F O O T H O L D
READING
44 GOD'S SERVANT
PRAY Almighty Lord, make me
fit for any task you have for me today.
READ Isaiah 42:117.
THINK What does this chapter
tell us about justice and mercy?
FOCUS This chapter begins
with the first of several passages in Isaiah
that are called 'Servant
songs'. But who is this servant (1)? God
always has his servants in
the world: the nation of Israel itself
could be the servant, or the
prophet Isaiah or the Persian King
Cyrus (see Isaiah 45:1). Of
course, we can rightly describe every
Christian as God's servant.
There is some doubt about who the
prophet originally had in
mind. However, only one person has fully
served God as this passage
describes Jesus Christ.
GENTLE BUT STRONG (14).
Matthew 12:1521 refers these verses to
Jesus. What a quiet and
gentle character this servant is! Notice
the beautiful pictures that
are painted (3). In our society the
weak and powerless ('a bent
reed', 'a flickering lamp') are often
exploited, but not by the
Servant. But however gentle his methods
are, note how complete his
work is. (See verses 1 and 4.) Is the
clue to his success in verse
1?
DARKNESS TO LIGHT (59).
Here we have the majesty of a God who
'created the heavens'. He is
the one who, through his servant, is
to bring 'light to the
nations' and to 'open the eyes of the
blind'. What a staggering
picture this is of the Creator who takes
a personal interest in his
people. He can use us to bring light.
A SONG OF PRAISE (1017).
The prophet breaks out into a new song.
He encourages even the
creatures of the sea and desert to join
him. And no wonder! For God
promises not only to prepare the way
for his people (15,16), but
also to be their personal guide (16).
PRAY Ask God to help you be
a true and faithful servant.
