Day 4 — Isaiah 42:1-9 Behold My Servant, Delight of God
Opening prayer
Heavenly Father, show me the beauty of your Servant, Jesus, and help me to hope in his gentle and global mission. Amen.
Headline
God introduces his perfect Servant, who will bring justice to the nations and light to those in darkness.
Isaiah 42:1-9
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
Comment
Yesterday’s reading ended with a question. Will God leave the nations in their hopelessness? Will he leave them worshipping idols that are “less than nothing” (41:24)?
Today’s passage gives the answer: No.
God says, “Here is my servant” (v.1). Or, as the older translation puts it, “Behold my servant” (ESV). It is a verbal connection to the last verse of the previous chapter (“Behold, they [the idols] are all a delusion” (41:29 ESV)) and sets up a wonderful contrast: at the end of chapter 41, the idols are exposed as empty and useless; at the beginning of chapter 42, God presents his Servant, the one who will fulfil his saving purposes.
This is the first of Isaiah’s great Servant Songs. The Servant is not yet named, but his character and mission are described. He is God’s chosen one, upheld by God, delighted in by God, and filled with God’s Spirit: “I will put my Spirit on him” (v.1). He is everything Israel was meant to be, but had failed to be.
And what will he do? Three times we are told that he will bring “justice” (vv.1,3,4). This means more than punishing wrongdoing, though it includes that. It means putting things right. It means restoring God’s good order to a broken world. It means truth, righteousness, rescue, judgment, renewal, and peace.
But wonderfully, the Servant will not do this in the way we might expect. He will not come with noise, bullying, violence, or self-promotion: “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets” (v.2). Nor will he crush the weak: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out” (v.3).
That is one of the most tender descriptions in the Bible. A bruised reed is already damaged. A smouldering wick is barely alight. And yet the Servant does not despise the fragile, weak, wounded, or nearly extinguished. He restores rather than crushes. He fans the flame rather than snuffs it out.
But his gentleness is not weakness. “He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth” (v.4). The Servant is gentle with the bruised, but utterly determined in his mission. He will not give up until God’s justice reaches the ends of the earth.
This mission is global. The Servant will bring justice “to the nations” (v.1). Even “the islands” — the far-off places — will put their hope in his teaching (v.4). That includes us. We are not ancient Israel. We are among the nations. We are the distant islands. And yet God’s plan was always that his salvation would reach people like us.
The reason is given in verse 5. The LORD is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who gives breath and life to all people. He is not a tribal deity with a local interest. He is the God of all creation, and therefore his Servant must be “a light for the Gentiles” (v.6).
Who is this Servant? The New Testament gives us the answer. At Jesus’ baptism, the Father delights in his Son and the Spirit descends on him. In Matthew 12, Isaiah 42 is quoted directly to explain Jesus’ gentle ministry. Jesus is the Spirit-filled Servant who brings justice, opens blind eyes, frees captives, and shines light into darkness.
Why does God want me to hear this today? Because I need to behold Jesus again. I need to see that God’s answer to the darkness of the nations, and the darkness of my own heart, is not another idol, theory, technique, or self-help strategy. It is his Servant. Jesus is gentle enough to care for my bruised reed heart, strong enough to establish justice on earth, and glorious enough to be light for the nations.
Reflect
- Where do I feel like a bruised reed or smouldering wick today?
- How does the gentleness and determination of Jesus comfort and challenge me?
- What does it mean for me that Jesus is “a light for the Gentiles” (v.6)?
Closing prayer
Lord God, thank you for your perfect Servant, Jesus Christ. Thank you that he is gentle with the weak, faithful in his mission, and light for the nations. Open my blind eyes, free me from darkness, and help me to share in his mission by proclaiming his glory. Amen
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