Isaiah 42:1-9

3. COVENANT, CHAPTER 42
a. SEE MY SERVANT

TEXT: Isaiah 42:1-9

1

Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

2

He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.

3

A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.

4

He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.

5

Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

6

I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

7

to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prisonhouse.

8

I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images.

9

Behold, the former things are come to pass, and the new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

QUERIES

a.

Who is the servant?

b.

What is meant by he will not cry, nor lift up his voice. etc.?

c.

What does the name Jehovah mean?

PARAPHRASE

Look! by faith see My Servant-Messiah whom I shall give My full support. He shall be sent as My chosen One, and My delight in Him shall be made manifest. I will demonstrate that I have put My Spirit upon Him. He will accomplish justice for the people of all nations. He will not be loud and boisterous. He will be gentle, meek and humble and will not practice self-seeking methods. He will not crush and exploit the helpless nor extinguish hope and faith. He will establish real justice and real truth. He Himself will not be quenched or bruised until He accomplishes His mission to establish justice for all mankind. All mankind waits for His truth. This is what Almighty God, Creator of the heavens, Creator of the earth and the green grass, Creator of life, breath and spirit in all men who live upon the earth affirms: I Am Jehovah, Covenant-God, and I have called You, My Servant, to a covenant of righteousness. I have made solemn promise to You to clasp Your hand in Mine and to protect You. It is My purpose to give You for a covenant of Mine for all peopleseven a light to the pagans. I, Jehovah, am giving you to open the eyes of men's minds which have been blinded by sin, to deliver all men who are imprisoned and enslaved in the dungeon of unbelief. I am Jehovah, Faithful-Promiser, that is My express nature; I share this glory with no other, least of all gods of wood and stone. Everything I, Jehovah, foretold in the past came to pass just as I said it would. These new things I tell you about My Servant will just as surely come to pass even though I tell you before they happen.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 42:1-4 CHARACTER OF THE SERVANT: The word -avediy is the Hebrew word for bond servant. There is another word, sakiyr, meaning hired servant. This is the Messiah! That is evident from Matthew 12:17-21. When the Incarnate God came to man, He came as a servantthe lowliest of servantsa slave (cf. Philippians 2:7 doulou, Gr. for slave). Bekhiyriy means choice one and ratsethah means willing acceptance (or delight). Of all the servants at Jehovah's disposal, this One was the only acceptable One and so God chose Him. This Servant stands in peculiar relationship to Jehovah, He is the Son (cf. John 1:18, etc.). This makes His servanthood astounding. Many servants have been elevated to sonshipbut no father wants his son to suffer the indignities of servanthood (cf. Philippians 2:5 ff; Luke 15:19 ff). This Servant will be sustained by the Spirit of the Living God upon Him. He will have God's Spirit without measure (John 3:31-36) and in Him will all the fulness of God dwell (Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9). The Son is the only servant fit to establish the Father's covenant. He will come with all authority and faithfulness of the Father to deliver judgment, mishphat, in this instance meaning justice, to the goiym (Gentiles).

The nature of the Servant of Jehovah will be diametrically opposed to all human concepts of saviourhood or messiahship. He will not put on a huge show and make a lot of noise. He will not advertise nor hire a public relations man to create for Him a popular image. He will not call attention to Himself merely for His own satisfaction. He will not seek His own glory (cf. John 5:41; John 8:50). He comes humbly (cf. Zechariah 9:9). He comes to save, not to win the acclaim of men. He comes to serve, not to be served. Most human saviours and deliverers reach their positions of power by exploitation, to one degree or another, of those less talented, poorer, or weaker than they. The world expects its messiahs to be ruthless, proud, indulgent and patronizing. Nietzsche's Superman was to be the result of elimination of all the weak people of the world. Nietzsche advocated breaking and crushing all the bruised reeds and quenching all the dimly burning wicks. His philosophy declared all Jews and Christians weak. Adolph Hitler believed Nietzsche. Hitler was the self-acclaimed messiah of the German people. There have been politicians in our own country subscribing to the same philosophy. Their idea is that the masses are too ignorant to know what is best for them; break them, quench them; then patronize them with all-encompassing government. But the Servant of Jehovah comes to be a servant of the bruised and dimly-burning. He comes to heal and help. He will be a King who serves His subjectseven to die for them. He will search their hearts and personalities and find any spark of good and fan it, if possible, into a flame of faith and holiness. He will pour Himself into them to give them a power to reach their highest potential. He does not befriend them to take from them, but to give to them. This servant will be a suffering Servant (Isaiah 53:1-12); He will be a shepherding Servant who tenderly feeds the sheep, not one who devours the flock (Ezekiel 34:1-31). The Servant of Jehovah will establish what is right (justice) by what is true (in truth). He will not be fooled by appearances; He will not judge by partiality; He will not accept or practice falsehood. He will personify absolute truth.

There is an interesting play-on-words between Isaiah 42:4; Isaiah 42:3. In Isaiah 42:3 the verbs ratsuts (bruised) and kehah (growing dim) are used again in different form yikeheh (He will not grow dim) and yaruts (He will not be crushed) in Isaiah 42:4. He will, in the flesh, in servant-form, be victorious and able to help the crushed and quenched! (cf. Hebrews 4:14-16).

Isaiah 42:5-9 COMMISSION OF THE SERVANT: God's Servant will come (a) with all the power of the Almighty Creator, (b) in divine righteousness, (c) in divine fellowship, (d) as the covenant of God personified, (e) to deliver, (f) and to fulfill the promises of Jehovah and thus to glorify Him.

This Servant will be sent with all the authority and power of Jehovah. He will have creative power resident in Him. He will do the work of the One and Only True God. The implication of Isaiah 42:5-6 are that the Servant will have all the power to create matter and life that Jehovah has. But the most important mission of the Servant will be righteousness and for a covenant. The Servant's primary objective will be to involve the Gentiles! This is no covenant of commandments, only, but a covenant whose terms and relationships are in a Person, a Life, the Son of God. The Servant Himself will come as Man to accomplish and earn the covenant relationship with Jehovah by suffering the penalty of man's breaking covenant (cf. Matthew 26:26-29; Matthew 20:28; Luke 24:44-49; Hebrews 10:1-25, etc.). Men may enter into that covenant by a relationship of personal faith in Him and His redemptive work, allowing that faith to produce His character in them. The Servant furnishes the righteousnessthe covenant-members receive it by faith and obedience. The main thrust of Jesus-' ministry was to persuade His people that He was equal with the Creator and that the Covenant of Jehovah was to be Personified in Him. Both of these concepts were rejected and despised by the main body of Jewish people in Jesus-' day, not because Jesus failed to demonstrate evidence to substantiate His claims, but because they did not have the love of God in their hearts (cf. John, ch. 7, 8, 9).

To understand the primary meaning of the prediction that the Servant will open the blind eyes, and bring out the prisoners, etc., one must compare Isaiah 61:1-2 with Luke 4:16 f. Jesus did not do many mighty works in Nazareth, and yet He declared the release of captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, was being fulfilled in the very act of preaching the good news to the poor there in Nazareth. So, this mission of the Messiah-Servant is not to find its ultimate fulfillment in physical healing alone.

The people of Isaiah's day may as well stop worshipping idols for the glory of Jehovah will be manifested in only one, Himself, Incarnate in the Servant-Son. This is final, absolute and certain to come to pass. Just as surely as the former things God predicted through previous prophets (Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Elijah, et al.) so these new things which Jehovah predicts through Isaiah, as incredible as they are, will certainly come to pass. The indication is that the people must surrender to the will of God that their salvation is not in national or ethnic relationship but relationship to Him and the Servant whom He shall send, (cf. John 5:23; John 5:38; John 6:29).

QUIZ

1.

This Servant is the Messiah. Does the N.T. substantiate Jesus as the Servant of Jehovah? Where?

2.

What is to be the nature of this Servant?

3.

How does this nature compare with that of human savior-hood?

4.

How does the Servant become Jehovah's covenant?

5.

What is the primary fulfillment of the Servant's opening the eyes of the blind?

6.

Why the warning that Jehovah will not give His glory to another?