in this chapter
that Isaiah began to point us to a world ruler who would come into power in the
future and who would conquer the nations and return captive Judea from
1.2.
In our study today, we are
going to look at how Isaiah now introduces us to God’s “ideal servant”
1.2.1.
Isaiah has already mentioned
others as being the servant of the Lord, however now we are going to see God’s
perfect servant begin to be portrayed
1.2.2.
Isaiah is going to continue
to develop this theme of the “ideal servant” throughout the rest of his book
1.2.3.
Again we will see also that
Isaiah is writing to encourage a generation of yet unborn Judeans who are
living in Babylonian captivity
2.
VS 42:1 - “1 ”Behold, My Servant, whom I
uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” - The Lord tells us to behold
His “ideal servant”
2.1.
In this chapter, we read that Isaiah begins
to build upon his theme of the ‘servant’ of Jehovah. Here, in the description of the ‘servant’ we
see that the one referred to must be God’s “ideal
servant”, for the description Isaiah provides does not fit
with the reality of how
2.2.
The title of God’s ‘servant’ is not just
applied by Isaiah to the Messiah who is to come.
2.2.1.
Sometimes Isaiah uses the title of ‘servant’
in reference to
2.2.1.1.We
saw already in Isaiah 41:8,
that the Lord called Israel His servant, “8 “But
you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My
friend.”
2.2.1.2.Likewise,
in Isaiah 49:3-6, Isaiah again uses the
‘servant’ motif in reference to
2.2.2.
We read in Isaiah 20:3
that Isaiah uses the title of ‘servant’ to refer to himself, “3 And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and
barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush.”
2.2.3.
In Isaiah 22:20,
Isaiah uses the title of ‘servant’ for faithful Eliakim, “20 “Then it will come about in that day,That I will summon My
servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah.”
2.3.
Outside of the book of Isaiah, the title of
‘servant’ of Jehovah was given to various of God’s people, for example:
2.3.1.
David:
2 Samuel 3:18.
2.3.2.
Moses:
Num. 12:7.
2.3.3.
Jeremiah:
Jer. 7:25.
2.4.
Barry G. Webb
writes about how that
2.5.
The ‘servant’ of Jehovah described in this
chapter must be Jesus.
2.5.1.
In Matt. 12:15-29,
we read that Matthew, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes that Jesus
did in fact fulfill these first four verses of Isaiah 42, “15 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed
Him, and He healed them all,16 and warned them not to make Him known,17 in
order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled,
saying, 18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well
-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 “He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 “A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to
victory. 21 “And in His name the
Gentiles will hope.” 22 Then there was
brought to Him a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, and He healed him,
so that the dumb man spoke and saw.23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and
began to say, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”24 But when the
Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the
ruler of the demons.”25 And knowing their thoughts He said to them, “Any
kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided
against itself shall not stand.26 “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?27 “And if I by Beelzebul
cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be
your judges.28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the
2.5.2.
In Heb. 3:1-3,
we read about how Jesus was perfect in faithful obedience to the Lord, “1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling,
consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.2 He was faithful
to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.3 For He has been
counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the
house has more honor than the house.”
2.5.3.
In John 8:29,
Jesus testified of Himself that He always did the things that were pleasing to
the Father, “29 “And He who sent Me
is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are
pleasing to Him.””
2.5.4.
In John 15:10,
Jesus testified that He always kept the Lord’s commandments, and thus He always
was abiding in God’s love, “10 “If you keep My
commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s
commandments, and abide in His love.”
2.5.5.
We will see later in chapter 52 and 53 when
Isaiah reveals to us more about this “ideal
servant” that He is the suffering servant who is the Lord
Himself come in human form who takes on the sins of the world and who is
crushed for the iniquities of man.
2.6.
Isaiah testifies in this verse the following about
God’s “ideal servant”:
2.6.1.
The Lord always upholds Him.
2.6.1.1.God
the Father was always giving Jesus the strength to perform the work that He
called Him to do. His hand was always
upon Jesus.
2.6.2.
He is the ‘chosen one:
2.6.2.1.In
Rev. 3:18, Jesus is called the
Lamb chosen before the foundation of the world, “8 And all
that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the
book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
2.6.2.2.Peter
wrote in 1 Peter 1:18-21
that Jesus and what He would come and do in dying for the sins of the world was
foreknown before the foundation of the world, “18 knowing
that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your
futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,19 but with precious blood,
as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.20 For He was
foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last
times for the sake of you21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised
Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
2.6.3.
The Lord testifies that His soul always
‘delights’ in Him.
2.6.3.1.At
both Jesus’ baptism as well as His transfiguration, God the Father testified
during Jesus’ earthly life that Jesus was His beloved Son with whom He was well
pleased. See. Matt. 3:17, Matt. 17:5.
2.6.4.
The Lord testifies that He will put His
Spirit upon him.
2.6.4.1.We
read of Jesus that He was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows,
Heb. 1:9, Isaiah 61:3.
2.6.4.2.We
of course read in the gospel accounts that it was after Jesus’ baptism in water
by John the Baptist that the Holy Spirit came upon Him in power in preparation
for His public ministry.
2.6.5.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2.6.5.1.Justice
was accomplished against the sins of mankind upon the cross of
2.6.5.2.When
Christ establishes His kingdom, He will judge the world in justice and
righteousness, and then He will establish His kingdom based upon righteousness.
3.
VS 42:2 - “2 “He will not cry out or raise
His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.” - The Lord declares that His “ideal servant” to
come will not make His coming known in the most visible way
3.1.
The coming of Jesus was by God’s design
performed in obscurity:
3.1.1.
He was born in
3.1.2.
He was born in a manger (horse stall), not
the temple.
3.1.3.
His mother and Joseph, though descendants of
David, were of the lower class of people and of meager means.
3.1.4.
The announcement of the birth of Jesus by the
angels came to just a handful of men who were shepherds, not to the hundreds of
Levitical priests, and shepherds were known and considered to be men of poor
reputation, at best.
3.2.
Jesus was not obnoxious in His proclamation
of the gospel of the
4.
VS 42:3 - “3 “A bruised reed He will not
break, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” - The Lord declares that His
“ideal servant” will not damage the most tender and delicate reed nor
extinguish the wick whose flame burns most dimly
4.1.
Isaiah prophesies that Jesus, the “ideal servant” to come, will encourage what little faith any
person may have in Him. Nor will He turn
away any who believe in Him yet who also possess great weaknesses in their
character and faith. Yet in doing these
things, the “ideal servant”
will also not compromise one iota of His righteousness and justice.
4.1.1.
This is really an impossible thing to do,
that is unless you have divine enabling, to look beyond the failings and
weaknesses of sinners who deny you and turn their back on you often and yet to
continue to encourage them in the midst of their failings.
4.1.2.
It is only the “agape love” of God that is up
for this task. We Christians need to
realize that we need to trust by faith God to love people through us when they
sometimes can be so difficult to love.
4.1.3.
In my many years as a Christians I have met
only a few people who were gifted by God and His love in such a way that they
seemed always to be able to perform the delicate task of effectively
admonishing and correcting the most difficult of people to love in such a way
that the person was able to receive their correction as from the Lord. We Christians should pray for God to fill us
with His love to such an extent that we could be used in such a great way. This is the way Jesus works in people’s
lives, and I am convinced that He can empower us to do the same if we will just
ask in faith.
5.
VS 42:4 - “4 “He will not be disheartened or
crushed, Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for
His law.”” - The Lord proclaims that the “ideal servant”
will persevere in establishing justice in the earth
5.1.
Jesus is the example for all time of one who
persevered to the end in doing what is right, or living justly.
5.1.1.
The author of the book of Hebrews wrote to us
in Heb. 12:2-3 about how when we are
being tested and persecuted that we ought to continually look to Jesus as our
example and for strength and guidance, “2 fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set
before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.3 For consider Him who has endured such
hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose
heart.”
5.1.2.
Peter wrote in 1 Peter
2:21-23 about how that Christ is our example in suffering
since He continued steadfast in doing what was right in God’s sight without
resorting to taking vengeance in His own hands, “21 For you
have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving
you an example for you to follow in His steps,22 who committed no sin, nor was
any deceit found in His mouth;23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in
return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to
Him who judges righteously.”
5.2.
Isaiah writes that the ‘coastlands’, which is
to say the ends of the earth, will eagerly wait for the “ideal servant’s” law or “instruction”. This then is to say that when the Messiah
begins to reign in His kingdom that He will establish righteousness and justice
in all of the earth.
5.2.1.
In 2 Peter 3:13,
we read about how that when Jesus returns to the earth that His kingdom will be
established in righteousness, “13 But according to His
promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness
dwells.”
6.
VS 42:6-7 - “6 “I am the Lord, I have called
you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And
I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, 7 To
open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon, And those who dwell
in darkness from the prison.” - The Lord speaks to the “ideal servant”
telling him and encouraging him in the calling He has for him
6.1.
These are very interesting words, for these
words were written by the Lord for Jesus, who is God the Son for all eternity,
to read and be encouraged by. They speak
of the fact that the Lord will indeed fulfill the calling and purpose in Jesus’
life which was foreordained for Him before the world was created.
6.2.
Isaiah tells us that Jesus was called ‘in
righteousness’, and the hand of the Lord watched over Him day and night.
6.3.
Isaiah also tells us that Jesus Himself was
appointed ‘as a covenant to the people’.
6.3.1.
In Luke 22:19-20,
Jesus told His disciples on the night in which He was betrayed as He observed
with them their last supper that the cup symbolized the New Covenant in His
blood, for it was the body and blood of Jesus shed for the sins of mankind
which became the means by which men and women may enter into the New Covenant
of Grace with God, “19 And when He had taken
some bread and given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is
My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”20 And in the
same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is
poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”
6.3.2.
Jesus is ‘a light to the nations’ as He
reveals to the world the means by which a person may come to personally have
relationship with the God of the universe.
6.4.
Verse 7 refers to the blessings that
salvation through Christ bring to a person, for when Christ brings a person to
accept Him as his Lord and Savior, He:
6.4.1.
Opens blind eyes.
6.4.2.
Brings out prisoners from the dungeon.
6.4.3.
Brings out those who dwell in a prison of
darkness.
7.
VS 42:8-9 - “8 “I am the Lord, that is My
name; I will not give My glory to
another, Nor My praise to graven images.
9 “Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new
things; Before they spring forth I
proclaim them to you.”” - The Lord declares that He is the Lord and
that He will not give His glory to another, and that He is going to bring a new
thing to pass and tells us about it before it happens
7.1.
The previous chapter of Isaiah (chapter 31)
was a courtroom scene in which the Lord who was the judge asked all of the
nations to come before Him and to present their case that they were like the
Lord in that they were able to bring into being that which did not exist and to
accurately foretell the future before it came to pass. We saw then that the Bible stands alone among
all of the scriptures of the world religions in that it has verifiable
prophesies that it has foretold. And
there aren’t just a few prophesies that have been fulfilled, but literally
several hundreds of these. The Lord has
given us His word which proves itself to be completely accurate and reliable
because of all of the verifiable prophesies it contains. The only prophesies in it which are
unfulfilled relate to events which remain yet future of us here today.
7.1.1.
In these verses, the Lord relates to us that
by His telling us of events to occur before they come to pass that He is
demonstrating that He alone is to receive glory. He tells us specifically also that He will
not give His glory to another! Any man
or nation that seeks to get some of the Lord’s glory shall in due time be
brought down so that for all eternity it shall be the Lord and Him alone who is
glorified!
7.2.
Here again we are brought face to face with
the Lord again declaring that He stands alone in that He is able to accurately
foretell the future. The first seven verses
of this chapter relate prophetically to the “ideal
servant”, and the things that he will accomplish, and yet
standing from our vantage point in history we know that Jesus Christ literally
fulfilled each of those things prophesied.
7.3.
Isaiah however is also going to return to the
prophetic word concerning his calling of
8.
VS 42:10-13 - “10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands and those who dwell on them. 11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up
their voices, The settlements where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let
them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory to the Lord, And
declare His praise in the coastlands. 13
The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of
war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will
raise a war cry. He will prevail against
His enemies.” - Isaiah admonishes to sing to the Lord a new
song and for all of the earth to praise the Lord because in time ‘He will
prevail against His enemies’
8.1.
We do not want to lose track of the fact that
in this chapter that Isaiah is continuing, as He had begun in chapter 40, to
give encouragement to a generation yet unborn who would live 100+ years after
his writing and who would be captive in Babylon, having been given up by the
Lord to be conquered because of the sins of the nation in turning away from the
Lord. The encouragement that Isaiah then
gives in these verses is encouragement to know that the Lord has promised that
He will in fact prevail against His enemies, and thus against Babylon, as He moves
to bring His people out of captivity back into their land to rebuild and
restore the city, temple, and wall of the city.
8.2.
Isaiah calls upon all of the ends of the
earth to sing a new song to the Lord in worship because He promises that He
will prevail over His enemies. Then,
Isaiah specifically calls the settlements of Kedar and Sela specifically to
sing in worship to the Lord.
8.2.1.
The New Bible
Dictionary has the following entry defining who ‘Kedar’ is, which is told by Isaiah to lift up their
voices to the Lord, “Nomadic tribesfolk of the Syro-Arabian desert from
8.2.2.
The New Bible
Dictionary has the following entry defining who ‘Sela’ is, which is likewise told by Isaiah to lift up
their voices and sing aloud to the Lord, “Etymologically the Heb. word (has-)selaÔ, means ‘(the) rock’ or ‘cliff and may be used of any
rocky place. The name occurs several times in the Bible. A fortress city of
8.3.
The peoples of all nations are called upon to
sing to the Lord a new song, a song of joy, and to bring the Lord praise and
glory because He will conquer every one of His enemies.
8.3.1.
The wilderness areas as well as Kedar and
Sela are possibly mentioned because the Lord knew that some of the people of
Judea would be relocated by
9.
VS 42:14-16 - “14 “I have kept silent for a
long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I
will both gasp and pant. 15 “I will lay
waste the mountains and hills, And wither all their vegetation; I will make the rivers into coastlands, And
dry up the ponds. 16 “And I will lead
the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide
them. I will make darkness into light
before them And rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone.”” - The Lord tells captive Judea
that though He has kept silent and not acted on their behalf as of yet, He is
not going to restrain Himself any longer, He will come and lead them out of
Babylon back to their own land
9.1.
The people of captive Judea would need
encouragement that the Lord would guide them in their trek back to their land
from
10.
VS 42:17-20 - “17 They shall be turned back and
be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to molten images, “You are
our gods.” 18 Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see. 19 Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as
My messenger whom I send? Who is so
blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord? 20 You have seen many things, but you do not
observe them; Your ears are open, but
none hears.” - The Lord chides those who are spiritually
blind to the truth because of their idolatry
10.1.
Isaiah tells us that the idolater shall be
put to shame, for in time they will see that the Lord is God and that there is
none like Him in all of the earth.
10.2.
10.2.1.The
Lord asks them the rhetorical question of, “Who is spiritually blind yet His
servant?”
10.2.1.1.The
assumed answer is that a servant of the Lord could never be spiritually blind,
for that would be an inconsistent statement for the Lord opens the eyes of the
blind.
10.2.2.The
Lord asks them the rhetorical question of, “Who is so spiritually blind that he
is at peace with the Lord?”
10.2.2.1.Being
spiritually blind and being at peace with the Lord are incongruous concepts
because it is seeing the truth for what it is that brings a person to be at
peace with God.
10.2.3.The
Lord asks them the rhetorical question of, “Who is so spiritually blind as the
servant of the Lord?”
10.2.3.1.Again
these are mutually exclusive concepts.
The servant of the Lord has to see things as they truly are in order to
know the Lord and be called to serve Him, therefore that person cannot be
spiritually blind.
10.2.4.Isaiah
tells the Judeans that they have seen things that the Lord has done and yet
they have not really cared to pay attention to those things and thus they are
spiritually blind. They had heard the
Lord’s word and what He promised to do and yet they had not really paid
attention to that message, therefore they were ignorant of the things of the
Lord, for the most part.
11.
VS 42:21-25 - “21 The Lord was pleased for His
righteousness’ sake To make the law great and glorious. 22 But this is a people plundered and
despoiled; All of them are trapped in
caves, Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become a prey with none to deliver them, And a spoil, with
none to say, “Give them back!” 23 Who
among you will give ear to this? Who
will give heed and listen hereafter? 24
Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and
11.1.
Again we see that the Lord is using Isaiah to
speak to a generation of Judeans who would live 100+ years after the time of
his writing and that He is seeking to encourage them that the Lord knows their
condition and that He is fulfilling His purposes through the things that they
are going through.
11.2.
Isaiah knew that captive
11.2.1.In
our day when the terrorists bombed the
11.3.
The people of
11.4.
Isaiah tells us that Jacob was given up for
spoil to it’s plunderers because they had sinned and not walked in the ways of
the Lord. They had disobeyed the law of
God, and thus the Lord poured out upon them the ‘heat of His anger and the
fierceness of battle’.
11.5.
Even though they had been taken captive by
the Babylonians, just as the Lord had promised through Isaiah would happen, yet
initially they still did not recognize that this had happened because they had
sinned against the Lord going their own way and not paying attention to Him and
His word.
11.6.
Isaiah writes these things to