… in whom I delight. It’s
a direct reference to Messiah, the coming savior and redeemer, Jesus.
Of him it was said
that he would not cry out (meaning he would not proclaim himself or stir up
crowds), nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets.
Matthew 12:20 confirms
that he wrote about Jesus, when he said, “A bruised reed he would
not break and a smoking flax he would not quench”: A beautiful picture of the
care he brought to his ministry.
"He will not fail until
he sets judgment in the earth". 1 Corinthians 15 confirms that he must continue
until he has put all things under his feet. Revelation 14:20 adds that he will
trample the wine-press of God’s wrath.
The same great God
that created heavens and earth, will call Jesus by name, take his hand, keep
him and give him as a covenant to the people and a light to the gentiles.
It was the first time
that Jesus was clearly set apart for both the Jews and the Gentiles.
He will open the eyes
of the blind and bring the prisoners out of prison. This is repeated later.
For, "former things
are come to pass and new things are declared”: a statement about the
displacement of the law with the message of grace.
Therefore, “sing unto the
Lord a NEW song”.
Then comes the hard
edge to this story. “The Lord will go forth as a man of war to cry and roar
against his enemies.” Judgment is promised. That is also what Jesus came to do.
He will make the blind
see and lead them by a way they did not know, through the gospel, to the light
of salvation. But those who trust in idols will turn back.
Fear not, I called you by name (Isaiah 43)
He nonetheless
reassured Israel, that he would not forget them. Actually he specifically
related to Judea, notably Judah, Benjamin and Levi.
“Fear not, for I have
redeemed you. You will pass through the waters and I will be with you, and
through the fire and not be burned”. It’s a word of hope for all the redeemed,
us too.
He restated his deep love
for Israel and reassured them, for they were precious to him and still are.
He them promised to
bring back the seed of Jacob, from the east and from the west. That has been
happening for decades and today the nation defends her own land.
His words will say to the
north and the south, give up, keep not back, bring my sons back. The great
migrations of Jewish refugees from Europe and other parts of the globe, confirm
it.
By this will they know
that He is Lord and that there is none beside him. It has truly been a
miraculous migration and God paved the way for their safe return.
He called on them to
witness that there was never some strange God among them, that God was real and
true and faithful. He made paths in the sea (a lot of refuges came by boat), a
way in the wilderness (many came by foot) and the wilderness flourished (the miracle of modern Israel).
Yet there is sadness,
for Jacob’s descendants have not honored him who blotted out their
transgression for his own name’s sake.
I will pour out my spirit (Isaiah 44)
He then promised to
pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on dry ground, but better yet he promised
to pour out his spirit on their descendants.
Then they will rise like
grass in the field. Such a precious metaphor.
God confirmed the King of Israel and his Redeemer-Son with, “I am the first and last, and
beside me there is no other God”. That echoes Revelation 22:13, namely, “I am
alpha and omega”.
Who will declare it
and make it all happen? The Lord alone. He sets out and always has done, to do
what he does and to finish it, against all the odds that history threw against
him.
He contrasted that against the
gods of men: hewn from wood which is first used for heat and for cooking. Only
the residue is used to make gods that are meaningless and worthless.
But God is from
everlasting to everlasting. He formed Jacob from nothing and raised a people,
blotted out her transgressions and set her apart among nations.
Never underestimate
how the prophetic markers of Israel relate to the advance of the church. He
will do for the one, what he does for the other and the two will converge into
a glorious outcome, that will show the world what God does in both the physical
and spiritual realms.
He confirmed that with
a great example: Cyrus, who was raised up by God, though of a pagan, non-Jewish
root, to shepherd his people as a servant of God.
Consider Cyrus (Isaiah 45)
Cyrus the Great was
eons ahead of his time. God started to use the Assyrians but quickly rejected
them for their brutality, then he worked with Babylon, but they were too
rebellious and spiritually dark. Then he raised Cyrus, an enlightened leader
who embraced the cultures of his captives.
Thanks to him, Judah
and Jerusalem were restored and the Jews made it safely back before Babylon fell
to the successor of Cyrus, Xerxes.
God delighted in
Cyrus. Don’t discount a non-believing man who is principled. God used men like
Churchill to achieve his purposes in their times.
Through Cyrus, he
subdued nations and established the great empires, a necessary step towards the
empire that would be the patron to the life of Jesus and the dissemination of his gospel.
God went before Cyrus
and broke all that stood in his way: to consolidate his realm. But he confirmed
in verse 4, that it was for Jacob’s sake.
Of his realm it was
said, “from the rising of the sun, to the going down, God’s name would be known”. They said that of the British Empire too.
He added, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." The word "evil" is rooted in the Hebrew word Rah, which has many uses and is used here to mean "calamity". The context means that God can do all things.
From that he went on to instruct the heavens to open up and pour down righteousness and for the earth to bring forth salvation, because that is what he does.
He added, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." The word "evil" is rooted in the Hebrew word Rah, which has many uses and is used here to mean "calamity". The context means that God can do all things.
From that he went on to instruct the heavens to open up and pour down righteousness and for the earth to bring forth salvation, because that is what he does.
In that same context, God warned against
striving with our maker, but lifts up all who yield to his ways. He also resisted
and crushed nations and empires that disrupted his plans for
humanity.
In Verse 13, God spoke
of how Cyrus would rebuild the city (this was over a century before it
happened), and free his people without price or reward.
Yet verse 18 also said
that God would do nothing in secret, nor did he cloth himself in mystery and
say to Jacob, “you seek me in vain”.
There is huge
encouragement here. God may lead us all into times and seasons of captivity,
but when the time is right he will raise a Cyrus or something else in your life, to
ensure your restoration.
Then came the great, “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth and shall
not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue confess” (Romans
14:11 and Philippians 2:10).
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
