I really enjoy DESIGN and construction. Civil Engineering. Lost assignment (but don’t tell the outcome). I know that when we build a home there are THREE things needed: foundation, brick walls and a roof. Just can’t have a house with foundation, walls and a roof.
Here’s a picture (slide—house). A FOUNDATION on its own makes no sense. WALLS on their own make no sense. A ROOF lying on the ground makes no sense.
The Bible is assembled like a HOME (click mouse).
There is a foundation—there are the walls and there is the roof. The first five books are like the FOUNDATION and the rest of the Old Testament is like the WALLS on the slab. And the New Testament is like the ROOF over the building.
So any one passage is supported by the rest of the building around it.
As we come to look at the Servant Songs in Isaiah (click mouse), we are looking at one particular PART of the building. Isaiah is about TWO-THIRDS of the way up the wall. To understand the Servant Songs, we need to look DOWN at the foundation, we must to look at the SONGS themselves, and we need to look UP to Jesus. But I hope you can see that we cannot get by without the Old Testament.
Graeme GOLDSWORTHY makes these comments (slide):
If God gave us sixty-six books by which to know him, his will, and our salvation; who are we to say that we can discard the first thirty-nine of them?
If we ignore the foundations laid [in the Old Testament] we will almost certainly end up with a superficial, even distorted, view of who and what Jesus claimed to be and do.
Goldsworthy reminds us that Isaiah is a book which HELPS us understand Jesus. Today we want to understand Jesus from the POINT of view of the Servant Songs. It’s a worthwhile exercise, so don’t tune out! For we CAN’T really appreciate who Jesus is, and all that he is DONE for us, unless we read our Old Testament with understanding. Let’s ask God to help us right now (remove slide).
Let’s pray:
‘Our Heavenly Father, unless we read your Word enlightened by your Spirit, it falls on deaf ears. Thankyou that you wrote your Word for us. Please help us to understand and apply those lesser known parts of the Scriptures. As we come to the Servant Songs, we pray that you will enrich our understanding of Jesus. Help us to see him with richer clarity. Challenge us to live each day with Jesus as our King. Amen’.
At FOUNDATION level is Moses who is described at least EIGHTY-FIVE times in the Old Testament as ‘the SERVANT of God’. What did God call Moses to do? What sought of servant is Moses? He is a servant whom God used to DELIVER his people.
Moses delivered his people by leading them out of SLAVERY in Egypt. Then he led the people to Mt Sinai where the law (the tôrâ) was mediated through him. This LAW was intended to bring God’s JUSTICE (mišpāṭ) to the people. Then Moses led the people through the WILDERNESS to the edge of the Promised Land. God’s people living in God’s place under God’s rule.
The word tôrâ means ‘law’ and we NORMALLY think of the ten commandments. But tôrâ is much wider: it refers to every WORD which instructs us HOW to live in relationship with God. Think just not ten commandments, but the WHOLE of the first five books of the Old Testament. This is the tôrâ which Moses delivered to the people.
The next word is mišpāṭ which means ‘justice’. The law is NOT a collection of random rules. The law brings ‘justice’ to the land—for God is a just God. Indeed, ‘justice’ is very CLOSE to the love and grace of God. When we think of ‘justice’ we often think of PUNISHMENT which happens when the law is broken. This is justice BUT justice also has a positive side. For example, God wants ‘justice for the orphan and the widow, and he shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing’ (Deut 10:18). This is mišpāṭ, this is justice. God’s people living in HARMONY with the character of God.
This world has a skew sense of justice. Abraham LINCOLN once said about a person, ‘He reminds me of the man who murdered both his parents, and then when sentence was about to be pronounced, he pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan’. A strange sense of justice. But the French mathematician PASCAL retorts, ‘Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just’.
Our great and wonderful God brings POWER and justice together in perfect harmony. What God has JUDGED to be right he has taught or given us as law. God is the SOURCE of justice and he GIVES his justice to us. mišpāṭ is God’s decision—God’s judgment on life in this world. What God has DECIDED as just, the servant will bring to his people.
So our FOUNDATION for understanding ‘the servant’ comes from ‘the servant’ Moses. God uses his chosen servant to DELIVER his people from captivity. The servant ushers in tôrâ and mišpāṭ. What God has decided as just, the servant will BRING to God’s people—law and justice, peace and reconciliation.
(Did I tell you what happened after we lost our assignment? The lecturer laughed and laughed. Fortunately we had done enough to pass the subject).
We’ve laid the FOUNDATION so let’s turn our attention to the Book of Isaiah. Remember that the book has TWO main divisions which follow the THEMES of judgment and restoration. Chapters 1 to 39 focus mainly on JUDGMENT and chapters 40 to 66 concern themselves mainly with RESTORATION and salvation.
Chapters 40 to 66 begins with WORDS of consolation. Open up to Isaiah 40:1, ‘Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed’. Why were God’s people mourning? Why were they being comforted now?
For their rebellion, God permitted the BABYLONIANS to ruin them. We’re in the 8th century B.C. now—about the TIME my children think I was born. And the children of Israel and Judah lost everything. Jerusalem is a heap of ruins, the place is MESS, the people have lost heart and they openly WEEP. The Lord, they complain, has forsaken them. EZEKIEL likens the CAPTIVES to dry bones dwelling in dark despair. The people are living with the shock that God actually did what he said he would do.
To this people, Isaiah has a message of comfort. The Lord is the ONLY one true God. He alone is the MASTER of the universe. He alone is the RULER of all history. The sufferings of his people were the WORKINGS of his righteous judgment (his mišpāṭ). But now the Lord is about to pour out the RICHES of his steadfast love. The Lord will soon stretch out his MIGHTY arm as he did in the exodus of former times.
What is most remarkable, though, is that the God of all the earth will use a PAGAN king to carry out his plans. This is one of those INCREDIBLE moments when God acts contrary to all expectations. (This is as unexpected as NSW winning a State of Origin series). Who will be God’s servant? Who will DELIVER Israel from Babylonian captivity? God says in Isaiah 45:13, ‘I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty’.
It is INCONCEIVABLE to Israel that God will use a pagan king, Cyrus, to free his people and rebuild the Temple. But it will be the Lord’s doing. And when Israel HEAR of his success, the people must REJOICE for the Lord is fighting for them. It is God’s world, and he can deliver his people using anyone of his choosing. Even the pagan king, Cyrus, is a servant in the Lord’s hands. Even Cyrus will GLORIFY the name of the Lord.
But is Cyrus the ONLY deliverer who is to come? The Servant Songs describe a new exodus and they sing a redemption more wonderful that any other. These songs speak of an EXODUS more exhilarating that anything else beforehand. This new exodus is bound up with the OUTPOURING of God’s Spirit. The servant will CHANGE the wilderness into the garden of the Lord. The resurrection of dry bones. This is much more than Cyrus can deliver!
Isaiah introduces another servant. He IS not named. The Lord calls him simply ‘my servant’ and he is introduced in Isaiah 42:1-4, ‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice (mišpāṭ) to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice (mišpāṭ); he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice (mišpāṭ) on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope’.
See how SPECIAL this servant shall be. The Lord says, he is ‘my servant whom I will uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him’. This servant is the OBJECT of God’s choice. As the BEARER of God’s Spirit, he will mediate God’s presence, his power and wisdom. And all the time God will have the FIRMEST grip on him. The Lord will be as CLOSE to this servant as a father is close to his son. The servant is not simply chosen for a task, he is set APART as the Lord’s beloved one.
There is something STRANGELY different about the servant. ‘He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out’ (Isaiah 42:2–3). The servant will have a HUMBLE ministry. He will dislike publicity. He will quietly go about his business. He will not have the THUNDERING of Elijah.
Nor will he be like Cyrus who made lots of NOISE in the ancient world. When the coasts and nations heard about Cyrus, they trembled in terror. For the Persian king was all about might and muscle, POWER and self-glory. Cyrus was NOT concerned with truth but with victory. Cyrus was not interested in the Lord. He had NO concern for tôrâ and mišpāṭ.
But not so the servant. He will deliver men and women from blindness by CALM teaching and persuasive talking. Coasts and islands will NOT fear him, rather they will patiently wait for his tôrâ. And whereas Moses was SENT to the Israelites, the servant’s ministry is to the WHOLE world—he is ‘a light to the nations’. He will bring ‘justice to the nations’ (verse 1), ‘in faithfulness he will bring forth justice’ (verse 3), he will not falter until ‘he establishes justice on earth’ (verse 4).
The GOSPEL is God’s way of bringing mišpāṭ into this world.
Edward YOUNG has an excellent commentary on ISAIAH and he helps us understand the justice of God. ‘Religion is here conceived of in its judicial aspect, for it has to do with the conduct of men, and its decisions either condemn or justify a man’.
This is a very solemn statement. Religion is NOT to be taken lightly. As the servant proclaims God’s justice it will IMPACT upon the conduct of men. For when God’s justice is REVEALED as the gospel is preached, people have a decision to make—and their decision will either condemn or acquit them before God.
CALVIN puts it this way, ‘Christ was sent in order to bring the whole world under the authority of God and under obedience to him’. Whether or not people accept God’s justice, the servant of the Lord will NOT falter until he establishes justice on earth. We are NOT told in this song HOW the servant will bring justice to he nations. But he will BRING forth justice, he will not falter, he will NOT be discouraged, he will faithfully persist until he establishes justice on earth.
There were many REASONS for Jesus to become discouraged. Turn with me to Matthew 12. The Jews took the SABBATH very seriously. For example, in late Old Testament times there’s a record of the Jews being attacked on the Sabbath day. The Jews let themselves be SLAUGHTERED rather than break the Sabbath by defending themselves. That’s taking the Sabbath very seriously! And by the time of Jesus a whole TRADITION had developed on Sabbath-keeping.
In Matthew 12, there are TWO episodes where Jesus conflicts with the Pharisees over observance of the Sabbath. Come with me to Matt 12. In verses 1 to 8 the ISSUE is over picking heads of GRAIN. The tradition says you DON’T do this on the Sabbath. Matthew links this story to a MAN with a shrivelled hand. The tradition says that you DON’T heal on the Sabbath.
This ISN’T some small legalistic argument. It’s about tôrâ and mišpāṭ. Jesus corrects them. ‘If one of your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath, of course you lift it out. Of course you show mercy and rescue the animal. How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath’.
This isn’t some small argument. In verse 14 the Pharisees ‘went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus’. And Jesus WITHDRAWS rather than a heated clash which is a very servant-like thing to do. In fact, it is SUCH a servant-like thing that Matthew takes us back to Isaiah in verse 18, ‘“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope’. (Matt 12:17–21).
The servant will NOT hit back with force. Jesus chooses the lowly way. He will NOT quarrel with his opposition. He will NOT cry out or raise his voice in the streets. He will NOT enter into brawls. The servant QUIETLY proceeds on his chosen path, whatever the cost, until he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.
It’s as though Matthew takes the opportunity to give a report on Jesus. It’s his NAPLAN test. How’s Jesus doing so far? Is he saying and doing the right things? Is all going according to plan? Well, yes. The servant of the Lord is ACTING with mercy and compassion. The tôrâ that he PROCLAIMS does not bind people, it frees captives, it reveals God’s love and concern for this world. Through the gospel justice is done and justice will be done.
Now remember that the whole of Isaiah is concerned with the MOVEMENT from the old, corrupt creation to the new, eternal creation. Is Moses the one to deliver all the nations? Will Cyrus set us free? No, it is the Servant. And Matthew REMINDS us in chapter 12 that this servant is JESUS.
Jesus is the beloved Son. Upon Jesus the Spirit of the Lord rests. Remember the voice at the BAPTISM? ‘This my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased’ (Matt 3:17). Remember the TRANSFIGURATION? ‘This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him’ (Matt 17:5).
God has GIVEN us his ideal servant—the ONE whom he loves, the ONE upon whom his Spirit rests—the ONE who will bring justice to this world. The servant had every right to BREAK the bruised reed and to QUENCH the dimly burning wick. For justice demands that we be FINALLY broken and our faint light be quenched. Justice DEMANDS that we be exiled. We have fallen short of the glory of God.
But the servant CHOSE otherwise. He did NOT condemn us. He chose HEAL the bruised reed. He quietly went about the business of proclaiming justice to the nations. He PROCLAIMED the kingdom of God. He healed the sick and cared for widows and the poor. He exercised his authority as the SERVANT-KING who went to the cross to satisfy God’s just anger at our sin and rebellion.
Justice and grace COLLIDE at the cross. As we go about the business of SHARING the gospel, we are telling people that God will treat them JUSTLY—so they better watch out! God made this world and he alone SAYS what is right and what is wrong. He will JUDGE each person according to his standards. He has set a day when he will judge everyone by the man he has appointed.
Isaiah speaks of the SERVANT who will bring justice to this earth. This servant is NOT shouting at you. He is NOT twisting your arm. He is NOT putting you in jail for rejecting his justice. He is NOT being irrational and cranky. God will let you stand on your merits BEFORE him. Forget about the servant—be your own lawyer! We can try and justify ourselves before God. We can STAND before the trial judge and plead our innocence and hope that we can satisfy the justice of God.
It sounds much better to me to ask the Judge to pay your fine. What you have done deserves the death penalty. But in the most amazing act of love, God will accept the death of his servant-son on your behalf—if you ask him to!
Life is an arrow. Life has direction. The struggle with CHILDREN, the monotony of WORK, the FRUSTRATION of old age. The inevitability of death. Through the TWISTS and turns of life, God will not rest until his servant brings justice to all the earth.
‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations’ (Isaiah 42:1).
