Isaiah 41:8-13

b. GOD'S PEOPLE SAVED

TEXT: Isaiah 41:8-13

8

But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend,

9

thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away;

10

fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11

Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall not be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish.

12

Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

13

For I Jehovah thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

QUERIES

a.

Why is Israel reminded of her servanthood?

b.

When did God bring to nothing those who made war against Israel?

PARAPHRASE

But you, Israel, you are my chosen servant. You have a special heritage to fulfill because you are the descendants of Abraham whom I knew as My friend. Through him I fashioned you as a nation to serve me from out of the midst of heathendom. If I have done all this especially for you I certainly will not desert you if you will carry out your mission of service to Me. Therefore do not fear any of your enemies because I am with you. There is no reason for you to despair. I, Jehovah, am your God and I will give you divine strength and help. Yes, indeed, I will cause you to stand with My righteous and powerful right hand. Wait and seeall those who hate you will be confounded, humiliated and destroyed. Those who oppose you will be annihilated. Even if you go around looking for your enemies you will not be able to find any. I repeat, those who make war against you will be utterly obliterated. It is I, the Lord your Great God, holding on to your right hand. And I say to you I will not let you go so do not be afraid.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 41:8-10 SERVANTHOOD OF ISRAEL: God chose the Hebrews for special servanthood. They were to serve Him as a consecrated, holy priesthood. (cf. Exodus 19:5-6; Leviticus 25:55; Deuteronomy 4:5-7; Deuteronomy 7:6-8; Deuteronomy 14:2; Deuteronomy 26:18-19) By their consecration to His commandments they would be the human agency through which God could send the Redeemer in human flesh. They would also serve as witnesses to the glory of Jehovah to the nations round about them. The Lord did not choose Israel according to human standards, i.e., Israel was not large in population or wealth (Deuteronomy 7:7). He chose Israel by His sovereign gracebecause He loved her (Deuteronomy 7:8; Deuteronomy 10:12-22).

The point of this passage, however, is to allay the fears of the people of Isaiah's day. Isaiah's contemporaries were filled with terror at the threats of Assyria and Babylon. They began to despair that God would ever be able to fulfill His covenant to them. So Isaiah reminds them that if God could take a man like Abraham from a background of heathen idolatry, make him a friend of God and protect, sustain and multiply him into a nation, God can protect His people in Isaiah's day! If God can take that nation, from Abraham's loins, and deliver them from the power and temptations of Egypt, He can certainly deliver Isaiah's Judah from the threats of Assyria and Babylon. And if Isaiah's people will serve God and trust Him, He will fulfill His covenant with them. He is the same God who was with them in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the day of the Judges and in David's day.

Isaiah 41:11-13 SUBJUGATION OF ISRAEL'S ENEMIES: Now the process by which God fulfills His covenant involves the preparation of a people to make them capable of receiving its fulness! This preparation involves discipline, repentance and holiness. The Lord did not take Moses and his people directly from Egypt to Canaan. They demonstrated they were not mature enough for that, so they were disciplined forty years in the wilderness. In Isaiah's day it was apparent God's covenant people needed some severe discipline and serious penitence. Isaiah is attempting to prepare his people spiritually for the coming captivity. He is trying to reorient their thinking about who God is and what He does that they may have faith in Him in spite of the circumstances of the imminent exile.

The troubles of the Jews (called indignation by Daniel) did not cease with the Babylonian exile. Great and powerful enemies opposed the Jews ever after (Babylon, Persia, Greece, Syria, Egypt, Rome, etc.). So, this passage has its fulfillment, not in genetic, national, Israel, but in the children of Abraham according to faith (Romans 4:1-25; Galatians 3:6-9; Galatians 3:15-29). It is readily apparent from the New Testament that God's deliverance of His covenant people from their enemies was not intended to be fulfilled physically, but spiritually (which is more important) (cf. Luke 1:46-55; Luke 1:68-79; Ephesians 6:10-18; Colossians 2:12-15, etc.). It is true, God preserved a physical nation, the Jews, until about 70 A.D. when they were scattered all over the world by the Romans. They are still a dispersed and dispossessed people today (in spite of the fact that a very small percentage of Jews maintain a very tenuous occupation of a portion of Palestine). But even this preservation of a physical nation until 70 A.D. was possible only because a small minority (remnant) of that nation trusted God and hoped in the messianic promises. Now that the Messiah's kingdom has been established physical, national relationship is no longer efficacious with God. Within the Messiah's kingdom there is neither Jew nor Gentile. God has always been interested in the spiritual man (Romans 2:28-29), not just his nationality. The true Israel of God walks by the rule that neither circumcision (Jew) nor uncircumcision (Gentile) counts for anything, but a new creation (Galatians 6:15-16).

If Israel of Isaiah's day will serve the Lord by believing and obeying, He will deliver them from those who would oppose the redemptive work of God in the world. God will deliver the Jews from Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Syria, Egypt and, in the days of the Roman empire He will fulfill His covenant through the Messiah. The Messiah will defeat once and for all the power of the devil. The Messiah will demonstrate historically that God is able to defeat even death. All the promises of God find their Yea! in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

QUIZ

1.

What service was Israel to render as God's servant?

2.

What was the basis upon which God chose Israel as His servant?

3.

What is the point of emphasizing Israel's servanthood?

4.

What enemies will God destroy?

5.

What is the long-range fulfillment of this passage?