42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged1
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
5 Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “ I am the Lord; I have called you2 in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord goes out like a mighty man,
like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.
14 For a long time I have held my peace;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into islands,3
and dry up the pools.
16 And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.
17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
who trust in carved idols,
who say to metal images,
“ You are our gods.”
18 Hear, you deaf,
and look, you blind, that you may see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf as my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as my dedicated one,4
or blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 He sees many things, but does not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.
21 The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,
to magnify his law and make it glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted;
they are all of them trapped in holes
and hidden in prisons;
they have become plunder with none to rescue,
spoil with none to say, “Restore!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this,
will attend and listen for the time to come?
24 Who gave up Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk,
and whose law they would not obey?
25 So he poured on him the heat of his anger
and the might of battle;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.
Section Overview: Enter the Servant
Introduced here is the figure of the servant through whom Yahweh’s purposes are to be carried out. Verses 1–4 (perhaps including vv. 5–9) are often regarded as the first of four Servant Songs in Isaiah. The others are 49:1–6; 50:4–9; and 52:13–53:12.
Isaiah 42 makes a clear contrast between the servant of verses 1–4 and Israel, the failed servant of verses 18–25. Israel/Jacob was indeed called to be Yahweh’s servant (41:8) but had signally failed in that task, although in every generation a remnant kept the faith alive. It was to and from this remnant that the true servant would come and fulfill what Israel had failed to do. Thus when Jesus calls himself the “true vine” (John 15:1–17), he is thinking of the spoiled vine of Israel, taken from Egypt and planted in the Promised Land but never producing a good harvest (cf. Psalm 80; Isaiah 5, the picture of a spoiled vineyard).
The chapter unfolds in four sections. The first (42:1–4) presents God’s chosen servant, who brings justice and is distinguished not only for his ability to complete the work but also for the blend of strength and tenderness in his character. His work will affect not only Israel but the whole world.
This task is confirmed by Yahweh himself (vv. 5–9), who again presents himself as Creator and Lord of history who cares deeply for the peoples of the earth and seeks to call them into a covenant relationship with him. His glory will be established and his name honored.
The third section (vv. 10–17) is a call for universal praise from all the varied seascapes and landscapes of the world. God’s victory will be the subject of song, and his coming will turn the world upside down. It will reveal the barrenness of idolatry and bring light into the world.
By contrast verses 18–25 focus on the failure of Israel as Yahweh’s servant. They had been deaf to his word and blind to his working in the world. They had therefore not only failed to share the message but had not modeled what it was like to be God’s servant. Thus judgment had come, and they had still failed to see what God was doing.
Section Outline
IV. To Whom Can You Compare God? (40:1–55:13) . . .
C. Enter the Servant (42:1–25)
1. He Leads Strongly and Gently (42:1–4)
2. The One Who Calls Him Rules Space and Time (42:5–9)
3. The Lord Is Worthy of Universal Praise (42:10–17)
4. The Blindness of Israel (42:18–25)
Response
This chapter has much to say about true authority and leadership, which is embodied in the person of the servant. This title is significant because it shows his accountability, unlike the great kings of the time, who were accountable to nobody. Yet the title “servant” does not imply subservience, because he comes in the name of, and empowered by, the Spirit of Yahweh—indeed, as one equal with the Lord God himself. This accountability has much to say to leadership in the church, where lip service is often paid to servant ministry but too often the reality is a love of power and manipulation—as with “Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first” (3 John 9). A concern for the weak and struggling will always mark the true servant leader.
A concern for the future of God’s creation marks this chapter, as does so much of the rest of the book. The created order matters to God, and he will be praised not only by the inhabitants of the earth but by creation itself (cf. Psalms 147–150). The praise of God will open blind eyes and unlock deaf ears. Praising God in the present creation—which is still good, though fallen—anticipates the day in which everything that has breath will praise the Lord.
The failure of Israel in her servant task is often mirrored in the continuing failure of God’s people to teach his Word and reflect his glory. It is particularly important to be faithful to God’s Word and to proclaim it clearly and faithfully, thus shining light into the surrounding darkness. Above all, the failure of human servants means that a divine servant is needed; the following chapters will explore this theme further.Isaiah 42
Isaiah 43