Isaiah 42 - A Tale of Two Servants.

This chapter continues with the theme of the preceding one - showing the provision of redemption in the Promised One, how He is to be praised by His people; and showing the depravity of man and his desperate need of redemption.

Isaiah 42:1-4 (HCSB) “This is My Servant; I strengthen Him, ⌊this is⌋ My Chosen One; I delight in Him. I have put My Spirit on Him; He will bring justice to the nations. He will not cry out or shout or make His voice heard in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick; He will faithfully bring justice. He will not grow weak or be discouraged until He has established justice on earth. The islands will wait for His instruction.”

We need to see a few things here: This Servant is the Chosen One of God, the One in Who God delights. Six times we read of what this Servant WILL DO, not try to do, not fail to do. He will bring justice to the nations; not open His mouth in His own defense; not break a bruised reed; will establish justice on the earth. Also, the Spirit of God has put on Him - just as the dove settled on Christ when He was baptized.

Some theologians say God speaks of national Israel here, but every sentence in this paragraph reveals that which is assigned to the Christ and which no mortal man or group of men can do. The next paragraph continues this description; again, a quote from God the Father.

Isaiah 42:5-9 (HCSB) This is what God, Yahweh, says— 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 life to those who walk on it— “I, Yahweh, have called You for a righteous ⌊purpose⌋, and I will hold You by Your hand. I will keep You and appoint You ⌊to be⌋ a covenant for the people ⌊and⌋ a light to the nations, in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, ⌊and⌋ those sitting in darkness from the prison house. I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols. The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur.”

As if the people had forgotten who He is, YWHW reminds them He is the Creator, the One who gives life and breath to those who dwell on earth. About this Servant from the first 4 verses, YHWH says He was called for a righteous purpose and will be kept - the serpent will not gain victory! This Servant will be a covenant for the people, a light to the nations; He will give sight to the blind and free the prisoners. This is the work of the Messiah, not the Hebrew nation! These are things said about Him in the gospel accounts! John describes Jesus as the light that came into the world; Jesus told John the Baptist's disciples, when asked whether He was the Christ, to tell John that the blind were given sight along with other healings. Jesus cut the New Covenant with His blood - He is the covenant of redemption for His people. Those who were blind to the light of truth were given sight to see Him!

And the Father will not give His glory to another - He shares it with and gains it from the faithful Servant! No idols or deaf and mute gods can share in this. God declares what WILL happen - as He did in verses 1 - 4; He announces what will be, whereas man cannot even boast that he will have life when the sun comes up.

All of this talk from God about Himself and what His Servant WILL DO give the people of Israel every reason to praise Him.

Isaiah 42:10-13 (HCSB) Sing a new song to the LORD; ⌊sing⌋ His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea with all that fills it, you islands with your inhabitants. Let the desert and its cities shout, the settlements where Kedar dwells ⌊cry aloud⌋. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops. Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands. The LORD advances like a warrior; He stirs up His zeal like a soldier. He shouts, He roars aloud, He prevails over His enemies.

People are said to "sing a new song" in Isaiah, Psalms, and Revelation. Nearly all these are songs about YHWH as the victorious warrior. Most of this paragraph calls out to everyone, from deserts to islands to mountains - let everyone sing for joy and give Him glory and praise! BECAUSE YHWH is a warrior Who roars loudly and, with zeal, He prevails over His enemies. Note this: even in this song, God is praised for being victorious over His enemies, not Israel's enemies. All of history is about God just as all of Scripture is about His faithful Servant.

Isaiah 42:14-17 (HCSB) “I have kept silent from ages past; I have been quiet and restrained Myself. ⌊But now,⌋ I will groan like a woman in labor, gasping breathlessly. I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into islands and dry up marshes. I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not forsake them. They will be turned back ⌊and⌋ utterly ashamed— those who trust in idols and say to metal-plated images: You are our gods!

God answers them. He has been quiet in the past, only revealing Himself to a few. He restrained Himself so national Israel would not be consumed before the fullness of time. BUT NOW, He says, there will be noise of labor and He will judge the earth - laying waste the mountains and countryside. And He will lead the blind, turn their darkness to light; make their path straight and level. This echoes what the Servant WILL DO in the first part of this chapter, tying together God the Father with His faithful Servant. There is a remnant not forsaken as He judges the world. But those who trust in the work of their hands will turn back from Him in shame. "And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong. They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Although they know full well God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them." (Romans 1:28-32)

God then turns His attention directly on the nation of Israel, addressing the unfaithful servant.

Isaiah 42:18-20 (HCSB) “Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see. Who is blind but My servant, or deaf like My messenger I am sending? Who is blind like ⌊My⌋ dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the LORD? Though seeing many things, you do not obey. Though ⌊his⌋ ears are open, he does not listen.”

These are the people Isaiah was sent to prophecy to; recall from chapter 6:  "Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed." Though He had called them out of the dust of humanity to be His covenant people, they were blind, deaf, disobedient; unable to see or hear the truth told to them.

Isaiah 42:21 (HCSB) The LORD was pleased, because of His righteousness, to magnify ⌊His⌋ instruction and make it glorious.

We might wonder why God's prophets were told to do things that were rejected by people; we might wonder why we should proclaim the gospel when so many will not hear it. Here we see why: God is pleased to make His instructions known - write it large so all can see! - because His instructions are glorious and He is righteous. This ought to be reason enough for us, ya think? I pray it is for me.

Isaiah 42:22-25 (HCSB) But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in holes or imprisoned in dungeons. They have become plunder with no one to rescue ⌊them⌋ and loot, with no one saying, “Give ⌊it⌋ back!” Who among you will pay attention to this? Let him listen and obey in the future. Who gave Jacob tones the robber, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD? Have we not sinned against Him? They were not willing to walk in His ways, and they would not listen to His instruction. So He poured out on Jacob His furious anger and the power of war. It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know ⌊it⌋; it burned him, but he paid no attention.

But this people - those led into the promised land by Joshua and Caleb - were plundered and looted with no one to rescue them. Was there any among them that would learn a lesson, to do better next time? Because ethnic Israel was unfaithful as God's servant, they would not listen to His glorious teaching; He gave them over to be plundered. By way of Assyria and Babylon, YWHW poured out His fury and power on Jacob/Israel - but he paid no attention. There was no repentance among most of Israel, merely a longing to have comfort and safety again.

Brothers and sisters - this world is not our home and while we are to be thankful for comfort and safety, these cannot be our first priority. We must seek diligently to listen to God, study His Word, walk as obedient children in this wicked world - for His glory! For if we are His, we display His righteousness to the world as we do so.