Isaiah 42:1-9

Isaiah 42:1-9 (NRSV)

 Here is 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 or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

³ a bruised reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

⁴ He will not grow faint or be crushed

until he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his teaching. 

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 upon it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

⁶ I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

a light to 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 idols.

⁹ See, the former things have come to pass,

and new things I now declare;

before they spring forth,

I tell you of them. 

Isaiah 42:1-9 is the first servant poem. The other "servant" poems (42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12) are occasions in which the prophetic writer describes the mission and the suffering the servant encounters in the fulfillment of that mission.

Inquiring minds want to know the identity of the servant, and many suggestions have been advanced, including Isaiah himself, Cyrus, or the Messiah. Still others see a collective consciousness in the mission of the servant; this ambassador of justice is Israel the nation, a spiritual Israel, or even the prophets. It could refer to a Spirit-endowed messianic Son of David deliverer. The a priori assumption most interpreters bring to this passage is that it is messianic, and further, that the messiah figure referenced here is none other than Jesus the Christ.

The Old Testament notion of covenant finds its supreme qualification in the final mission of Israel is to the nations. Why did God separate, possess, and address, this people? In the light of the future, the prophet provides an answer. In the last days God will wonderfully show that the covenant of the Lord with Israel was not itself an end. It had a provisional and representative significance. Israel has a mission. Israel is a sign and witness to all peoples. The redemptive will of God is what they are to share with all humanity. In this passage, the question whether this partner, the servant of the Lord, is collective Israel or a single person is not one anyone can settle, because it does not demand an answer either way. The answer may be both. In any case, this servant of the Lord is partner with the Lord.[1]

Isaiah contributes two distinct ideas to that line of thought. The first is the democratizing of royal enlightenment to the entire people of Israel, Yahweh’s chosen servant. The second is the notion of enlightenment for the purpose of servanthood in the community of nations. Both ideas are unique to Israel, and the second was a radical reinterpretation of traditional notions of nationhood. One nation — weakened, dispirited, and humiliated — commissioned by its patron deity to serve other nations — not as punishment but rather as mission — was unprecedented in the literature of the ancient world and undoubtedly unpopular among many of the prophet’s contemporaries. That the idea gained sufficient traction to achieve canonical status is remarkable testimony to the breadth of Israel’s religious thought.

Isaiah 42: 1-4 describe the mission of the servant. The song begins with the presentation or announcement of the Servant, in a manner reminiscent of the royal designation decrees or oracles of this period.[2] First, once the Lord anoints him with the Spirit, this servant will embody God's justice.  The second phase of his task is the establishing of God's justice on all the earth.  The third phase of the servant's call describes the scope of the task, which is to all nations. ¹Here, a vague reference as to the identity of the servant, is my servant (the prophet himself, David, Israel, Zion, Israelites), whom I uphold, my chosen for a mission, but purposefully keeping the identity of the servant obscure, in whom my soul (nephesh) delights; as one who has a mission, I have put my spirit upon him. Whether soul/spirit refers to humans or the deity (e.g., 1:14; Psalm 11:5), it obviously denotes not the more important half of the body-soul dichotomy but the essential nature of the referent. “My very being” would be an appropriate translation. Regardless of the identity or time of the arrival of the servant, this servant is clearly in the supreme favor of the Lord. Thus, this chosen one is not without empowerment. The Spirit of the LORD is with all God’s servants, in our own pain and for living and working justly in the world. Matthew 12:18 finds in the healing ministry of Jesus a fulfillment of the promise here that God will equip the Servant of the Lord with the Spirit of God. The Spirit provides an empowering that will enable the servant to fulfill the terms of his mission. Any reference to divine good pleasure that has a close relation to the divine word and to the Spirit of the Lord and finds expression in the divine good pleasure in whom the Lord finds pleasure becomes part of our notion of the will of God.[3] The words recall Matthew 3:13-17 and Matthew quotes them in 12:18-21 as the healing ministry of Jesus fulfilling this passage. For the New Testament, if Jesus is like this servant, then those who follow Jesus are to bear the same marks. Disciples are to suffer with Christ and bear the wounds of this world by carrying the cross daily.  I Peter 2:21 is instructive in referring to the calling of Christians to toward the Christ who suffered for them, leaving them an example, that they should follow in his steps. The text now identifies the mission: He will bring forth justice to the nations (goyim). The servant is the mediation of the revelation of the Lord. In the broad conception of this passage, the aim of the election of Israel was that it should proclaim the righteous will of God to the nations. Yes, it must be separate, but God summons Israel to be a sign of the righteous will of God to all humanity. On this view, the election of Israel is not itself an end. It serves the will of God on behalf of humanity as a whole. One might say that it serves the reign of God in the world, for the rule of God for which Israel waits was a rule of right and righteousness. For such reasons, it becomes regrettable that the law of God became a sign of difference and separation between Israel and the Gentiles. The result was the opposite of what this passage intends, for Israel to be a witness to the righteous will of God among the nations. A witness of this kind demands that the content of the righteous will of God should be universally binding.[4] ² He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street, contrasting the speech of the servant with those who have public and political authority. This servant will not seek the glare of publicity, issue press releases, or conduct his business openly. The energy and integrity he brings to his mission will prevail until his mission is complete. ³ A bruised (ratsats means “to crush,”) reed he will not break. A reed is already fragile, not to speak of one snapped or bent. The prophet uses the image of the “broken reed” elsewhere in a negative sense (Isaiah 36:6, quoting II Kings 18:21) to describe the militarily and politically debilitated Pharaoh of Egypt. A dimly burning wick he will not quench. The "smoldering wick" (NIV) has already lost its flame; he will certainly not snuff it out completely, but restore its light. The Hebrew text has an interesting flavor not brought out in most English translations. “Grow faint” (v. 4 of NRSV) has the same Hebrew root as the “dimly” burning (flax) wick of verse 3. The word for “crushed” (v. 4) has the same Hebrew root as that of the “bruised” reed of verse 3. The Servant’s gentle strength sees to it that both unjust persons and those hurt by injustice will receive justice (yes, there is a double meaning). Thus, Yahweh brings the assurance that the treatment of the poor and the oppressed will be radically different under the new administration. This servant will not crush the opposition. The servant will not impose his word or use violence. Unlike typical potentates, especially those freshly invested with the force of royal power, this servant will not bring a hitherto unrealized justice to the nations by crushing the oppressors and smashing all political opposition. Rather, he turns the political, economic, and spiritual climate on its head by bringing a kinder and gentler approach. Like what we find in Isaiah 9:6-7 and 11:1-10, the servant will respond to the coercive power of the world with the persuasive power of the Spirit. He will faithfully bring forth justice. We should stress the surprise here, for the servant will not grow discouraged in the performance of his mission, and he will stay on the job by bringing forth justice without using coercive force. The need for such faithfulness shows the servant will face opposition, but nothing will prevent the servant from the fulfillment of the mission. ⁴ He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. The servant will not allow his experiences of opposition to this mission to weaken or crush him. The implication is that while the Servant is not weak, the process of bringing justice will nonetheless eventually crush the unexpectedly gentle Servant. See also the Isaiah 52:13—53:12 “suffering Servant” passage, especially 53:4-5 (though it uses different Hebrew words for “crush” and “bruise” from Isaiah 42). Deliverance from the world’s wounds would come through a wounded deliverer (see Henri Nouwen’s Wounded Healer). Nonviolence will overcome violence, at an excessive cost to the deliverer, but for the good of the world (see parallels in the writings and actions of Gandhi in India and Martin Luther King Jr., in the United States). 

Isaiah 42: 5-9 describe the response to the mission. The prophet links the God of justice to the God of creation. More than a mission is involved here.  These verses have the underlying theme of the mandate for the universality of divine justice.  The servant may be a bruised reed or a smoldering wick, but he accomplishes his work through the all-encompassing power of God.  The prophet again softens this image of power with the pull of compassion.  The servant is the covenant between God's justice and mercy. The Servant mediates between the Lord and the peoples. In verses 5-7, Yahweh begins this direct discourse by reviewing his credentials authorizing this new minister of justice. Yahweh is the creative force bringing the very worlds into being; he is therefore on solid ground when appointing someone to establish justice. ⁵ Thus says God, the Lord, who created (bara’ Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 51:10 (v. 12 in Hebrew), used only for God’s creative activity.) the heavens and stretched them out, like the unfolding of a tent, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it. The later chapters of Isaiah especially emphasize the LORD God of Israel as Creator of the entire world and consequently God and Lord over all creation (see also Psalms 24 and 19). One who has done all this has the power to appoint such a servant. ⁶ I am the Lord,the Lord reminding them that I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations. Israel is to be light-bearer and sight-opener to the nations; similarly see Isaiah 49:6; 51:4; 60:1-3. The prophet refers to a people-covenant, encompassing all people, not just Israel. In words which echo those addressed to Israel in 41:10 ("Do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand"). The servant mediates and even personifies the covenant between the Lord and the peoples. One might think of this notion as a “second Moses,” suited for the new exodus out of exile and the return to the land. ⁷To open the eyes that are blind, figurative of ignorance of the Lord, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness, as in service to false gods. Although one could take the images of blindness and prison in a literal way, one could also take this as a metaphor for the spiritual condition of the people. Finally, casting aside any doubt as to the identity of the Lord: ⁸ I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. ⁹ See, the former things have come to pass, not specifically identifying these predictions, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. The saving event is not the end of history but a new phase of history, as the Servant plays a new role in the Lord's salvation. The gods of the religions must show in our experience of the world that they are the powers that they claim to be. In this case, one could argue that the fall of Judah is an expression of the weakness of the God of Israel. Verse 9, however, shows that the prophets announced the event in the name of the Lord. The word of the prophet, and therefore the word of the Lord, finds validation by the prophetic fulfillment of past declarations, and what he now declares will come true.[5]

The New Testament strongly associates Jesus Christ with the LORD’s suffering Servant in Isaiah. See such passages as Matthew 8:16-17 (Isaiah 52); 12:15-23 (Isaiah 42); Luke 4:14-21 (Isaiah 49); Philippians 2:7-8; 1 Peter 2:22-25 (Isaiah 52). Acts 3:13; 4:27, 30 explicitly call Jesus God’s servant (using the same Greek word παῖς with which the Septuagint of Isaiah 42 translates the Hebrew word ‘ebed). Jesus, in most NT passages, is not a conquering king, but a gentle shepherd-healer. 

For the New Testament, if Jesus is like this servant, then those who follow Jesus are to bear the same marks. Thus, God invites us also to suffer with Christ (Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:10) and bear the world’s wounds (carrying our cross daily — Luke 9:23). Because of Jesus, Jesus’ followers have much the same ministry and mission that he himself had. How are we to live out our call to be God’s (however unwilling) servants? I Peter 2:21 is instructive: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.” We need to hear with transformed ears the popular expression, “It’s not all about you.” Yes, it is about us. God’s “new thing” is indeed Good News (gospel) for us. But it is also for our family, neighbor, and world, as we, too, bring about God’s justice, through sacrificially healing word-actions and conveying Jesus’ teachings about God’s ways.

It would be idolatrous to look for God to be anything else than what we find here. The Bible must knock down our false images of God, so that we can embrace the true God, as we find God revealed in Jesus, the servant of the Lord. This passage renews our understanding of the way God really is in the world - and we may not like it.

First, what II Isaiah says is that whatever agenda we wish God would have, the main intention of God, revealed in the role of the Servant of the Lord, is to establish justice in the earth. We might think of this as the personal mission statement of the servant. It may cause us to reflect upon our personal mission statement. What is it that drives us to get up in the morning? What legacy do we want to leave in the world? Knowing this helps us to define ourselves, define our boundaries, and clarify what we are doing with our lives, unapologetically leaving out the rest. It helps clarify the “why” of our lives. It sharpens our focus and guides our decision-making, acting like a compass for our lives. 

Justice is a matter of putting things right that have gotten out of kilter. Humanity gets itself into trouble because it turns its back on God. God has chosen to be present in a way that will make things right. However, God has chosen to make things right through the servant of the Lord. Here is our quarrel with God. We want to say, “Yes, this idea of justice is just fine, but … could you hurry it up a bit?” We want God to make it so. God does not seem to be putting things right quite fast enough. We affirm that Jesus is Lord. We even have the phrase, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Yet, he is not the king we thought. At some level, we think someone should be in charge of all this. Yet, it seems like no one is. This passage says that God is going to establish justice. As great as that sounds, our question is, when will God get to it?

I would like to take an excursion into the debates surrounding the Civil War to show the difficulty of giving content to the mission of justice. As we look back on the start of the Civil War, let us consider what this conflict can teach us as we face the wars going on in our congregations, communities, and country today. One remarkable thing about the Civil War was that both the North and the South assumed God was on their side. Both felt the Lord was speaking of them when they heard the words of Isaiah: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him” (42:1). 

The South had some powerful and persuasive preachers who used the Bible to defend the institution of slavery. Taking the Bible literally, they preached that humans had no business questioning the Word of God when it said, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling” (Ephesians 6:5); “Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor” (1 Timothy 6:1); “Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect” (Titus 2:9); and “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh” (1 Peter 2:18). Christians who wanted to preserve slavery could stick to the slogan, “The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.” No wonder the people of the South believed God was on their side.

The preachers of the North had to be more creative in their biblical interpretation, but they, too, found a way to defend their cause. Some emphasized that the need for the preservation of the Union because without it the advance of liberty around the world would be slowed or even stopped. “If America is lost, the world is lost,” said one preacher in a Thanksgiving sermon. Historian James Howell Moorhead points out that other ministers drew on the book of Revelation to suggest that a Northern victory might prepare the way for the coming of God’s kingdom on earth. Still others preached that God would not allow the North to win until it took decisive steps to end slavery. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” summed up the beliefs of the Union well:

 

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, 

With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me: 

As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, 

While God is marching on. 

 

North and South fired theological shots Theological shots. And both sides were convinced they were acting as the Lord’s servant, with God right beside them. They were bringing to life a warning that George Washington had written 70 years earlier: “Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause.”

Religious controversies. Acrimony. Irreconcilable hatreds. True then. True today. But then another president, Abraham Lincoln, offered the most constructive of perspectives on religious warfare. “My concern is not whether God is on our side,” he said. “My greatest concern is to be on God’s side.” Are we on God’s side? This is the question we have today, in the middle of our contemporary civil wars: Are we on God’s side?

Many people consider Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address to be his greatest speech, surpassing even the better-known Gettysburg Address. In it, he muses about the victors and the vanquished of the Civil War — and whose prayers God will answer:

 

“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own purposes.”

…

“Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’”

 

We will be if we act like the servant of the Lord in Isaiah, the one who “will not cry or lift up his voice” but instead “will faithfully bring forth justice” (vv. 2-3). Those who serve the Lord have a mission to be “a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon” (vv. 6-7). Christians who do these things will always find themselves right where they need to be: on the side of God.

This is not a North-South issue, nor is it Right-Left, Blue-Red, Gay-Straight, Republican-Democrat. Wherever we find ourselves on the cultural-theological-political spectrum, when ideological shots are firing, our calling as the people of God is to be the servant of the Lord. The key is to not take a particular stand but to play a distinctive role. One that is civil and serving. A servant role. A civil servant if you will.

Protesters from the Far Left to the Radical Right who have a religious bent should study this passage. There is a better way than waving signs and screaming insults, firing verbal shots at the opposition. There is a better way than being “Trump Forever” or “Never Trump.” The danger of mixing faith with politics is that we corrupt both. Faith informs politics of course. Yet, when we use faith as a political weapon against our political opponents, we have gone too far. True servants of the Lord always produce more light than heat. In fact, they are sent to be “a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon” (vv. 6-7). God’s servants bring light into darkness and help people see new ways of living together. They work for the liberation of anyone who’s trapped — in poverty, in addiction, in homelessness, in loneliness, in despair.

Allow me to be clear. The servant of the Lord is constantly working to free the slaves. If we take the advice of Paul seriously in Philemon, the ownership of slaves by Christians would disappear. If owners truly celebrated that owner and slave alike are children of God, call upon the same as God as their Father, had the calling in life to live as a servant or slave of God, and considered the slave their near neighbor, slavery would be gone. Of owner and slave recognized that in Christ there is neither slave nor free, slavery would cease to exist within the Christian community. In other words, although one can use the Bible to support many things, the challenge is always present to read it faithfully, consistent with its direction of the reconciliation of humanity with God and with each other and the redemption of the world.

Second, the Servant of the Lord reveals the way of God in the world. This brings me to another quarrel with God. God comes, not as a military conqueror, nor will God use any other form of coercive power. Rather, God comes as a gentle gardener and lamp lighter. Did you notice? A bruised reed, he will not break, a dimly burning wick, he will not extinguish. 

The way things work in our quite human world, bruised reeds and dimly burning wicks are virtually irresistible opportunities.  Fragile, already weakened, a bruised reed hangs out there uselessly. Still, there is something in a passing notice that cannot leave it alone.  Unthinkingly, with no apparent reason, a hand reaches out to break it off. A dimly burning wick offers other kinds of possibilities.  As the light flickers, flaring and diminishing, the darkness asserts itself.  Justice?  In a world of bruised reeds and dimly burning wicks, the wicked take advantage of the good. I have noticed that people often mistake gentleness and kindness as weakness. Some people will always look at the gentle and kind person as an opportunity to gain advantage or power over them. Sometimes, we are the ones who take advantage.

The truth is, sometimes we are the bruised reeds and dimly burning wicks. God has chosen not to break us or extinguish us. In the Christian faith, we call this grace. We see this grace supremely in the cross. God climbs up on a cross and in Christ, in the Son, takes the anger of humanity within divinity. Why? Because a bruised reed...he will not break, and a dimly burning wick, God will not quench.

Third, as Christians, our distinctive role in this world is that of servants. Even though this passage has a special fulfillment in the life of Jesus, it also tells us that those of us who seek to follow Jesus need to live the life of a servant. Here is true, risk-taking mission and service. This path is not one of weakness. In fact, our passage makes it clear that the Lord upholds the servant and places the Spirit of the Lord on the servant. When people fire shots at the servant, literally and figuratively, it can be difficult to be the servant described here. That is why throughout this passage, the prophet directs to the source of life and power, the Spirit of the Lord. Hence, we still have a quarrel with God. I Peter 2:21 is instructive: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.” Regardless of the stand you take in your life, the key is to play a distinctive role. As a Christian, you take the role of the servant.

At this point, the prophet gets quite personal, as the Lord addresses the servant directly: “I have taken you by the hand.” Do you take time to know where the hand of the Lord is, so that you can reach out, take the hand of the Lord, and go where the Lord leads? Eugene Peterson (Subversive Spirituality) wrote: 

When others are telling you to read more, I want to tell you to read less. When others are telling you to do more, I want to tell you to do less. The world does not need more of you; it needs more of God. Your friends do not need more of you; they need more of God. And you don't need more of you; you need more of God (as cited in Christianity Today, April 27, 1998). 

 

            Tom Long told a story that sticks in my mind as illustration of this truth about God's ways with us. Late one spring a former student came by Tom's office for a cup of coffee. They chatted about this and that and then she said, "I have a secret to tell you." "What is it," Tom said. "I'm pregnant," she said. He was overjoyed. She and her husband had a seven-year-old daughter, and they had been trying since their daughter had been born to have another child but had been unsuccessful and had finally given up. Now she was pregnant. "That's wonderful news," Tom said. "We just got the test results, and we know two things about our child. Our child will be a boy and will have Down's syndrome." Tom said that he knew she must be a bruised reed and a dimly burning wick. "I don't know how we are going to handle it," she said, (you know what options she is thinking) "but we are trusting in God to help us." He received their Christmas letter a few weeks later, and in it she wrote, "After nine long months of unmitigated discomfort, at four in the morning on August 18, I knew the magic moment had come. At last, at 10:55 a.m., Timothy Andrew took his first breath and let out a hearty yell, he was whisked off to neo-natal intensive care where he spent the next three days before coming home. He is strong, alert, beautiful. He has the sweetest disposition. He shatters daily our images of handicapped and special needs. He may need special help, but already he is no slouch in giving special love. We are blessed. Kate (that is their eight -year-old) is Tim's champion. Hearing our concerns about how well other kids might accept Tim, Kate informed the kids on our block, 'My brother has Down's syndrome and everybody's going to play with him or else!' One evening, she said, we overheard her talking to Tim. "'I'm so glad you're here, Timothy, I will always love you, I'll never leave you, I'll always be nearby.' She concluded: "Christ came to identify with us especially those most in need. We know miraculous blessings. We've experienced them first hand." 

This Scripture reminds us: God's thoughts are not our thoughts; God's ways are not our ways. All I can say is, thanks be to God. For a bruised reed - God will not break, and a dimly burning wick - God will not extinguish.

---

[1] (Barth, Church Dogmatics 2004, 1932-67)IV.1 [57.2] 28-31.

[2] (See W.A.M. Beuken, "Mispat: The First Servant Song and Its Context," Vetus Testamentum 22 [1972], 3).

[3] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 1998, 1991)Volume 1, 381-2.

[4] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 1998, 1991), Vol. 2, p. 322)

[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 168-9.