This SIGN was recently spotted in the airport lounge of an INDIAN airport (slide):
We request all passengers not to hand over their mobile phones / personal belongings to any member of our staff.
If any passenger may choose to do so, it will be at their own risk as to the cost and consequences and the management shall not be responsible for the same.
It’s a great way to show your staff that you TRUST them. Today we look at the third servant song and we are given every REASON why we should trust the Lord with our life. The servant of the Lord is NOT out to rip us off, he is not out to FURTHER his own agenda.
We are looking at the servant songs because we want to SHARPEN our understanding of Jesus. We want to AFFIRM the importance of living with Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Paul puts it NEATLY in Colossians, ‘So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness’. (Col 2:6 –7).
HOW have we received Christ Jesus as Lord? WHAT sought of Christ is he? WHY should we continue to embed our lives in him? Isaiah helps us ANSWER these questions. He speaks of an unnamed SERVANT who will rescue the nations. Moses and Cyrus are but poor reflections. Isaiah speaks of a servant who will restore JUSTICE. A man who will persist in the face of TERRIBLE opposition. A LOWLY servant who will speak mighty words. One day all the nations will bow down before him.
We ought not miss the excitement. I went to a Christian FUNERAL a few Mondays ago. In the midst of sadness there was EXCITEMENT about the future. The vision of the new heavens and the new earth. The unnamed servant who will DELIVER Israel and rescue the nations. The one who will NOT falter until he establishes justice on earth. The servant whose POWERFUL words will pierce hearts and move people to their KNEES in repentance.
We are exiles and we long for the day when the Christ will COME and deliver us from this broken world. We long for the day when ‘the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind’ (Isaiah 65:17).
What a wonderful thought! NO more pain. NO repressed memories coming back to haunt you. NO more lamenting and crying and anguish. NO more mourning for lost parents and SPOUSES and children. The BURDEN of sin, forgotten.
Rev 22 paints a wonderful picture. For the SAINTS there ‘will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever’ (Rev 22:5). The Welsh commentator, Matthew HENRY says that ‘the glorified saints will therefore have forgotten this world, because they will be entirely taken up with the other’.
This is the great VISION which Isaiah lays before us. And I hope this excites you and energises you to continue living with Christ Jesus as Lord.
Jesus knew the servant songs. He knew that the MESSIAH must suffer and die, and on the third day he would RISE again. Jesus KNEW that he was the suffering servant of whom ISAIAH spoke. How ISAIAH would have longed to have been at his baptism. For as Jesus ROSE from the water, the Spirit descended upon him—and our MINDS are back in Isaiah 42, ‘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).
And then the VOICE from heaven, ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’ (Mk 1:11). ‘You are my Son’. THINK of Psalm 2. The baptised Son is NO less than the ‘Son of God’—the Messiah—the long awaited KING. ‘With you I am well pleased’ echoes ‘my chosen one in whom I delight’. Because you are my unique Son, I have CHOSEN you for the task. The FATHER says at his baptism, ‘My Son, you are my servant-king’.
Want to be GREAT in this church? We measure GREATNESS by service because Jesus says, ‘Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants be first must be a slave of all’ (Mk 10:43–44). Servant-hearts are an EXPRESSION of our love. If you want to be really great in BHP, then become a board member or make a fortune as the CEO. But if you want to be great in this church then ‘bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another’ (Col 3:13). Love each other as CHRIST has loved you.
The third song expands our understanding of the servant. We can NO longer keep the servant at an arms length. We are FORCED to make decisions. We are FORCED to plot a course through life. Come with me to Isaiah 50:10. Isaiah asks a most important question, a question that takes us to the HEART of our studies. WHAT is your relationship to the servant? ‘WHO among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God’ (Isaiah 50:10).
Who among you fears the Lord?
The world does NOT like to think in terms of judgement and condemnation. It does NOT like the idea of JUDGEMENT in religion. But the Bible says that we are accountable to God as Judge. We cannot live like beasts who act by INSTINCT and impulse. We have to give an ACCOUNT for our behaviour. There is a judgement seat within each one of us and it TESTIFIES that we are not beings of chance. We are made by GOD and he is our Judge. Since we are MADE in the image of God we have some IDEA of his standards of justice. But the unregenerate person SUPPRESSES the truth and perverts what he knows.
The most FUNDAMENTAL problem people have is their guilt before God. So Isaiah probes, ‘Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant’? The answer is an important one.
(slide) In The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis has two girls, Susan and Lucy, are getting ready to meet Aslan the lion who REPRESENTS Christ. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. BEAVER, prepare the children for the encounter. ‘Ooh’, said SUSAN, ‘I though he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion’. ‘That you will, dearie’, said Mrs. BEAVER. “And make no mistake, if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knee's knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly’.
‘Then isn't he safe’? said Lucy. ‘Safe’? said Mr. BEAVER. “Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you”!
We have every reason to FEAR God. He’s GOOD, but he’s not safe. God is not one to be MESSED around with and if you think you can IGNORE God and treat him lightly then you will LEARN that he’s not safe.
This is NO game. This is NOT ‘your religion verses my religion’. It’s NOT ‘my church is better than your church’. There’s one GOD and we better get it right. And Isaiah says that we SHOULD fear the Lord which leads to obeying the words of his servant. A wise person trusts in the NAME of the Lord. ‘Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant’? (Isaiah 50:10).
There are TWO answers given in the text. The rest of verse 10 is CONCERNED with the person whose HEART is with the Lord but has run into a time of darkness. The exhortation is to KEEP trusting the Lord. Keep listening to his word. Then verse 11 considers the person who has NO fear whatsoever of the Lord and his servant. This person DECIDES to go their own way.
What is a believer to do in times of darkness? A darkness NOT of the heart but of the mind. A time of DARKNESS which comes to all of us who love the Lord. It is PART of our humanity. Christians are NOT spared the anguish of this world. Our heart is with the Lord yet our mind STRAYS into areas it should not go. Our EMOTIONS can throw us around like a small boat in a storm. We STUMBLE through the darkness. ‘Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God’ (Isaiah 50:10).
My devotional BOOK looks me in the face and asks, ‘Dear believer, does this describe you? What should you do in times of darkness’? The right thing to do is LISTEN to the words of the servant. The FIRST and proper thing is simply to trust God, for he CARES for all your needs. Our concern must be to REST in his faithfulness.
There are some things not of our own making and over which we have NO control. Do not worry so much that you FORGET to turn your problem over to the Lord. Worrying can send us scurrying in different directions. When DARKNESS strikes terror in our hearts, the thought might be to run back and forth, exhausting ourselves as we seek relief from our problem. We drive ourselves into the ground.
Only the PEACE of God will quiet our minds and put our HEARTS at rest. We must place our hands in his loving hands. Like a little child, we must allow him to lead us into the BRIGHT sunshine of his love. As Dr PARDINGTON says, ‘He knows the way out of the dense, dark forest, so may we climb into his arms, trusting him to rescue us by showing us the shortest and most reliable road’.
Others choose to forge their OWN path through life. Verse 11 considers the self-made man. The person who reckons they have life worked out and there is NOTHING and no-one to fear because they are in control. This is the PERSON who prefers darkness over light. Verse 11, ‘But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment’ (Isaiah 50:11).
The self-made person LIGHTS his own way. He STRIKES his own torch. He is the BOSS and no-one can tell him what to do. The RESPONSE? Enjoy your own light BEFORE it turns to darkness and then you will lie down in miserable torment. Before Isaiah, the Teacher wrote a book about WISDOM. He critiques life in this world. And now he whispers gently in our ears, ‘Light your own torch? Tread your own way’? ‘”Meaningless! Meaningless!”, says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless’ (Ecc 1:2).
If you who light your OWN way, if YOU are so wise and clever, then you SOLVE the problem of old age? If you are so wise, YOU tell me when I’ll die? I’m waiting! The Teacher says, ‘No man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them’ (Ecc 9:12).
The day will come when people will MOURN your passing. And there is NOTHING you can do about! When I was growing up a friend of mine got DRUNK one night and he fell off a cliff to his DEATH. Go on, LIGHT your own touch, walk in the LIGHT of your fires, enjoy your WEALTH and your PLEASURE and your wisdom and your RELIGION. But its all meaningless, simply after a chasing after the wind. But the Teacher knows wisdom. The Teacher UNDERSTANDS reality. ‘Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil’ (Ecc 12:13–14).
The Teacher POINTS us back to the servant of the Lord. Fear God and keep his commandments. HOW do we fear God? By obeying the WORDS of his servant. A wise person recognises reality and lives in harmony with reality. So fear the Lord and listen to his servant.
The WORDS of the servant are not hard. They are NOT testing. Anyone can understand them. Jesus, the servant-king, CAME into this world and he said, ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him’ (Jn 3:36). HOW can this be hard to understand? BELIEVE in the Son—have life; REJECT the Son and his righteous anger will fall upon you. ISAIAH puts it this way: those who reject the servant will ‘lie down in torment’ (Isaiah 50:11).
It’s MEANT to be a particularly unpleasant expression. What is this torment? What’s so bad about God’s anger? What is the END for those who ‘light their own fires’? The IMAGERY in Isaiah is startling. For instances in Isaiah 65:11, ‘But as for you who forsake the LORD and forget my holy mountain, who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter; for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me’ (Isaiah 65:11–12).
Being destined for the SWORD means death. God’s punishment for sin is DEATH. With all the energy he can muster, God implores us not to ignore his voice. We may all physically die, but the death to REALLY fear is permanent separation from God. Matthew Henry says, ‘Those that make the world their comfort, and their own righteousness their confidence, will certainly meet with fatal disappointment, which will be bitterness in the end […] A wicked man’s way maybe pleasant, but his end and endless abode will be utter darkness’.
This world had a beginning and it WILL come to an end. So watch out! Be warned! Life is short and what you do with it counts for eternity.
The FIRST part of the song builds our confidence in the servant. We learn why his word is more trustworthy than the STAFF at a particular airport. In verses 4 to 11 we gain INSIGHT into the servant’s character. He is the perfect disciple. The Lord himself tells him what to say. Have a look at verse 4, ‘The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary’ (Isaiah 50:11).
The servant ISN’T making policy on the run. The servant DOESN’T act apart from his Father. He does not go his own way. He DOESN’T walk in the light of his own fire. Rather the servant RECEIVES his words from the Father and he SPEAKS them to this world. Much later Jesus will say, ‘For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God […] The Father loves the Son and has placed everything into his hands’ (Jn 34–35).
We can TRUST the servant because he REVEALS the Father to us. Each day the servant SUBMITS to the will of the Father. ‘He wakens me morning by morning (verse 4), wakens my ear to listen like one being taught, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back’ (Isaiah 50:4). NOT once does the Son recoil from his duty. NOT once does he rebel. NOT once does he question his Father. He offers his BACK to those who beat him. He does not hide his face from spitting and mocking. The servant is prepared to pay a high price for bringing justice to the earth.
The servant SPEAKS in his own defence. ‘He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up’ (Isaiah 50:8–9).
No charge can be brought AGAINST the servant-king. For in perfect OBEDIENCE to the Father he brings justice to this world. After Jesus healed a man born blind, he said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind’ (Jn 9:39). The flaming torch of the self-made person may light the way. But the day is COMING when that light will be extinguished and what remains will be darkness.
There is a much BETTER way. ‘Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God’ (Isaiah 50:10). Let the servant light your path, submit to his word. For whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
