The Servant of the LORD
Isaiah 49:1-7
1Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The LORD called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3And he said to me, "You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified."[a]
4But I said, "I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the LORD,
and my recompense with my God."
5And now the LORD says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him--
for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength--
6he says:
"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
7Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
posted by geoffrobinson at 7:39 AM
2 Comments:
Read Corinthians 9:20-22, Isaiah 11:9-10, Isaiah 40:5, Zephania 3:9and, if you will, give me some of your thoughts.
In 1st Corithinians, Paul is following the Jewish custom of the day. From 'the New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism': "[This idea is] taken over by Paul from Jewish teaching on the subject: the idea that you must adopt the customs and mood of the person you wish to win over...." Apparently, there are example of Hillel which illustrate this.
Isaiah 11 speaks of the Messiah. Some commentators I've read look at the promises in it as being fulfilled in the new disposition of the believer's heart when the Spirit of God changes you. Others, to a yet future fulfillment. I think I tend towards both. There is an already and a not yet. In verse 10, the Gentiles seek the Messiah and the Messiah has a glorious resting place. I see an already and a not yet there as well.
Psalm 95 draws a parallel between forgiveness from God and God's rest. Therefore, it is quite fitting that the Messiah's resting place should be glorious.
We see Isaiah 40:5 as part of a prophecy for John the Baptist (mikvah, immersion, etc), the forerunner of the Messiah.
I believe the glory mentioned in this passage is the glory of the Messiah being in the midst of the people. So my thoughts turn to the glory manifested in the coming of the Messiah. Haggai 2 relates that the glory of the second temple will be greater than the glory of the first temple. That is the Messiah coming to the temple. As Malachi 3:1 states (and it ties both of these threads together): "'Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, in who you delight. Behold, He is coming.' Says the LORD of hosts."
Zephaniah 3:9 is not a verse I've thought much about to be honest with you. The giving of a pure language strikes me as the reversal of the curse at Babel. And serving the LORD with one accord is something I greatly desire. May God's Spirit work that within us. May we get a down payment of that now, even before the next age when all evil is wiped away.
Thanks for asking about a diverse group of Scriptures. I love reflecting on them.
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