Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Isaiah 42:1-7 | Date: August 25, 2024 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

Isaiah chapter 42. We’re continuing our studies in Messianic prophecy. We’ve been working our way through Isaiah, highlighting the prophecies of Messiah. There are many more than what I have highlighted, but we have seen Isaiah chapter 2, Isaiah 4, chapter 7, chapter 9, chapter 11, I think we jump then to chapter 24, the king of the apocalypse. Chapter 28, the cornerstone prophecy. And then last week, we did look just in brief overview of Isaiah 42 through 61, and looked at the so-called servant songs of Isaiah—these passages where the servant is mentioned.

Now, there are other passages where he’s clearly in view; Isaiah 61 is an example of that, but he’s not mentioned. There’s no mention of servant as such. It’s clearly the servant who’s in view. The servant songs proper, the way they’re usually listed anyway, are Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50, and then of course Isaiah chapter 53. And so last week what we did is we did a broad overview of the servant songs and saw how they play a role in Isaiah’s prophecy and what a predominant influence they have in the New Testament as well.

And today we begin to work through each of those this evening with Isaiah 42, the servant’s mission. I’ll begin with verse one; we’ll read through verse seven.

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlines await for his law.

Thus says the Lord, 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 spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

And I think I’ll continue through verse 9. “I am the Lord, that is my name. My glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare before they spring forth. I tell you of them.”

Let’s bow for prayer. Our Father, our hearts are encouraged each time we see in the Old Testament Scriptures glimpses of Christ, your promises of him, and now from our vantage point to see how you have come good on your promise and you’ve provided for us all that you’ve promised in him. We pray that you’ll encourage us in that way again this evening, help us to see in this marvelous prophecy, Jesus, the one whom you have sent to bring justice to the nations. May we take encouragement in him. We pray in his name. Amen.

In his Isaiah commentary, John Calvin makes an interesting observation. He says that when prophets announce what God is about to do, and that announcement and what God is about to do is something that is particularly difficult to believe, something outstandingly stupendous, it often is followed immediately with a promise of the Messiah who will come. Now that makes perfect sense to all of us on this side of things, because in keeping with Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1, all of God’s promises in Jesus are yes and amen. All of God’s promises are fulfilled in him. So we would come to expect that, at least from our standpoint.

Well, Isaiah 42 is a case in point. You remember the context: Isaiah chapter 40, God announces this great comfort. Remember Isaiah chapters 1 to 39, the book of woes, the book of condemnation, largely, although it’s one of many highlights of Messianic prophecy and of hope to come and of the great kingdom to come. Overall, the arching theme of chapters 1 to 39 is that of condemnation for the sins of Israel.

When we come to chapter 40, all the way through 66, it’s often called the Book of Consolation, the Book of Comfort. That’s the first note that we find in that section, chapter 40, in verse 1. “Comfort, my people, says your God, speak tenderly to Jerusalem, cry to her that her warfare has ended,” and so on. That God has promised good things for Israel, who has been, in the prophecy, taken out to captivity in Babylon, and God promises comfort that will come. They’re going to be in the prophecy—this hasn’t happened in history yet from that standpoint—but in the prophecy, Israel will be taken off into captivity in Babylon because of her sin. But now the announcement of this section is that God will bring her home and he’ll give deliverance.

In chapter 41, we have introduced for us their deliverer who will come. He’s some great figure from the East. Chapter 41, verse 1 and following: some great figure that God has stirred up from the East, whom victory meets at every step. Nations fall before him. He tramples kings underfoot. Well, he’s speaking of Cyrus. Now, he’s not named here yet, the Medo-Persian ruler. He will be named at the end of chapter 44 and the beginning of chapter 45 again. Cyrus is named. This is a marvelous prophecy. This is more than 150 years before Cyrus was even born, and the prophecy of his coming, even his name is given that many years ahead of time. It’s a marvelous prophecy that this figure will come, and this Medo-Persian comes and he’ll bring Babylon down and bring deliverance to Israel who is in Babylon in captivity, release them, allow them to go home and make their way to Jerusalem into Judea. Well, that’s chapter 41.

We get now to chapter 42, and he introduces the servant. “Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights.” He’s called, he’s chosen of God, he’s equipped by God to accomplish a great task that he calls him to—that task, verse 1, to bring forth justice to the nations; verse 6, he’s going to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations; verse 7, he’ll open the eyes that are blind, bring out the prisoners from the dungeon.

So with chapter 41, we have the deliverer Cyrus who is introduced—not named yet, but introduced in chapter 41. But chapter 42, we have the servant who has come. And so we’re left to see that Cyrus, this pagan Medo-Persian king, is but a preview of the great deliverer who is to come, this one whom he calls the servant. He’s a foreshadowing then of Messiah, God’s servant who will come and accomplish great things on behalf of his people. And remember what we saw last time: that the deliverance of Israel from their exile in Babylon and bringing them home and leveling the grounds to get them to come back, so to speak—all of that is a preview of a greater deliverance from a greater exile that God will bring, not just to Israel, but to the nations as well. Well, that’s the theme that we take up when we come to chapter 42.

In verses 1 to 7, speaking of this servant, it naturally divides into two parts.

The Lord Introduces The Servant And Announces His Mission

Verses one to four: the Lord speaks, introducing the servant, announcing his mission, telling us what he will accomplish through his servant. Now, this is not a command. It’s not telling us what ought to be done. It’s an announcement of what he will do through his servant.

Verse 1, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nation.” So the servant then is chosen, he’s set apart by the Lord to accomplish the mission that the Lord has given to him. He’s called “my servant,” that is, he’s chosen by God to carry out a mission that’s assigned him. That says little about the servant himself except that he’s God’s instrument to accomplish a task that God has. God has a purpose that he’s going to accomplish in the earth. He speaks of it as bringing justice to the nations. That purpose will be accomplished through his servant. We don’t yet know much about the servant except that he is God’s instrument to fulfill his purpose in the earth.

“My servant whom I uphold,” I’ve laid hold of him, I’ve seized him, he says, that is God. God is taking him himself, and he will make sure that he succeeds. He will lead him through to finish this mission successfully. The Lord’s chosen him for that purpose, and then it says God delights in him. He delights in him because he fulfills God’s will and God’s purpose.

Now, you want to keep in mind those expressions: “my servant in whom my soul delights,” “I have put my spirit upon him.” And we’ll see that in a little bit, how that comes to be something very important in the New Testament. But “I have put my spirit upon him,” that is, God’s spirit has come on him. That’s God’s mode of presence with him to enable him to do what he has done. He will give him a special dispensation, if you will, of his spirit, and it will so enable him that he will not fail to accomplish the mission given to him. And that, of course, is important because we read in other prophecies he’s to become himself the dispenser of the spirit.

So his mission then, the purpose for which he is called and chosen, verse 1: “He will bring forth justice to the nations.” We see it again at the end of verse 3: “He will faithfully bring forth justice.” Verse 4: “He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth.” So he’ll be successful. He will not fail to accomplish and establish the kingdom of God in the earth. God’s rule will be established through him. He will establish justice in the earth. Verse 6, the end of the verse: “I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

So that’s the nature of his kingdom. It’s not simply one of imposed rule by authority, although we’ve seen plenty of prophecies that talk about that, but it’s a mission of rescue and to bring his people out of prison. So God has his chosen servant, he’s chosen him for this mission, he has sided with him, he has equipped him with his spirit to make sure that that mission will succeed. He will not fail. So many servants have come and gone before him. Israel was God’s servant. We saw that last time—that Israel, in Isaiah’s prophecy, is called “my servant.” But of course, Israel is God’s rebellious servant. They’ve failed in bringing about God’s purposes assigned to them. But this servant will not fail. And God will equip him in such a way that he will succeed in every way. And God is saying, “I will see to it myself. This, my servant, will not fail.”

So again, verse 1, he will bring forth justice. That’s the exercise of the processes of government to rule. Now, in the ancient world, they didn’t distinguish between three different branches of government: the executive branch, judicial branch, the legislative branch. All of those were combined in one—the king. He was the executive branch, and he was the legislative branch, and he was the judicial branch, and he decided all things that had any deliberations within the kingdom at all.

So this servant will rule, he will legislate, he will judge in all matters of dispute, he will execute sentence. He will be an autocrat. He’ll be a monarch, a king, exercising and enforcing God’s justice in the earth. Verse one, again, he’ll bring forth justice to the nations. So he’s got a worldwide rule. We’ve seen that before: Isaiah 2, Isaiah chapter 4, other places as well, and some of the other prophets that we’ve seen.

“He will faithfully bring forth justice,” verse 3. He will faithfully, or in truth, he will bring forth justice. That is, he’ll establish justice in accordance with truth. It’ll be true justice. We saw that in Isaiah chapter 11. He will make judgments, not according to externals, but he will see to the truth of the matter, and he will execute judgment accordingly.

Verse 4, “He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth. And the coastlands wait for his law.” Notice the parallel here. Beginning of the verse, “he’ll establish justice.” The next line, “the coastlands wait for his law.” So he’s establishing justice in the earth. He will establish or enforce his law in the earth and to bring about justice. Now, that of course is the legislative aspect of his rule. Now, the standard of justice in the old covenant was Moses, Moses’ law. God had given Moses a law. Moses was the mediator of that law. And in that sense, it was Moses who brought God’s justice and his law to the world.

But now the world, it says, even the coastlands, are waiting for the Lord’s servant. The coastlands wait for his law. And he will enforce his law. He’ll establish justice in the earth and teach his law. So we have here a new Moses. We saw this way back when, in Deuteronomy chapter 18, when God promises that a prophet like Moses will come, and you will listen to him, and I will hold you accountable to hear him when he speaks. This is that prophet. The servant now is taking up that role of prophet. The kingly aspect of his rule—he’s enforcing justice—but also the prophetic aspect of his rule—he brings God’s law to the world to enforce justice.

You might remember we saw that in Isaiah chapter two. I’ll just read it for you quickly if you’d like. Chapter two, verses one to four: “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills and all the nations shall flow to it. And many people shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law. Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, shall decide disputes for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

So here we have the picture of the king reigning for all of the nations, enforcing his law, and all of the nations behaving as he has legislated for them. And he has put an end to hostilities, and so the weapons of warfare are no longer needed. So a new ruler now is in place. He has worldwide authority. Injustice will be brought to an end. Injustice will have been punished. And all the injustices that have occurred will be overturned. Wrongs will be righted. And justice will be enforced in the earth.

Now verses two to four take a surprising twist. They describe for us the manner in which the servant will accomplish this mission. We have seen many prophecies of the Davidic son coming and taking the government on his shoulders and ruling and enforcing his law in a very assertive kind of way. But notice how he describes it here, verse two: “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street.” And this, although his mission is to bring forth justice to the nation, he won’t cry aloud, he won’t lift up his voice, make it heard in the street. That is, there’s a calm certainty about him. He doesn’t make a lot of noise to draw a lot of attention to himself. It’s not necessary for him to yell and push to force his way, but he moves ahead with an unworried kind of confidence. He advances his mission steadily, seemingly effortlessly, without having to scream and holler and force his way. That’s verse two.

Verse three, he tells us, in fact, it will be with compassion and with gentleness. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.” A bruised reed—it seems fit for a bruised reed only to be broken and thrown away. Of what use is a bruised reed? A faintly burning wick—a smoldering wick. He explains that metaphor further. The idea is that you’ve got this lamp that’s seeming to go out. It’s a flickering flame. It’s not providing any light and you might think, “I’ll just let it burn out or even blow it out.” That’s not the way he will treat it. He won’t extinguish it, he won’t throw it away, but rather he’ll nurse that flame back into full flame.

Of course, these are metaphorical descriptions here of what he will do in establishing his kingdom. So we have Israel—picture it now. Israel in exile, out in Babylon, they’re in danger of losing their very identity. They are a bruised reed and a smoldering wick. And he says, “I won’t let them go out.”

Now, this is set in contrast to chapter 41 and what we’ll see again in chapters 44 and 45 about Cyrus, the Persian ruler. If you’d like to look back, look at the contrast. Look at chapter 41, verse 2: “Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.” Then chapter 41, verse 25: “He shall trample on rulers as on mortar and as the potter treads clay.”

So we have Cyrus coming and his work is described as destructive, arrogant, self-advancing, unfeeling. There’s a recklessness about him. He stomps anyone in the way. But we come to chapter 42 and we have the servant now introduced in verses two and three. He’s not self-assertive and he’s not self-advancing. He will not, verse two, cry aloud and lift up his voice, make it heard in the street. He’s not dismissive, he’s not abusive. And in fact, he’s compassionate and for his people who seem like a bruised reed or a smoldering wick, he will give comfort to them and bring them back.

Verses three and four, in fact, there’s a play on words here. “A bruised reed he will not break. A faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth.” The play on words here is in verse three: the “bruised” reed and the “faintly burning” wick. Those words are reversed now in verse 4: “he will not grow faint or be discouraged.” Same words are used again describing the servant himself. The idea is that of his unfailing strength. He’s a servant of such might, such massive influence that he will bring forth justice to the nations. And yet, of such massive strength that he can do so patiently; doing that, he can deal gently with his people and gently bring back the feeble and the weak. That’s a marvelous prophecy.

What kind of servant is this who can establish justice to all the nations and yet be so patient, so unassertive? We saw last time when we did this overview of the servant songs in Isaiah, that there’s much about this servant figure who’s enigmatic. He seems like such a successful figure, and yet he seems like a defeated figure at times. Chapter 53, he’s described sometimes in terms that are so majestic that he must be divine. And in other times, he’s clearly a human who’s even mistreated. There’s much about him that’s enigmatic.

How do you figure out who this is? And before the fact, of course, before he arrives, that becomes all the more difficult. And if you contrast it with the kings and the kingdoms that we’ve seen before, it’s all the more enigmatic here. It’s really something of a riddle. How will he establish justice in the earth and impose his law, the coastlands even, to the ends of the earth without being assertive? How in the world will that happen? Think, for example, of David. He extended his kingdom further than the nation would ever see again. But that kingdom was tiny in comparison to what this servant will bring about in all the nations.

Verse one, he’ll bring forth justice to the nations. Verse four, he’ll establish justice in the earth, even to the coastlands. And now we come to the point, at this point in history, David’s kingdom is even split in two, so it’s even all the more difficult for him to do that. And so now this servant, who’s obviously from Israel—remember we saw that last time. He’s a righteous servant from within Israel. Israel’s God’s servant, a failed servant, but now there’s a righteous individual rising up from within Israel who will be faithful and accomplish God’s purpose. Now this one coming up will establish justice in the earth, impose his law without being assertive.

So who is this servant? Well, within Isaiah’s prophecy, of course, this can’t be anybody else but the promised Davidic son that we’ve seen several times over, most explicitly in Isaiah 7, the virgin birth prophecy; Isaiah 9, the son who will be born and take the government on his shoulders. And we’re left to draw the connection that this Messianic king who’s been promised, this Davidic king who was promised, is in fact this servant who will come.

And if there’s any question about that, we come to the New Testament, and that connection is made explicit. And I’ll give you some of them if you’d like. Look at, yeah, why don’t we look at Luke chapter two, verses 25 and following. You remember there when Joseph and Mary take the young Jesus to Jerusalem, they go to the temple for his dedication. Verse 25, Luke two, verse 25: “There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.” Here’s the comfort of Israel he’s waiting for. “And the Holy Spirit was upon him, and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the spirit to the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples. A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'” That’s an explicit reference back to Isaiah 42, verses five to seven.

And then if you’d like, look back to Matthew chapter three, verses 16 and 17. Remember the context here? Jesus has come to John to be baptized. Matthew 3, verse 16: “When Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.'” This is an explicit reference back to Isaiah 42, in verse 1: “he’s my servant in whom my soul delights. I’ll put my spirit upon him.” That’s Isaiah 42 as well. Actually, there’s a reference here to Psalm 2 as well, “my son.” But this is an explicit connection then of the servant to Jesus.

We have the same in Matthew chapter 12. I think we should look at that. Matthew 12 verses 15 and following: “Jesus withdrew from there, and many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known.” Verse 17: “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah,” and here he cites Isaiah 42 verses 1 to 4, “and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” So he’s not establishing the kingdom of God by self-assertion. He’s refused publicity—don’t tell anybody about all of this. And yet he’ll rule. We will see in chapter 49 verse 7 that kings, princes will prostrate themselves before him. But his kingdom will be established by humble means. And of course we find that when we come finally to Isaiah chapter 53.

All right, then back here to Isaiah 42, verse four again. “The servant will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth.” He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth. That is, his light will never be extinguished. He will not faint, he will not falter. As we will find in the New Testament, he will be tempted in every point like we are, but he will never give in. He will fulfill his mission to the very end. He’ll be obedient to his calling. He’ll be obedient all the way to death, even the death of the cross.

He would have every right—in the words here of these metaphors—he would have every right to break these bruised reeds or to snuff out that smoldering wick. We deserve to be snuffed out. But he won’t do it. He will stoop gently over these bruised reeds and bring them back to health. He’ll come gently to this smoldering wick and he’ll bring it back to a full flame. He will accomplish his mission. He will never let his people perish. He will give himself, we’ll find in chapter 53, to their rescue and to restore them. He will not grow faint and he won’t be discouraged in fulfilling his mission until it is done completely. He’ll see it through to the very end. The Bible has a word for all of that, by the way. The word’s grace. He comes, he does it all for his people.

The Lord Speaks Again And Clarifies The Servant’s Mission

We have the word of assurance then given in verses 5 and following. The divine assurance is given thus, and this is the Lord’s second speech here in this passage. “Thus says the God, the Lord, 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 spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Verses 6 and 7—the last part of verse 6 and then verse 7—we have a description of the scope of the servant’s work. “I will give you as a covenant for the people,” must be Israel, “I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” So again, there were servants of the Lord who had come before him, Israel primarily, and they had failed. But this servant will be set apart from them all. God will give him as a covenant for the people and as a light for the nations.

Now again, Moses lies in the background in all of this. He was the one through whom God established his covenant with Israel and brought, in that sense, God’s law to the earth. But this servant is not a mere Moses. He himself will not mediate a covenant. He himself will be the covenant for the people. “I will give you as a covenant for the people,” and not for Israel only. But in fact, there’ll be a new creative power on his behalf. He’ll be a light to the nations as well. “I’ll give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison, those who sit in darkness.”

Clearly this is a reference to the promise of the new covenant we find in Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel chapter 36. God promises to forgive the sins of his people, make atonement for them, and in fact to restore them in such a way that they walk in obedience and accordance with his law. And this he will do not for Israel only, but he’ll do it for the world. So God has a global saving purpose and he will accomplish it through his servants. And so if the shadow of Moses lies in the background of all of this, like I’ve mentioned a couple of times, the gospel lies in the foreground. It’s what it points us to, and in fact, there is something similar to this that we read in John chapter one, verse 17: “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Now you remember last time I mentioned that what we find in these passages, the servant songs, is that God will deliver Israel from their exile. And gradually as we read through these servant songs, we find that God will not only bring deliverance from Babylon, but he’ll bring a greater deliverance. And he’ll do that by dealing with the root cause of the exile, and that is sin. Now, nothing in this passage specifically is said of sin, the root cause of the exile. And in fact, nothing is explicit here about Israel’s rescue from exile, although that’s, I think, clearly implied when we have in verse six, “he’ll be given as a covenant for the people.” Verse seven, the prisoners taken out from their dungeon, I think clearly a metaphorical expression of their deliverance from their captivity in Babylon.

But nothing is said here specifically other than that of his being unassertive and things like that. Nothing is said specifically of how the servant will fulfill his work. But when we read verses 6 and 7 in light of the rest of the Bible—”I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and from prison those who sit in darkness”—clearly we see gospel overtones that we can’t miss. Verse 7, the blind eyes: these are eyes blinded by sin. Prisoners in the dungeon: that’s not just Israel sitting in exile, but this is prisoners to sin and the consequences of sin. The covenant promised—that he’s a covenant for the people—that’s the new covenant. And of course we find that coming, that Jesus enacts that covenant. On the night before his crucifixion, he observes the Lord’s table. “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” That is to say, “tomorrow in my death, this covenant will be cut. And all of these promises that God has made in this covenant will be fulfilled. His death guarantees them.” And so again, we have Messiah’s sacrifice then as the means of fulfilling God’s global saving purpose. We’ll see that explicitly when we come to Isaiah 53.

Now the greatness and the scope of the servant’s work explain why, in verses 5 and 6, the Lord identifies himself at such length as the Creator. Look at that again. “Thus says the Lord. Thus says God, the Lord who created the heavens, stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you.”

All of that is intended to give assurance to the servant and to anyone hearing this prophecy. It will instill confidence in the servant that he will succeed in his work. How do you know? Because the Lord God himself has promised it, and the Lord God is not just some dumb idol of Israel’s neighbor. This is the Lord God who created the world, the one to whom every being owes his existence. Every breath we take is from this God, and this is the God, he says, who will see to it that this servant finishes his work successfully. “I’m the God who created the heavens and the earth. I’m the God on whom every creature depends. Everything that exists, exists because of me.” And he says, “I am the God who will accomplish all of my will through my servant.” Verse six again: “I am the Lord. I’ve called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. You will succeed in this mission.”

Well, we have seen in this series that ever since the garden when man first sinned, God has made a promise: a champion will come, a champion will come, a champion will come. And we’ve seen that promise unfold and unfold in bigger and bigger ways. And at each point we’re driven to see it in its connection to Jesus, who fulfills it, and we have it here. And over and again in Israel’s history, as the prophets come and condemn them for their sin, bring on the covenant curses—you’ll be carried off into exile—but they announce the deliverance that will come, and that deliverance is prospective of a greater deliverance that, in this passage, the servant will accomplish through his work. This is that champion coming finally to accomplish his work in a mysteriously self-unassertive way to give himself as a covenant for the people and accomplish the salvation of the nations. We’ll see that unfold again in chapter 49 next time, then chapter 50, and then 53 as well.