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 Isaiah 42: 1-9

In the last chapter, God called Israel His ‘’servant’’. But gradually this ‘servant’ emerges out of the mass of Israel as an individual: ‘’him’’ / ‘’He’’. In the New Testament, the gospel writer Matthew applied these words to Christ (Matthew 12:15-21). God says in Isaiah 42 that He ‘delights’ in the Messiah (1), and this reminds us of words used at Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:10, 11). He also says, ‘’I will put my Spirit on him…’’ (1), and that is precisely what happened with Jesus (Isaiah 11:2; Mark 1:10; John 3:34). God describes His servant as a gentle person and not a rabble-rouser (2). ‘’He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant…’’ The Message. Without faltering or turning back, he will establish justice on the earth (Isaiah 9:6, 7), and in His ‘’law’’ (His Word, His Gospel) the ‘’islands’’ (the remotest nations on earth) will place their hope (4). There is a breath-taking breadth of vision in these few verses: …’he’ll steadily and firmly set things right. He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped until he’s finished his work – to set things right on earth.’’ The Message. We can feel discouraged as we witness something of the mass of injustice in the world.                                                                                                                                                                                          But Jesus never becomes downcast as He works unfalteringly to establish justice everywhere (1b, 3b and 4).

In (5-7) the Lord addresses His servant directly. How these words have been fulfilled (and are still being) in Jesus. He came as ‘’a light for the Gentiles’’ (6b; see Luke 2:28-32; John 1:9; 8:12) He did (and He is still doing) the work described in (7; see Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18). Note particularly the words ‘’I…have made you to be a covenant for the people…’ (6). Only Jesus could be a ‘covenant’, uniting God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5). His own blood sealed the covenant (Mark 14:23, 24). By His death on the cross He brought in the new covenant (see Jer.31:31-34; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:8-13). ‘’I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations…’’ The Message.

There would be a ‘’new’’ thing happening in the coming of Jesus (8, 9). Long before He came, God said that this would happen. Here is something that no idol could ever do (41:21-29), and to God alone be all the glory! Jesus appeared on earth in fulfilment of many prophecies. In chapter 42 we have one of them. ‘’Verse 3…has been a great comfort to believers down through the centuries. We often face times in our lives when we feel bruised, when our spirits are smouldering, almost burnt out, times when we feel that just one more blow would break us completely. If we will but turn to Christ at such times, we can be sure that He will not allow us to suffer more than we can endure. We can be sure that whatever we experience will be for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).’’ Tom Hale: ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary; p.1041.

‘’Weakness, weariness, and sin, never fail to draw forth the deepest sympathy from the Lord Jesus. Nothing lays a stronger hold upon Him, or brings Him more swiftly to our side. At home our mother was always sweet but sweetest when we were ill or weary…those who are most bruised and struggling get the tenderest manifestations of his love. He resembles the strong man, with muscles like iron, and who stands like a rock, but who will bend in tears and tenderness over his cripple-child.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’; p.285

Prayer: Thank you Lord that justice will triumph in this world because of Jesus; and thank you for your love for even me!

Isaiah 41:21-29

In (21-24) the courtroom scene of (1) resumes, but now it is the idols of the nations who are on trial. God challenges them to explain the past or accurately predict the future (22, 23). Let them at least ‘’Do something’’ to show that they exist. But they can’t because they are not real. ‘’Ask them, ‘If you are gods, explain what the past means – or, failing that, tell us what will happen in the future. Can’t do that? How about doing something – anything! Good or bad – whatever. Can you hurt us or help us? Do we need to be afraid?’ They say nothing, because they are nothing – sham gods, no-gods, fool-making gods.’’ The Message. The word ‘’detestable’’ (24) was usually kept for heathen rites or idols (e.g.44:19). Transferred to the worshipper it shows how serious an issue it is to choose a lie for your ultimate allegiance. This point is followed through in Romans 1: 18-32. As someone said, a religion can only be as good as its gods. We will take on the character of what we bow down to

God could do what no idol was able to do (25-29). He could predict the future. This chapter is proof of it. God’s mention of Cyrus a century before his birth shows that He can do what no idol can. He is omniscient – all-knowing. These verses would touch the pagan world on a sore spot since divination was a major concern (see 47:13). The reference is again to Cyrus king of Persia in (25). Compare this with (2) where he is referred to as ‘’one from the east.’’ Cyrus originally entered the Babylonian Empire from the East. However, before invading Babylon itself, he conquered the kingdoms of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), and only then turned south towards Babylon. So there is no contradiction. It is accurate to say that he came from both ‘’the east’’ and ‘’the north’’. In all of this we must not miss the all-important point about the sovereignty of God. It was the Lord who ‘’stirred’’ him ‘’up’’ (2, 25). ‘’History is His story!’’

‘’…who calls on my name’’ (25) must be taken with (45:4). Cyrus would invoke the Lord’s name (Ezra 1:2, 3), but not as a genuine convert. This is indirectly supported by his inscriptions, which diplomatically attribute his victories to the gods of the peoples he conquered. There’s nothing new about politicians using religion to win over a crowd!

Prayer: Thank you Lord that we have a God who does things. You are alive and you show yourself to be real.

Isaiah 41: 8-20

‘’But you, O Israel, my servant…’’ (8a). There is a sharp contrast drawn between God’s people and the other nations (1-7). Israel did not have to fear Cyrus or Babylon, for Cyrus was working for God and Babylon would be no more. God was going to deal with the enemies of His people. The nations being attacked by Cyrus did have cause to fear, but God’s chosen people had no reason to feel afraid or ‘’dismayed’’ for God would ‘’strengthen’’ and ‘’help’’ and ‘’uphold’’ them (8-10). (By the way, the reference in verse 9 is probably to the call Abraham received when he was in Ur. At that time it seemed like the ‘’farthest’’ corner of the earth.) This morning a friend of mine posted a prayer request on ‘Facebook’ for persecuted Christians in Baghdad. He expressed a desire that God would deliver them, just as He did for Israel at the Red Sea. I could only say a hearty ‘Amen’ to that! Here is another passage in the Bible in which God assures His people that He will defeat their enemies (11-16): ‘’I myself will help you’’ He says (14) See how God transforms people and places (14-20):

• God transforms people (14-16). Israel could be described as a ‘’worm’’ because of her lowly and depressed state in exile. But God will take His weak and helpless people and turn them into instruments of judgment against the nations who oppose them. (In the Bible, threshing and winnowing are pictures of judgment.) Warren Wiersnbe says that ‘’servant’’ defined what they were by God’s grace and calling, but ‘’worm’’ speaks of what they were in themselves. It was what they saw when they looked in the mirror: ‘’Imagine a worm getting teeth and threshing mountains into dust like chaff! As the nation marched ahead by faith, every mountain and hill would be brought low (40:4), and the Lord would turn mountains into molehills!’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Old Testament), p.1186. God uses small things to accomplish great tasks (1 Corinthians 1:26-27).
• God transforms places (17-20): These verses call to mind God’s supernatural provision for Israel in the desert. We see God changing the desert into a place of overflowing fertility. This is a totally unexpected scenario. When God does things that people obviously could not do, the glory goes to Him (20).

God can still speak to us in personal ways through these ancient words. They are ‘ever new’. I remember sitting in a house in Bristol early one Sunday morning in 1978. I was in my last year at Bible cottage and had been sent as part of a small team to lead the service at one of my denomination’s largest and most renowned churches. It was my responsibility to speak at the morning service, to a bigger crowd than I had ever stood before previously. I rose early to finalise my preparations, and as I sat on that sofa in a home where I was a guest, I saw a ‘worm’ reflected in the mirror. But as I recall it the words in (13, 14) brought encouragement to me, and I truly did know God’s help.

‘’All this stands against a realistic background of an Israel cowed (e.g. vs 10-11) and puny (e.g. v 14), a fit starting point for God’s grace. A threshing-sledge, by contrast, was the most solid of objects, being made of heavy boards, flint-studded; it was dragged over the reaped corn to break open the ears, which were then winnowed by tossing them to allow the husks to be blown away (16). The huge scale of the metaphor must have seemed belied by the ‘day of small things’ that followed the return from Babylon, yet it does not exaggerate the importance of God’s people on the world, past and to come.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, pp.656, 657.

Prayer: Lord I need your help today. I am nothing without you. Make me your sharp instrument.

Isaiah 41:1-7

‘’Silence in court!’’

The chapter opens with God calling the ‘’nations’’ together at ‘’the place of judgment’’ (1). He summons them to an imaginary courtroom and challenges them to speak in their defence. These are the nations who are hostile to His people. They will need ‘’strength’’ because, as we will see, He is going to challenge them to display the power and knowledge that He Himself possesses (21-29). They will not be up to this encounter with the awesome God who dominates the chapter, and the book as a whole. It will be a formidable meeting. Who can stand before His Holy presence, apart from being clothed in the righteousness of Christ?

The ‘’one from the east’’ is Cyrus king of Persia (2-4). Isaiah later identifies him by name (44:28). It would be another hundred years before Cyrus’ birth. Yet God (and Isaiah, because of God) knew that this man would be called into God’s service to free the Jewish exiles from captivity and restore them to their land (Ezra 1:1-4). When it says that God called him ‘’in righteousness to his service’’ (2), it doesn’t mean that Cyrus was himself righteous, but that God would use him to fulfil a righteous purpose, namely the restoration of His people. God will be with Cyrus, just as He has been (and will be) with every generation in history (4), from ‘’first’’ to the ‘’last’’ (see Revelation 22:13). He is the Lord of history; the eternal God. It’s not surprising, then, that He could foretell the coming of Cyrus. ‘’Who did this? Who made it happen? Who always gets things started? I did. GOD. I’m first on the scene. I’m also the last to leave.’’ The Message. From a human perspective, Cyrus was a political giant; a great, and even terrifying, leader: ‘’…pulverizing nations into dust, leaving only stubble and chaff in his wake.’’ The Message. But we get to see the larger perspective that he was in fact an instrument in God’s Hand to get His work done.

The people of the world will see Cyrus coming and ‘’tremble’’ (5). They will attempt to form alliances against him, but all to no avail (6). Their leaders will try to strengthen morale, even while their craftsmen attempt to build better idols (7). But Cyrus will prove unstoppable. ‘’Far-flung ocean islands see it and panic. The ends of the earth are shaken. Fearfully they huddle together. They try to help each other out, making up stories in the dark. The godmakers in the workshops go into overtime production, crafting new models of no-gods, Urging one another on – ‘Good job!’ ‘Great design!’ – pounding nails in at the base so that the things won’t tip over.’’ The Message.

The reference to Cyrus being called ‘’to his service’’ (4) is literally ‘to his foot’, i.e. to follow at His heels (see Judges 4:10). The true Commander here is the great ‘’I am’’, the Lord of history (4; see 45:2, 4).

Perhaps, today, we need this reminder that no frighteningly powerful individuals are in control of the world. There may be those who are permitted to cause mayhem for a time. But the Sovereign Lord of history is in ultimate control. Ultimately, we all have a date booked to appear in His courtroom.

Prayer: Lord God Almighty, help me to lift my eyes to your throne, and know that you are in control of all things.