Isaiah 42
Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
So tonight we will be picking up in . Here Isaiah is continuing his prophecy regarding His Servant. We have talked about the use of the term Servant a number of times and how and who Isaiah is referencing it when using it.
Isaiah begins:
1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
Now if you recall last week in Chapter 41 we finished with God’s judgement regarding idols’s and those who would worship them H says in;
29 Indeed they are all worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
They are of no value, just hot air. But now in Ch 42 He begins with
1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
This of course is speaking of Jesus. He is “My Servant”, the ultimate servant. The “Elect One” who God delights in.
We remember at Jesus’ baptism
Mat 3:16-
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
In regard to servanthood Jesus had a lot to say,
24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Mat 20:24-
We like to say that the Kingdom of God is an upside down Kingdom where the ones closest to Jesus serve the most. This is what Jesus Himself modeled for us by washing the disciples feet.
The prophecy continues; I have put My Spirit upon Him; Jesus is different than all others in that, John tells us;
The New King James Version Chapter 3
34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure
That is without measure, for us are to “be constantly being filled” with the Spirit. Some would say we are leaky vessels but Jesus was not.
All that said, we notice that like us Jesus’ public ministry began after His Baptism and the HS coming upon Him. For us we can do nothing for God without the empowering of the HS, that is the HS coming upon us, anointing us to do His work. Without the HS’s power we are working in the power of the flesh and spiritually will have no real power.
Isaiah says, He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. This was one of the things the Jews had trouble with. They were God’s chosen special people to the exclusion of all others. But that is not the heart of God. Jesus loves the whole world and died for it. Even MS13 even Isis. Peter says;
The New King James Version Chapter 3
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
He continues: He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. This doesn't mean that Jesus never spoke loudly. It refers to His gentle, lowly heart and actions. Jesus didn't make His way by bluster and loud, overwhelming talk, but by the Spirit of God upon Him.
The next line continues on the theme of His Gentle nature;
A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench
Oh how I love this verse. It really speaks to the heart of God toward the hurting and depressed; the seemingly useless burned out believers. Just hanging on by a thread. Jesus sees the value in a bruised reed, even when no one else can. He can make beautiful music come from a bruised reed, as He puts His strength in it! Though a smoking flax - used for a wick on an oil lamp - is good for nothing, Jesus knows it is valuable for what it can be when it is refreshed with oil. Many of us are like the bruised reed, and we need to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man (). Others are like the smoking flax, and can only burn brightly for the LORD again when we are drenched in oil, with a constant supply coming, as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
For us His Church, this is our job. To encourage the broken reeds and the smoking flax's. As we do that we are doing God’s work.
Interestingly, the verse: He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, (Alan Redpath says in his commentary) “Fail is the same word as smoking in smoking flax He will not quench. Discouraged is the same word as bruised in a bruised reed He will not break. "So here is the Servant of the Lord … there are no bruises about Him; He is no mere smoking flax. He is well able to do the task of redemption because He is free from all the weaknesses and failures of His people. He has no flaws or blemishes - He is perfection and majestic strength." (Redpath)
We continue;
5 Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
8 I am the LORD, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Here now YHWH declare who He is and what He has done regarding the whole universe. Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
I feel like the people on ancient aliens just need to read this verse. The are very concerned with where we came from, and they bring up some very interesting things, but the truth seems to escape them. YHWH is the reason and the Beginning of all things.
The Lord the then gives a charge to His Servant; “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
Jesus was given to us as a covenant. The idea of a covenant in its root in Hebrew is that of “cutting”. As in with a sacrifice. The animals would be slaughtered and the parties to the agreement would walk between the two pieces of the sacrifice. It’s important to remember that in this covenant that all the “cutting” occurred in the body of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
He is a light to the Gentiles. Jesus said;
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
And then Isaiah states the mission of the Servant; kind of like our mission statement;
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
This is both physical and spiritual and all believers have experienced this healing. We were all blind once. The Gospel meant little or nothing. The bible just some old book. But God by His HS has opened our eyes. In the same way how many of us were imprisoned in bitterness and hopelessness and addictions. Are you free this evening? God has set us free. Amen.
He continues;
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
8 I am the LORD, that is My name; (YHVH is His name.)
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
The Lord will not share His Glory with any one. As ministers this can be a real trap when we can think we are something more than a servant. God doesn't need us but allows us to serve Him and will use us. Always give the glory to God.
When Jesus would heal the people the always Glorified God the Father. When Paul and Barnabas had healed crippled man the people said;
11 Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,
11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
-
Acts 14
In verse 9, And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”He reminds us that He lives outside of our space time dimension. He tells us things to come with 100% accuracy.
Now Isaiah writes of praise for the Servant
Sing to the LORD a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the LORD,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
You know the Lord loves us to praise Him with new songs. He has created us with great creativity. He loves to hear our songs of praise from our heart. That’s why as we come to worship we want to be prepared to, not just mumble or mail in our worship, but sing out loudly. After all, its to please Him not us.
Now Isaiah promises God’s help and turns the prophecy from The Messiah towards Israel who is also His servant
14 “I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
In other words in the eyes of Israel, the Lord is going to change things up.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
17 They shall be turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’
Speaking to Israel;
18 “Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as he who is perfect,
And blind as the LORD’s servant?
20 Seeing many things, but you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
Jesus talked a lot about this, the blindness of Israel.
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;
mat 13
This is a word to these blind who think they can see. They act as if they can see, but they really can't observe anything. They will stay blind and deaf as long as they can't admit their need.
When Jesus healed a man born blind, He used the occasion to speak about spiritual blindness, and its cure. In the diagnosis of Jesus, only those who know they are blind can be healed of their blindness. Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains." ()
Isaiah now concludes this section with a pertinent reminder to us in the Cov-19 days.
21 The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;
He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered;
All of them are snared in holes,
And they are hidden in prison houses;
They are for prey, and no one delivers;
For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers?
We are all hearing the question asked? Why is this happening? who caused all this? Just as Israel could not understand their spiral downward to destruction. The Lord answers:
Was it not the LORD,
He against whom we have sinned?
For they would not walk in His ways,
Nor were they obedient to His law.
Have you noticed were the epicenter of the virus is? New York and CA is in second place. Two of the most anti-Christian left leaning States.
You might remember this;
Video: Lawmakers pass bill to protect abortion rights in New York, 2:49
25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger
And the strength of battle;
It has set him on fire all around,
Yet he did not know;
And it burned him,
Yet he did not take it to heart.
When you do a word study on the word “pestilence” you find the Hebrew word is deber. Means: pestilence, plague. It is interesting to note that in the 42 mentions in the OT the majority are brought by God.
deber
deber
When was the last time you remember a plague affecting the whole world. Maybe its just a coincidence I choose to believe not.
I pray that we are part of the ones taking it to heart.