Damariscotta Baptist Church

 

 

Up to this point in the book, Isaiah has been addressing the first problem for the Israelites, that of being their captivity in Babylon. Isaiah prophesied their redemption from Babylon and reminded them that they were to return to the land God had promised them through Abraham. God had this plan all along, and Isaiah reminded them that there was nothing the Babylonian Gods or Babylonian heads of power could do to stop their deliverance. 

This should be assurance for us today. I have prayerful conversations with my cousins in Vermont who are in their seventies with four grandchildren and their greatest concern is, what is our country going to be like when their grandchildren grow up? The future looks so grim. I am sure that many of you have similar concerns. 

The solace for the Israelites in captivity in Babylon is the same solace for us today. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and He has a plan, that the Babylonians couldn’t change, that neither Vladimar Putin, or Kim Jong-un or Donald Trump can change. God has a plan, and there is nothing that can stop it from being accomplished.

Today’s Scripture begins to deal with a second problem for the Israelites. What was to be done about the sin that had gotten them into their dilemma in the first place? This was a bigger problem. I can imagine that for the priest who was actually morally decent and following the practices that had been given in the Torah as best he could, that when he looked around at the other corrupt priests and the majority of the population around him and saw only corruption, he was more than likely depressed and confused. 

He read repeatedly in the Torah how God promised that the Israelites were His chosen people, however, the reality was, they were so far from living that way, or looking that way, it would have seemed difficult to put the two together. How could this sinful group ever serve a just and holy God? There weren’t enough sheep or doves in the universe to cover their sins. Getting out of Babylon was a synch compared to fixing their problem of how far away their sin had taken them from God. 

The answer to this dilemma is found in chapters 49-55. We will continue reading the language of captivity, however from this point on, it will no longer include references to Babylon, or Cyrus. From this point on, Isaiah will be addressing a different kind of captivity, and the deliverer will not be a king from another land, instead, it will be the Servant of the Lord. We have already been introduced to this deliverer in chapter 42, verses 1-9. 

As I spend time teaching 5th and 6th graders how to write, and show them examples of good literature, I am reminded just how excellent an author God is. This Servant in chapter 42, will be, not only for Israel, what Israel could not be for themselves, this deliverer is a metaphor as the deliverer for all the world. 

I can also imagine that it was not only the priests who were questioning deliverance for their sins. The average Israelite, who at this point was a servant to some Babylonian, may have been pondering this as well. “Alright, Isaiah, I believe that God is capable of delivering us from the Babylonians. However, I see how corrupt we Israelites have become, what is going to save us from ourselves? From our sin? 

To be honest, I often ask the same question.

Isaiah gives the same response he did for how to get out of captivity from the Babylonians, “Listen.” 

Listen is the first word of today’s chapter. Isaiah continues to reveal God’s plan. We recognize that it is the Servant himself who calls out for the entire world to listen. 

Here are some details we should recognize about this Servant:

Verse 1, the Servant has no doubt about His call
Verses 2 & 3, the Servant has divine enablement, and he is perfectly suited for whatever task God may give Him, like a “sharpened sword” and a “polished arrow.”
Verse 5, He has been called from the womb, there is no hint of blindness or rebellion in this Servant, He knows that God will not fail Him

How all of this will be accomplished will be answered in the chapters to come, but suffice it to say, the Servant will not only be salvation to Israel, but His salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.

We read that it will include the Gentiles. Wow! I wonder how the Jewish Priests missed this verse when they studied their history?

As we continue to read, we discover that although this Servant will be “despised and rejected,” and reduced to a slave, that the day will come when kings and princes will honor Him. Here Isaiah is demonstrating that the Servant’s task is to be a representative of God’s covenant to His people. The Israelites were reminded that like a shepherd tends his flock, the God of “compassion” will tend His people and provide for them a land of freedom and abundance. This announcement results in an outburst of praise. Nature bursts out, the heavens, the earth, and the mountains sing the praises of the Creator and Redeemer. And for the first time since chapter 40, Isaiah speaks of comfort for God’s people. 

We have finally gotten to a place in Isaiah where he introduces the Messiah, Jesus. 

The introduction labels Jesus as a “Servant.” Again, in order to comprehend what Isaiah really meant, we have to take ourselves out of our 21st century denotation of the word servant and look back at the connotation this word had for those listening to Isaiah. The Biblical definition of servant was not saying to someone, “You are the one who does the difficult and demeaning work I don’t want to do,” but it is to say, “You are someone who will perform an essential service for another that you gladly recognize as not only a master, but also a savior.” There is a mutual relationship. The servant is the key agent for accomplishing a task for the master, and the master accomplishes the task of protection and hope. This means the task of servanthood could actually hold a position of high honor. One could be the Prime Minister, or First Servant, where you would be well taken care of. So when we think of ourselves as servants for the Lord, we recognize there is a limitation of our autonomy, but if we consider what the reality is, our autonomy is a delusion anyway. 

When we voluntarily become a servant, we gain deliverance, protection and a position where we are able to perform a valuable service for our King. 

Philippians 2:5-11 reads, 

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!”

What does it mean for us today, to be like Jesus, and to be a servant? For those of us who have chosen to be in relationship with God, through Christ, we are part of an intricate union with Christ. Jesus describes it, in John 15:5-8, where we are the branches of His vine and that Christ’s life flows through us. 

This means we have the privilege of participating in the life of Christ. Which ultimately means we too become servants of God and each other. And by doing so, we receive benefits. We gain a sense of calling, with an enablement and confidence to allow us to proceed in that calling. Just as Christ was called to be our Savior, because of the attributes and abilities He had, we too have a calling that is suited particularly for us. God has put us together in a certain way and although we may not be performing the same tasks throughout our lives, whatever task we find ourselves doing, we can do so with the faith that we are living out our lives in fulfillment of His will and calling. 

Just as Christ was enabled by God to perform His calling we too can be assured that whatever task is set before us, God will enable us to do it. Don’t be worried, we will not be asked to do something as earth shaking as Jesus, we don’t have the same attributes or abilities as He. 

However, as we perform even the most simple tasks, they may have more significance than we will ever know this side of heaven. Because we are placing them in the Master’s hand. 

And like Jesus, there will be times when we will feel that our lives our pointless and futile. Look at verses 4 and 7. These are a clear implication that Christ felt that way. As I read the New Testament, I can see it. After a long day of arguing back and forth with the religious leaders, or when the disciples had to be told for the nth time a simple spiritual truth, and when the crowds, during the early part of His ministry began to walk away, check out the question Jesus asks His disciples, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67). So if Christ did not always feel on top of the world with His calling, it goes without saying, there will be times when we get down in the dumps as well. 

Yet, like Christ, when we are in the midst of frustration and it seems like nothing is working, we have assurance that we are God’s and He is ours. We know that as long as we are faithful, we can trust the outcome of our service to be in God’s hands. The world may despise and reject us, or it may honor us, but the ultimate dispenser of rewards is not the world, we know after reading today’s Scripture, “my reward is with my God.”  (Isaiah 49:4)

Let’s pray.