The Servant Songs in Isaiah

The Servant Songs in Isaiah. (pg 138-141)

The Arm of the Lord and the Servant of the Lord is the same person.

Psalm 98:1 'His right hand & His mighty arm has achieved for Him the victory.'

Isaiah 51:5 'My arm shall judge the people & on My arm shall they trust.'

Isaiah 62:8 'The Lord has sworn by His right hand & by the arm of His strength.'

Isaiah 59:16 'The Lord saw that there was no man & was amazed there was no intercessor. So His own arm brought salvation for Him & His own righteousness sustained Him.'

SOL/ Servant of the Lord. AOL/ Arm of the Lord. Same person. The Messiah. Anointed.

Isaiah 42:1-3 To meet the needs of the Gentiles

Behold means see & listen with full attention. Jesus used this word in Revelation 3:20 My Servant is nameless. One I grip tightly, A close relationship.  My elect one, chosen giving Me great pleasure. The SOL delights the Lord. My Spirit is upon Him. The presence of the Lord was in him with power.

How does the SOL work? Does not make a noise, works quietly. Does not impose Himself but waits to be invited. Gentle in his approach and whispers the truth.

SOL will reject no one. A bruised reed used by a shepherd to play a tune is not discarded but carefully restored to play again. A dimly burning wick is cleaned to burn brightly. No one in His hands is discarded but restored to usefulness. He will not let go of those who follow Him. He will complete what He has begun in their lives.

The SOL is hidden in the shadow of God’s hand  until the chosen time to be revealed. He will work effectively like a polished arrow. He will not fail. God will be glorified in Him.

Isaiah 42:6-9 You is the SOL called to carry out the Lord’s plan. Not left on His own but will go with Him to achieve the goal. Keep You, and enable you to carry out the purpose of Your life.

The SOL is the covenant.  In Him the blessings of the covenant are experienced. It is all the work of God . Gentiles are brought into a covenant relationship with God who does everything and all the Gentiles do is receive. The spiritually blind are able to see. Those bound by the Law are set free, those trapped in darkness are released. This is all the Lord’s doing.

Who is He ?  I am the Lord. I am that I am. Eternal, unchanging,  His nature, His glory is His alone. What the Lord is going to do to accomplish everything He has planned, will become known in the future.

Sound of singing  Isaiah 42:10-17 The SOL brought hope to the islands in v4. The SOL would open the eyes of the blind, v7, their darkness would become light v16. idols no longer get His glory but instead the islanders would praise Him

v10-13 A call to sing.  Kedar Syrian desert, Sela in Moab  contrasts: desert /islands, earth/sea,  sea /mt tops  - world wide praise of the Lord doing a new thing

v14 Long silence – the Gentile world. The blind will be led, darkness will become light, rough will become smooth.

Salvation will come to the Gentiles. Acts 26:18

Isaiah 49:1-4. To meet the needs of the Jews who are bound by the Law, blind spiritually and unable to live out the Law. Sinners like all mankind.

The SOL calls all to listen to Him 'Before I was born the Lord called  Me.'  I existed before I was called!

From my birth He had made mention of my Name. 'You shall call Him Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins.'

'He made my mouth like a sharpened arrow' – effective, powerful, never at a loss for words.

'Shadow of His hand He hid Me... Concealed Me in His quiver.' A long time of preparation and kept out of the limelight of man. For 30 years Jesus was son of Joseph a carpenter of Nazareth. A nobody!

The Lord called Me. To serve.     From birth made mention of My name.  Identity.

He made My mouth. Prepared.  Shadow of His hand. Secrecy

He made me into a polished arrow.  Effective.  Concealed in His quiver

He said to me You are my servant.   Status.   My servant Israel. The person

SOL is human

Called by God= appointed, special status and work to be carried out

Mouth  An effective prophet to convey God’s Word 'His mouth like a Sharpened sword'. Hebrews 4:12 'The word of God is alive & active. Sharper than any two edged sword dividing soul & spirit, joints & marrows. Judges the thoughts & attitudes of the heart.' Note the arrow for long distance. The sword for close encounter. The SOL is equipped for every situation.

Quiver : Personal close  attention of the Lord for a specific target.

My servant Israel. Refers to Jacob a person whose name & life was changed.

So the SOL is like the person of Jacob but different in whom is the splendour of God.

Isaiah 49:4 SOL sensed He had accomplished in human terms very little. But He left what He did to the Lord to evaluate. Only The Lord’s recognition is of value.

The SOL is answerable to the Lord alone.

Isaiah 49:5 The SOL credits the Lord alone for His being formed in the womb. To be His servant to bring back His people to Himself. He will succeed.

Isaiah 49:6-7 SOL is not the nation Israel that failed to please God. THE SOL is the true Israel what the nation was meant to be. To bring back those of Israel I have kept. And also a light to the Gentiles to make possible salvation for all mankind.

Isaiah 49:7 The right to the name has passed from the nation to the SOL who was despised & rejected by the nation. Leaders will bow down to You.

The Obedient Servant Isaiah 50:4-9

The SOL has been given by the Lord God a tongue of those that have been taught.

A disciple’s tongue so he knows what to say & how to say a word that sustains & encourages those that are fainting because of life’s troubles. The Lord wakens SOL every morning the ear to hear the word of the Lord to listen to be taught.

v5 'The Lord God opened my ears' and the SOL responded by listening to know what to say and do. He was obedient in detail. Jesus said that He always heard what to say & how to say it.

v6 When the will of the Lord was revealed the SOL offered His back to be beaten, He did not resist, 'my cheeks to those who pulled at my beard', He did not retaliate, He did not resist. When mocked and spat on He did not respond. He relied on the Lord God to get through the period of suffering. He was determined to carry out in detail what had been planned for His life.

v9 Opposition to the SOL’s ministry is short lived but the Lord is eternal who will help Him.

Tail to the third Servant Song v10-11

Two kinds of people: One who has no light but obeys the word of the SOL. Goes through times of darkness by trusting the Lord

v11 Other people try to overcome darkness by their own devices will lie down in torment.

Our model is the one who cannot be accused. He was always obedient & trusted v7,9. So do those in v10 who fear the Lord when going through dark periods keep trusting the Lord.

The Triumph of the Servant Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12

v13 See/behold/ Give me all your attention. My servant Watch Him as He makes possible what He does. Nameless at the time. Belong to the Lord . Brings Him pleasure Pre-eminent in all aspects of life. Acts wisely. Never at a loss for words. Exalted after what He has done. Who is He?

v14 Many are shocked. What caused Him to be disfigured unlike any other?

v15 Sprinkle is the role of a priest. Not only Jews but Gentiles who had neither the covenants nor promises of God. Kings are speechless. No one like Him. No one suffers like this. No other accomplishes so much for so many

Isaiah 53:1-3 Who is He?  Who is the AOL?  God Himself. Only God can reveal the truth about this man. AOL not like a prophet from God but God Himself. He acts in the same way as Dt 7:18-19   Acts of the mighty hand & outstretched arm. AOL & SOL the same person  only find out about him if the Lord reveals it to you. Personal.

v2 A nobody arrives, like a root out of dry ground. Which does not attract attention. The AOL? He grew up before the Lord. The AOL?  Not tall like Saul or handsome like David.

v3 Not draw large crowds by His appearance. Aware of impact of sin on man. We needed one to cater for our needs. Little in life to cause joy. It is our problem, our spiritual poverty.  We thought He was to blame but the fault lay with us.

v4 Suddenly the Lord gives insight, the veil of understanding is lifted. Not His griefs but ours. All that spoilt our lives He took on Himself. We thought God made Him suffer for His sins but in fact it was for ours. A man of sorrows but not His own. He is alone in his sufferings. He suffered for us yet we had no part in those sufferings except He took them on Himself

v5 The SOL deals with our sin, our alienation from God, our broken personality. On His own. He took our place took our load on Himself. Pierced fatally, paid our transgression, crushed, trampled to death on behalf of us. Punishment that brought us peace/wholeness/restoration. To restore our whole personality with God He was punished. It brought harmony in our lives in our relationships with people and God. Only the Prince of Peace can do that.  Through his wounds we are healed.

v6 While the SOL suffers we are still going astray & the Lord lays on Him the SOL all our ways. No other can suffer like this. Only as the AOL a member of the Trinity can He take our place. We are like sheep that go their own way when they have no shepherd. All are lost All fail the test. The Lord lays on the SOL all our going astray taking on Himself the wrath of God. The Lord, the Servant are two persons. The SOL becomes the Lamb of God that takes on Himself the sin of the world.

v7 The SOL Humbled Himself Allowed others to treat him as they chose. He does nothing nor resists their actions. He accepts injustice & the death He does not deserve.. No verbal resistance. He was willing to be put to death  to deal with our willful turning away from God. Only a person can take the place of a person. Only a consenting will can take the place of a rebellious will.

v8 The SOL was taken out to die after the process of the Law. He was cut off, a violent act, cut down in death. Taking on Himself the law breaking of man.

v9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked (plural) & the rich(singular) in his burial. He shared in the deaths of all the wages of sin though He himself had done no violence. Nor was deceit in His mouth.

v10 The SOL is triumphant. A way had been found that caused the Lord delight though at such great cost to deal with sin yet save the sinner. A sin offering meeting both the needs of man & the holiness of God.  The SOL does not bring a sacrifice. He is the sacrifice.  He makes his soul an offering for sin. We all go astray like sheep  only He makes it possible for us to return as children. He shall prolong his day. The one who died did not stay dead. The SOL is alive after death. The SOL will see the results of His suffering and death as He acts as the executor of the will of God. The SOL knows the needs to be met & how to meet those needs.. He will complete what He started because the Lord will cause him to prosper after death.

v11 He will see the light of life after death. My righteous servant SOL fully accepted. He is alive. Free from sin yet identified with our need . Many not just forgiven but righteous and allocated to the SOL The strong are His own spoil, the results of His victory.

No one took His life, He lay it down willingly.

v12 He lay down His life, his good name, regarded ass a rebel, to take the place of those going astray. He acted as mediator to introduce others to God. He stands with us to bring us to God. He prayed for those involved in his death and identified with sinners though not sinful Himself.

Tail piece Isaiah 54 Barren woman. & her spreading family.

Isaiah 55 Whole world invited to a new creation.