Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Pre-exilic Prophets 3 (3)
Pray Psalm 9.1, 2.
I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
Sing Psalm 9.1, 2.
(Diademata: Crown Him with Many Crowns)
I will give praise, O LORD, with all my heart to You!
I’ll tell the wonders of Your works, so many and so true!
With joy to You I cry; Your glory I will raise;
Your matchless Name, O LORD Most High, will I forever praise!
Read Isaiah 42.1-11; meditate on verses 1-4.
Preparation
1. Who is coming? What will He do?
2. How will He be able to do this?
Meditation
The people of God had proven one thing through their disobedience: They could not save themselves. They failed the covenant God made with Abraham, and which He renewed and extended with Moses and David (cf. Jer. 31.31, 32). God promised to make a new covenant with His people, and this covenant will be embodied by His Spirit-filled Servant (v. 1), Who will bring justice and righteousness to the world (vv. 1, 4, 6).
The promise is astounding. Even the Gentiles will be embraced in the Servant’s work (v. 1), together with the weak and poor (v. 3). His work will go largely unnoticed in His day (v. 2), but when it is finished, justice will flourish on earth, and even the distant coastlands will “wait for His law” (v. 4). The new covenant God is bringing in through His Servant does not negate the Law, which Israel has chronically disobeyed; it establishes it for all nations (Rom. 3.31).
God reminds the people of His credentials: He is Creator and Sovereign over all things (v. 5). He gives life and breath to every person (v. 5). He will be with His Servant as He comes to redeem the people of Israel and the Gentiles, so that He will not fail in His task (vv. 4, 6). He will bring healing and light and freedom and glory to the world, unlike the false deities Israel banked on for so long (vv. 7-9).
“Remember what I have done, based on what I spoke,” says the LORD (v. 9). “And now I am telling you new things, before they come to pass.” He wants His people to believe His Word, rejoice in His promises, and prepare through obedience to endure judgment with a view to the coming Servant and His redemptive work.Remember. Believe. Obey. Hope. Look to Jesus, God’s Servant. Here’s a formula for every age.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162“A bruised reed He will not break,
and smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth” (Is. 42.3).
To all those who were, are, and will be oppressed—either by enemies, ill-health, poverty, and cruelty—this promise appeals. A Ruler, a King, an Omnipotent full of love and compassion. Tenderness beyond comprehension. Surely a leader, with those qualities, would have been eagerly anticipated and longed for. A leader without equal. And yet, Jesus appeared, with all those qualities and they doubted Him then and continue to do so now.
But to those of us who know Him, oh my, what a King He is!
What Jesus did for the bent woman is what He has done for each of us.
See yourself in this story, feel Jesus’ tender touch upon your life.
His tenderness and compassion are without measure.
He sought her out, as she was so bent over, she couldn’t even see Him.
Remember how He did that for you?
“Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years,
and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.
But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her,
‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’
And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath;
and he said to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which men ought to work;
therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.’
The Lord then answered him and said, ‘Hypocrite!
Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?
So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years,
be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?’
And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame;
and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him” (Lk. 13.10-17).
“This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope.
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I hope in Him!’” (Lam. 3.21-24)
Jesus was promised, then given: “as a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, [and] those who sit in darkness from the prison house” (Is. 42.6, 7) to give new and abundant life to those who “believe on His Name” (Jn. 1.12).
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I AM gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11.28-30).
“Remember. Believe. Obey. Hope. Look to Jesus, God’s Servant.” What a tender Savior!
Reflection
1. How do you experience Jesus as God’s Servant?
2. How do you represent Him as a servant to others?
3. Whom will you serve with the servant love of Jesus today?
[H]e is called a “Servant,” because God the Father not only enjoined Him to teach or to do some particular thing, but called Him to a singular and incomparable work which has nothing in common with other works. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Isaiah 42.1-4
Pray Psalm 9.7-12.
Jesus, the Servant of the LORD, has brought us the gift of salvation and citizenship in His Kingdom. Give Him thanks and praise, and call on Him to help and guide you as you seek His Kingdom and righteousness today.
Sing Psalm 9.7-12.
(Diademata: Crown Him with Many Crowns)
LORD, You forever reign in judgment on Your throne.
The world in bitter wrath and pain Your righteousness will own.
All those who know Your Name, though in this life oppressed,
You shelter from the storms of shame and keep them ever blessed.
Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion fair.
Tell of His deeds ’til all have heard; His faithfulness declare.
When He avenges blood, He will remember all
who honor Him as all men should and on Him humbly call.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
