Isaiah 41:19 – 52:12
Hope of Restoration
Overview
Today God speaks through Isaiah and delivers a message to the people that will give them hope. The Israelites captivity will last for 70 years but God will set a path for their return. Day 51 reveals to us the exciting time when the rod of punishment will be lifted from the Israelites. Cyrus the king of
Babylon will be raised up by God as a deliver. The nation who holds God’s people captive will be used to protect them as they travel back to Judea. Throughout the reading today, Isaiah mentions “my servant”. Sometimes this is Isaiah, and a few times this might be King Cyrus, but there are times I read the words describing “my servant” and I can’t help but picture Christ. At one point Isaiah describes “my servant” as “God’s forgiveness and healing, bearing the sin of many”. Amazing…….. Our reading for the day concludes when God announces to his people through Isaiah that they will return to Judea and populate Jerusalem after the exile.
Scripture Isaiah 42:1
1 “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.
Observation
Isaiah was prophesying about the coming Messiah. He is speaking the words of our Lord. He begins by stating “Here is my servant”. God isn’t speaking about another prophet, rather His Servant. He is “the chosen one”. This is someone with whom God has a special purpose. God will uphold His Servant. Uphold means to “establish and hold firmly with strength”. His Servant is coming for a specific purpose at a specific time to accomplish a specific task. The Spirit of the Lord himself will be upon His Servant. God delights in His Servant and is completely satisfied and takes pleasure in Him. His Servant will bring Justice. The Hebrew word justice has several meanings including judgment, divine law and to properly make things right. We know that the Messiah came to fulfill the law, to be the light of the world, to testify the truth and to be the final atonement for our sin so we can have fellowship and peace with God. His Servant isn’t coming for Israel. He is coming for all nations (Jew and Gentile). The Servant is being sent by God so we can have fellowship with Him.
Application
What an amazing plan. All of this taking place 580 years before Christ would come as the Messiah. Matthew 12:28 quotes the scripture from Isaiah 42. In Matthew, Jesus was healing the sick at the temple on the Sabbath and the Pharisees were telling Jesus he was breaking the law. Jesus replied “I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.” God’s presence was at the Temple of God. To the Israelites, the temple was the center of their worship. Jesus was saying to them that He was more important than the temple. Jesus represents the New Testament temple. He should be our center of worship. Reading Isaiah and seeing God say how pleased he is with Jesus and the purpose of the coming Messiah clearly tells me how much God must love me. He has made a way for us to have fellowship with Him.
Prayer
Lord I Praise your name. You are full of wisdom, mercy and love for your creation. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to be the final atonement for my sin so I can have fellowship and peace with you.
