Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 42:1-9

Consider these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 42:1-9:

1. In Isaiah 42, the servant of the Lord is described as someone who brings forth justice, supports the weak, and restores the bruised reed and faintly burning wick. How does this passage illustrate the compassionate and merciful nature of God's servant, ultimately pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of this role?

2. The passage emphasizes both the transcendence and immanence of God, highlighting His role as the Creator of the universe and His close relationship with His covenant people. How does this balance between God's greatness and His nearness impact our understanding of Him?

3. The chapter mentions the servant being "a light for the nations." What significance does this have in the context of the Old Testament, and how does it relate to the broader message of salvation and redemption in the Bible?

Transcript:
Another fantastic passage that's a break for us from all of the judgment language. Here we have something completely different. We see this on display here for us mostly in verse three. We see that this is a servant of God who is going to come. Ultimately, this is pointing forward to Jesus. It's telling us that He is going to come. He is going to be the salvation. He is going to be the one who builds up and sustains His people. We see, as I said in verse 3, how this is good news for people who have been under judgment because what is He going to do? A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. What we see here is that for those who are not feeling so strong, those who feel that they are on the verge of breaking a bruised reed, this one, this Lord's servant who is coming, is not going to break them. And if their fire is barely burning, He's not going to quench it. He is not going to put it out. It's not going to be snuffed out.

Instead, it is going to continue to burn because what do we see? He will faithfully bring forth justice. The servant of the Lord is going to do these things. We also see in verse 4, He's not going to grow faint or be discouraged till he's established justice in the earth and the coastlands wait for His law. We see that this is going to be something that is expanding. This is something that only God can do because notice, he's not going to grow faint. He's not going to be discouraged. Humans have that problem, right? But the servant who is coming does not. We see once again, God establishing who He is and how He is above the false idol, the false gods of the other nations. He is going to continue. He is going to do these things. We see that He is being set up as being more than just a regional God, a God of one nation. He is a God over all the nations. We see this because He isn't just a God who did something for these people over here, He's the God who created the heavens and stretched them out. Wow.

Who is this God who can do this, who can place the stars in the sky from a great distance away, the one who can spread out the earth? Not only that, but He gives breath to the people. We see that this is the Lord. He is Yahweh. He is the I am who I am. He is the God of all creation. But notice that He is these great things who's done these amazing things that are distant. But at the same time, it says, I have called you in righteousness, and I'm going to take you by the hand and keep you. This God is not distant. The Lord is not distant. He is near to them. Not only is He taking them by the hand, He's keeping them. Then notice here, he's going to give this servant as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations to open the eyes that are blind and bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. This is what this servant is going to do. It's going to be a reversal. It's going to be an amazing thing that is happening.

God is doing this for His people. Again, He establishes the God who is over all things, but yet at the same time, He's near to His people. He is in covenant with His people. We see once again that He declares who He is. I am the Lord. Again, notice that this is in all caps. As we've noticed before, when it's in all caps, that's the proper name from God. They would not say this in Hebrew. They would say the word Lord or Adonai in Hebrew because the proper name of God, Yahweh, was too holy. They didn't want to take God's name in vain, so they said Lord instead of actually saying His name. But we see here that God is saying, I am the Lord. I am Yahweh. That's my name. My glory, I give to you in other normal, I praise to carved idols. He is above all else. His glory is the glory. It's it. There's no one greater than Him. And what's His proof? Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare before they spring forth, I tell them to you. In other words, He is able to see the future.

He is able to be giving this prophetic word to His people. This establishes who He is and that He is this one who is doing these things for His people. We see the beautiful news of the Gospel here, not only in just the fact that this is the God who takes His people by hand and that He is in covenant with them, but this verse 3 is very well known. A bruised reed, he will not break, and a faintly burning wick, he will not quench. How often do you feel like a bruised reed? You can know that Christ has come to save you from your sin. He brings you to himself by His grace. No matter how bruised your read is, you will not be broken by Christ. In a faintly burning wick, when you feel as though your fire is not burning, He is not going to put you out. He is the source of your fire, and He will build you up. We can rest not only in this fact that God takes us by our hand, but also that He is the one who comes to us in mercy. May we rest in that today and may we be blessed by this good news that he is not going to break the bruised reed or snuff out the faintly burning wick.