Isaiah 53:1-3 - No beauty

The Lord came and, as it says in John's gospel, His own received Him not (John 1:11). Indeed the whole world did not recognize Him  (John 1:10).

Many paintings of Jesus have been made, but the truth is that we do not know what he looked like. These verse suggest that he would not have fitted into any superstar category. The Lord came in a most amazing way. He was born in the normal way, vulnerable like every other child. All this is very strange, it is not the way we would expect the Son of God to come to earth, yet it is the way that it happened.

Jesus knew what suffering was about, and He was rejected by men. We have such a superficial view of what attractiveness is, of what beauty is. Many people go through agonies trying to attain this superficial goal, or suffering because they think they do not measure up to the world's standards.

Jesus did not measure up to the world's standards, and He has been exalted to the highest place. We need to ensure that we do not judge others by worldly standards, despising people who are made in God's image. And we should not feel bad about ourselves if others despise us because we do not fit their image. 

Isaiah 52:13-15 - Suffering Servant

Now we come to the heart of the matter. Now we come to the way in which this salvation would come about. 

It starts off innocuously enough. The servant would act wisely, he would be raised up and highly exalted. All this sounds like the sort of stuff you would expect of God's servant, of the Messiah. But we know that when Jesus talks about Himself being lifted up it is to be lifted up on a cross.

Then we get something very surprising. The servant would be disfigured and people would be appalled at his appearance. 

On the cross the crowds mocked Him, the Roman soldiers mocked Him. So both the Jews and the nations mocked the Son of God. 

But just as there were many who mocked Him, so He would sprinkle many nations. This can refer to His blood bringing cleansing, or to the Holy Spirit sanctifying. Kings will be silent because of Him. Even our own parliament, along with many other governments, have prayers or make declarations in His name. The good news will go out to those who had not heard, and they will understand. The Gentiles would understand and grasp the significance of Jesus before the Jews do.

Isaiah 52:1-12 - Good News

In Isaiah 51 the prophet called upon God to awaken Himself and act. Now God calls on His people to act. The correct response to God's salvation is not to sit back and do nothing, but to live in the splendour of God's salvation.

God calls on Zion to clothe herself with strength, to put on her garments of splendour. We are to get rid of the chains and the dust of decay. We are meant to be a glorious people, a people who display the splendour of God. 

Israel had been held captive in Egypt. Later on the Assyrians had oppressed them (by the way, this is an indication that this was written at the same time as the first part of Isaiah). 

Later they would be hauled off to Babylon, and God's name would be mocked, much as it is today. This situation will change when His people recognise who He is.

Good News is to be proclaimed to God's people, and the good news is that God reigns. Our God is a God who acts and brings salvation. So they were to leave Babylon. Unlike the Egyptian exodus, which was done in haste, this will be done in an orderly fashion.

Isaiah 51:7-23 - A God who acts

Now God addresses those who are committed to Him, who know what is right and genuinely want to learn from Him. The first instruction is not to fear men. The world is opposed to God, and the world system is opposed to God's ways. We see that in our day in the way that society is increasingly promoting gay rights, abortion, sex outside marriage and the like. We also see it in the economic system. We do not need to fear the world nor the arguments of men, for they will come to nothing, they will pass away. Only God's righteousness lasts forever.

Isaiah then calls on the Lord to arm Himself with strength. All this talk of God's righteousness, being the only true God etc was all very well, but in the world around him it seemed as if it was the world that was winning. God wants us to call upon Him to act.

God then assures Isaiah that He will indeed act. Our God is a god who acts.

God then addresses Jerusalem directly. She had suffered much, she had drank the cup of God's wrath because she deserved. But now this cup will be taken away from her and given to her oppressors.

Isaiah 51:1-6 - Look to Abraham

We need to listen to God. He is the only one who truly understands, He is the only one who has the answers. 

Abraham and Sarah were the start of God's rescue mission for mankind. In the New Testament Paul repeatedly looks back to Abraham and Sarah as establishing the pattern of God's working.

Israel knew that they descended from Abraham and Sarah, they referred to themselves as Abraham's children. So God calls on them to look back to Abraham and Sarah. God made the nation out of nothing. Abraham and Sarah could not have children, yet God made a nation out of them. Our God is the God of the impossible. So He would utterly transform Israel's situation.

So they needed to listen to God. Instruction would go out from God, and it would become a light to the nations. God was looking beyond the borders of Israel. Israel was far too inward looking, we too can often suffer from the same failing.

All the world is temporary and will one day disappear, but God's salvation and righteousness will last forever.

We can see that instruction from God has gone out to much of the world. In the West God's righteousness is the foundation for much of our laws and institutions. Sadly we are quickly abandoning many of these foundations and will suffer the consequences.

Isaiah 50:1-11 - The obedience of the servant

The circumstances did not mean that Israel was beyond salvation. However, she also needed to realise why she was in such a situation. Under Jewish Law if a man divorced his wife he had to give her a certificate of divorce. The analogy of being sold as a slave is also used. These two analogies illustrate that Israel had been rejected by God, and had come under ownership of another. This is what sin does. Sin alienates us from God. It brings us under judgement. In the garden of Eden God actively rejected Adam and Eve. If we are to appreciate God's salvation we need to appreciate sin, and God's judgement upon sin. Paul talks us about us being objects of wrath, of being at enmity with God. Israel was in trouble purely because of her sin. If she had trusted God, if she had called upon Him and listened to Him she would not be in her present plight. This is true of the whole human race. We suffer because we have rejected God's ways.

Then in verse 4 we get a sudden change of tone. Now we learn of the servant's obedience. He has an instructed tongue that sustains the weary.  The servant has not been rebellious. Then there are obvious allusions to the events of the cross, for Jesus was beaten and did not resist. He experienced mockery and spitting.

Jesus set His face like flint to go all the way to the cross. He did this because He knew His Father, He knew His Father would vindicate Him, which He did by raising Jesus from the dead.

Jesus endured all things because He trusted in His Father. 

We have a choice, and it is a call made to those living in darkness. Trust in the Lord. But those who trust in their own wisdom will lie down in torment. Trusting the Lord is the only way.

Isaiah 49:14-22 - Impossible Salvation

God's salvation seemed impossible. Everything about her circumstances seemed to cry out that God had forgotten about Israel, that He had abandoned her. This is a reaction many people can have. We need to appreciate that the things that some people have gone through make it very difficult for them to believe.

How does God answer this? Not with a rebuke, but with a display of His compassion. The Lord has compassion upon us. It is good to understand the theology of the cross, but we also need to know the heart of God that lies behind it, the heart of God that motivated Him to send His Son to die on our behalf.

The Lord has compassion on His people, we are precious to Him. We need to lift up our eyes and we will see the salvation of God.

And this salvation will be infinitely greater than anything we have had before. See how hopeless things seemed to Israel, see how grounded in the "reality" of her situation this was. Yet God will bring blessing far beyond her wildest dreams. He will surprise us with blessing. God would use the nations to enable Israel's return to Jerusalem. Israel would be blessed in the sight of the whole world.

Isaiah 49:8-13 - Complete freedom

A time of salvation will come when God sets His people free. In the immediate historical context this refers to Cyrus coming and the Israelites being set free. Most importantly it refers to Jesus setting us free through the cross (Romans 5:6). It is also a general principle. God sets us free from all things at the right time. Jesus is the new covenant, He is the guarantee of salvation, He is salvation.

God has sent His Son to set captives free, to bring us into green pastures (Psalm 23). The Lord will bring His people to place of complete peace. No more searing sun and scorching winds. Then there is more talk of mountains being levelled down, and highways being made. In chapter 40 this was to make a way for the king, here it is to make a way for God's people to return to freedom. And they will return from all directions. 

There are fulfilments of this in the physical people of Israel, but we can draw more general application as well. Wherever we are, whatever our circumstances, God's plan is to rescue us and bring us to complete freedom. 

So our response to all this should be to burst into songs of praise.

Isaiah 49:1-7 - A light for all peoples

This is the second of the "servant songs", and it is addressed in the first instance to the "distant islands", namely us! It is also given as coming direct from the servant. Jesus was called before He was born on earth. All notions that are sometimes talked about of God choosing Jesus as a man, or of Jesus becoming God's servant are nonsense. Jesus was God's chosen servant before time began. 

This can also be seen as referring to Israel and to the church. God has been making His people into a sharpened sword. We are God's instrument upon the earth. The Lord displayed His glory in Jesus. He will display His glory in and through the church, and in and through Israel. In Jesus we see what the Servant should be like, and what we are becoming. 

Sometimes serving the Lord can seem futile, it seems as though we are getting nowhere. But our reward is in the Lord's hand. Jesus knew that His Father would reward Him. He knew that He would be raised from the dead and exalted to His Father's right hand.

Then we get another prophecy of the universal nature of Christ' mission. Bringing Israel back is not the limit of His task, He is also the saviour of the Gentiles, of all peoples.

The world rejected Jesus, but one day every knee shall bow and acknowledge who He is.

Isaiah 48:12-22 - Time to leave captivity

God has told Israel of her sin just to give her a hard time, He has told her so that she will repent and receive life instead of death. This is true of God's attitude towards everyone. 

Yet again God reminds them that He is the one who laid the foundations of the earth. Why does He keep doing this? It is because it can seem impossible to us for our circumstances or lives to change. We become resigned to the situation and lose hope. God needs to remind us who He is. There is no situation that is too difficult for Him to change.

And again He reminds them that the idols of Babylon are useless. We do not need to fear the things that we fear. They have no power over us.

Isaiah had publicly proclaimed the word of God. His words had proved true, and he is now speaking Spirit inspired words. The Lord teaches us how to live and what to do, and He does this in order to bring the best into our lives. If Israel had never turned away from God then none of the defeats and suffering would have come upon her. Instead the promises given to Abraham would have been fulfilled. Instead she had disobeyed, but now she can get back on track.

God shouts at Israel to leave Babylon. We might think it strange that she needs to be shouted at to do this. Yet we become sued to our captivity, we learn to accommodate situations, and can be very afraid of freedom. We must say no to these calls of the flesh, and follow God instead. The road to freedom may look very difficult, but our God can provide water in the desert. He is able to lead us through the roughest of terrain in life.

The only way to find peace is to trust the Lord.

Isaiah 48:1-11 - Saving a stubborn people

Babylon was subject to God's judgement, but this did not mean that Israel could rest easy. She needed to pay attention to her own behaviour and attitudes. When we see God judging someone else, our first reaction should always be to consider our own behaviour and see if there is anything we need to change about our own lives.

Israel was, and is, proud of its heritage. They are proud to be Jews, to be the people of God, to call upon the name of the Lord. But they did not do this in truth or righteousness. God had told Israel of the judgement that was coming upon them, and then it did fall on them. God did this so that they would realise who He really is, in order to deal with their stubbornness. 

Now He tells them yet more new things. A key difference between man made religion and true faith is that God does things that are beyond our understanding. He is not limited by what we can imagine or work out (Ephesians 3:20).

God was fully aware of the state of Israel's heart, just as He is fully aware of the state of our heart. God did not saves us being ignorant of how sinful we are. He was fully aware of who and what we are.

Isaiah 47:1-15 - The downfall of Babylon

Babylon which seemed so powerful and all dominant will fall. Their are echoes of this in Revelation when it talks about the fall of Babylon, which in that book is representing the Roman Empire. 

Babylon was honoured, feared and respected by all, but she would be subject to utter disgrace. The only reason that Babylon had been able to accumulate such power was that God had allowed her to. He was using her as an instrument of judgement against Israel for her disobedience. Note also that Babylon is criticised for showing no mercy. Even though she was executing judgement on a people who deserved judgement, she should still have shown mercy.

Babylon became enchanted by her own power, considering herself invincible. We see this pattern again and again in history, both in terms of nations, but in all sorts of other organisations. Her downfall would be sudden and without remedy. None of her wisdom or methods would be any use in saving her from the coming attack.

Isaiah 46:1-13 - the gods of Babylon

In Babylonian Religion Bel and Nebo were gods. Bel is another name for Marduk and is the same as the Canaanite baals, which means "lord". Bel was the chief god. Nebo was the god of learning and writing and was the son of Bel. 

Isaiah is mocking these gods. They will bow down to the true God.  These supposedly powerful gods had to be carried about by the people. They were unable to do anything, unable to rescue the people. Why did they worship these lumps of metal or stone? Today many worship evolution, they say a totally undirected random process brought about all of life. Now I am not saying all of evolution is complete nonsense, but there are many questions to be asked, and some have an unhealthy and unscientific attitude towards it (see here for a much fuller treatment of the matter).

The key point of Isaiah's message is that Israel should not fear these gods nor the nation that worships them. The Babylonians had to go to great lengths to carry their gods around, putting in great effort. God, on the other hand, carried Israel.

God had made Himself known to Israel, and there is only one God. He had shown them this in the past, and He would show them again in the future.

Isaiah 45:8-25 - Salvation for all people

Salvation and righteousness are God's plan, and it His plan for the whole earth. Well meaning people talk about multiculturalism and respect for other religions, they object to Christianity being exclusive. Although they mean well, what they are doing is seeking to deny salvation to all people. God is not against the Muslim, the Hindu, the humanist. Rather He wants all of them to receive the salvation that is found in Christ.

Yet many object. And all who object are forgetting that we are created beings. They are like a pot that somehow imagines it came about of its own accord. This is foolishness, sometimes dressed up in pseudo-wisdom.

The Lord is God, He is the maker of all things, and He keeps all things together. The whole of history is in God's hands. This is a recurring theme in Isaiah and is still true today. We need to keep this in mind when we observe the events of going on around us. 

For Israel things would work out in an amazing way. Verse 15 then contains a song or praise and the amazingness of God's plan. Paul does the same at the end of Romans. We cannot work out exactly how God is going to do all that He has promised, but we can be sure that He will. This applies to our own lives as individuals and to the world as a whole. It is not wrong to seek to understand, but we also need to have childlike trust in God as well. The bottom line is that we can trust our God completely.

This chapter finishes with God both challenging the nations, and calling on all the nations to turn to Him and be saved. God's salvation is for all people.

Isaiah 45:1-7 - Cyrus

This is the specific mention of Cyrus as the one who would release Israel from Babylonian captivity. He is referred to as the Lord's anointed. He was appointed by God for a specific task, and equipped to carry out that task. He was anointed to subdue nations and open doors.

All that stood in his way would be broken down by the Lord who would go before him. He would be given the secret wealth of the nations that he conquered. He would succeed beyond his expectations so that he would know that it was not by his own power that he was achieving success.

Cyrus was chosen for the sake of Israel. Verse 4 makes it clear that God knew full well that Cyrus did not acknowledge the Lord.

All this is done to make the name of the Lord known. These verses make clear that God is not restricted to working through the "normal channels" (ie His church). God can and does work through all sorts of agencies.

Isaiah 44:24-28 - Foundations of Wisdom

Again there is a reminder that the Lord is the One who formed us in the womb. We are not the product of blind random processes. We are not here by chance. We are here on purpose. 

Then we are reminded that the Lord made all the heavens, and the earth itself. The doctrine of creation is central to our understanding of the world. The Lord is the maker of all things, from the vastness of the universe, to each individual human being.

There are many who rise up seeking to claim that they themselves are "gods". There are false prophets who claim to know the future, but they know nothing. There are many so-called "wise" men who claim to be so far more advanced than people who believe in God. Their "learning" will be overthrown. Note that this is not an argument against wisdom or science, but only that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All science and logic is built upon underlying premises. If the premises are false, then the whole edifice built upon them is worthless, regardless of how sophisticated or clever it might be. So anything that is built upon the premise that there is no God is doomed to failure.

Conversely, God fulfills the words of His servants and messengers. He has declared that Jerusalem will be inhabited and rebuilt. This seemed highly unlikely for the place was a ruin, and much of Israel was in exile. How could this be? Yet it did indeed come to pass. Likewise, Israel today is a despised nation, yet one day it will become the joy of the whole earth.

Isaiah 44:9-23 - Deluded Fools

We become like what we worship. If we worship God, then we become more Christlike, if we worship idols we become worthless like the idols. The Bible is consistent in pointing out the stupidity of idol worship. The idols were made by men, so how can they possible be of any help? The whole thing was a human enterprise. 

There was a glaring inconsistency in idol worship, yet at the time idol worship would have looked very impressive. Whole nations were constructed around the worship of idols. Similarly there is a glaring inconsistency in the materialist worldview. Superficially it looks much more sophisticated than idol worship, but it is in reality no better. The materialist view says that dust gave birth to life, it is fact pantheistic in its outlook. The logical conclusion of materialism is that everything is meaningless. This includes the pronouncements of materialists that there is no God, and that what we see is all that there is. As it says in v20, the materialist is deluded.

We must remember that it is God who created us, and He will not forget us. This is a fundamental truth, and one that should guide our lives.

Isaiah 44:6-8 - He alone is God

Israel was constantly turning to idols instead of trusting in the Lord. Trusting in idols was what all the other nations did. We too are tempted to trust in the things that the world around us trusts in. This is not a wise thing to do. God is God. He created everything, He knows everything, He is more powerful than everything.  Here He reminds Israel again that He alone knows the future. We need to remind ourselves constantly who God is. We are not following a teaching, we are not following a set of ideas, we are not following a man-made religion. We are following the living God, the one true Lord.

Now when we read of God foretelling the future we need to be careful that we do not read this as fate, or as meaning that nothing can be done to change the future. It is equally clear from the Bible that whenever people respond to God, things change. So how can this be and at the same time God know what is going to happen? Well, God is outside of time, beyond time. He has already seen everything happen. We need to take heart from the fact that He is in control, and we also need to know that we do matters. The decisions that we make count, it is always worth responding to God.

Isaiah 44:1-5 - Pouring out of the Spirit

There are three threads running through Isaiah. 

• What Israel was meant to be. 
• What Israel actually was.
• How God was going to deal with the problem

Chapter 43 has just ended with a reminder of Israel's failure. However, this reminder of her failure is not a cause for despair, but a call to listen more closely to God. It is the same for all men. The conviction that we are sinners is not the end of the matter, rather it is a wake-up call that we need to go to God for the solution.

God reminds them that He has chosen them, and He is the One who made them in the womb. So they should not be afraid. 

This is followed by the promise to pour out water on thirsty land, and to pour out His Spirit on their offspring. The NT refers to the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 2:23, Eph 1:23). There are two key elements to God's work of salvation. There is the forgiving of sins, accomplished by the work of Jesus on the cross, and then the transformation of our lives by the Holy Spirit.

Many descendants will rise up. At the time being an Israelite was a mark of shame because of all that had happened, but in the days to come they would be glad to be called God's people. There will be a mark on their hand saying that they belong to the Lord. Verses like this should be borne in mind when considering verses in Revelation about people having the mark of the beast on their foreheads and hands. There is a lot of talk about it being implanted chips and the like. I am not so sure about this, I think it is much more about an attitude of heart, about a commitment, whether we are committed to the Lord or to the world.

Isaiah 43:14-28 - A New Thing

This section makes it clear that the prophecy is directed against what will happen to Babylon. Babylon would become a very powerful nation, but she would also become proud. God would bring the nation down, she would have to acknowledge that God is the Lord.

God then reminds them of what He did when He brought the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. This was great, but the people were not to dwell on the past, for God was going to do a new thing. Having a correct attitude to the past is so important. There are many things we can learn from the past, indeed we must learn from the past. We must learn from our mistakes, and we must learn from the times we experience God's help in various situations. But we must also be ready for God to do new things. When Jesus came the Jews were not "forgetting the former things", they were not looking for a new thing. Our God is a God who does new things.

He makes streams flow in the desert. He provides for His people in a wilderness. So even if you feel as if you are in a wasteland at the moment, the Lord can still rescue you. He can come to where you are and make a way in the desert.

This demands a response from the people. If we want to know God's salvation then we need to turn to the Lord, we need to call upon Him. We need to come to terms with our sin, and we need to call on the Lord. Otherwise there is no salvation.

Isaiah 43:8-13 - Only God is in control

Back In Isaiah 6 God spoke of the people being ever seeing but never perceiving (Is 6:9-10). Now we see this state of affairs coming to an end. Those who have eyes but are blind will be lead out. 

The nations could not, and cannot, predict what God will do. Man is not in control of the future, no matter how hard he tries. All of us do well to remember this. We seek to be in control, but this is only a recipe for frustration, for we are men and not God. We do not have the capacity to be in total control. There are areas of life that we have responsibility for, and we must take up responsibility for that, but for the rest we can and must trust the Lord.

The Lord is God, and there is no one and no thing remotely like Him, and we are His witnesses. This means both that we tell others, and that God will act in our lives in ways which demonstrate His sovereignty over all.

Isaiah 43:1-7 - Salvation

There are times when we do well to remember that chapters and verses (section headings) were not part of the original Scriptures. Often they are helpful, but at other time they put a false division between sections. This is one of them. Chapter 43 comes right after chapter 42. God has just told the Israelites about their sin, and the judgement they had suffered because of it. 

This sin had got them in a mess, and they had experienced the Lord's judgement upon themselves. It is a to a sinful people, a people under judgment, that God brings His message of salvation. Exactly the same applies today. The Good News is good news for sinners, and it is only when we acknowledge our sin that we can appreciate the good news.

Even though Israel had sinned, God had redeemed her and called her by name. She still belonged to the Lord. They would be rescued from their plight. This might seem impossible. We may seem to have to go through impossible situations in order to reach safety, but even though we will have to pass through the waters and the fire, they will not overwhelm us and will not consume us.

The Lord will do amazing things in order to save us. The words about "giving people in exchange for you" were literally true. God set Cyrus to set the people free. God will act on our behalf. 

The words on bringing them from all points of the compass indicate that God is looking beyond the immediate rescue from Babylon. We were created for His glory, this is our purpose and our destiny in life. 

Once again, we need to get a true perspective on life. We need to realise that we are at the centre of God's plans.

Isaiah 42:18-25 - Come to terms with your own sin

While the second part of Isaiah is focused mostly on salvation and "good news", it does also include elements of judgement, and convicts Israel of her sin. Similarly, when we are saved there will be times when the Holy Spirit is highlighting areas in our life that need to change. This is normal.

These verses show that the Servant is both referring to Jesus and to Israel. We read the first few verses of Isaiah and it is clearly talking about Jesus. Now we read of the servant here and it is clearly not talking about Jesus., for He was definitely not blind and stubborn. Jesus was what Israel was meant to be.

Israel should have been God's faithful servant, listening to Him, obeying Him, and bringing His light to the world, but time and time again they were just as disobedient as the rest of the world.  They had seen God do many things, but they learnt nothing. Just as many saw Jesus do many miracles, yet remained totally faithless.

"Who handed Jacob over to become loot?" Israel's natural reaction would have been to blame Babylon, and ask why God had not helped them. What she needed to do was to realise that she was receiving God's judgement. When things go wrong with us our first reaction is so often to look to someone else to blame. We would get on much better if our first reaction was to ask what can we do better.

Salvation only comes when we come to terms with our own sin.

Isaiah 42:10-17 - The Lord Acts

At various points in Isaiah there are "songs of praise". The book of Isaiah is revealing God's plan of salvation for Israel and for the whole world. It is a plan that goes against all expectations and unfolds in an amazing way, bringing salvation to people who least deserve it, and in situations where it is least expected. That is why we get these periodic songs of praise.

These songs are often a call to sing a "new" song. Life is different, the prospects for life are different, because of the Lord's plan. We need to constantly look at our own lives in the light of the Lord, then we too can sing a new song. Again, all the lands, including the distant islands, are called upon to sing this new song. God's salvation reaches far and wide.

The Lord acts with zeal, like a champion. God is enthusiastic about bringing salvation, it is not something He is reluctant to do, rather something He delights in doing. He delights in brining salvation into your life.

It seemed as though the Lord had remained silent for a long time. This would be true for the Israelites in Babylon. When Jesus came it had been some 400 years since there had been any real prophets. And up until that point it seemed as if God had little interest in the nations.

When God acts in our own lives, just prior to it happening it seems that He has forgotten about us, that He has no intention about doing anything in our lives. This passage likens God's acting to a woman giving birth. Events have been building up to the birth for several months, then there is a dramatic birth and everything changes. When He acts it is good news for those who believe, but it is bad news for those who trust in idols.

Isaiah 42:5-9 - Sight for the blind

God reminds them who He is. He is the one who created everything, both the heavens and the earth. He is the one who gives life to all creatures and to all people. We need to constantly remind ourselves who the Lord is, otherwise we get a wrong perspective on life.

He has called us in righteousness. The decision God has made to call us His people is a righteous decision, it is right in every way. We may ask how can this be, when we are so aware of our own sin and failings? It is the the work of Jesus that makes it righteous. 

God takes hold of our hand. There is an intimate relationship between God and His people, between God and us. But these verses here are primarily referring to Jesus. Jesus was sent by the Father, and He was not just left to get on with it. Rather, the Father and the Son were constantly working together in all that Jesus did. 

Jesus was made to be a covenant for the people, and this included all people, for He would be a light for the Gentiles, not just the Jews.  He would bring sight to the blind, freedom for captives. When John's disciples came to inquire whether Jesus really was the Messiah, Jesus pointed to the fact that the blind were receiving their sight.

The Lord is Lord of all, and only His name will be glorified. As an aside, this verse implies the divinity of Jesus. For Jesus receives worship, glory and honour. He can only rightly receive this if He is indeed God,

Isaiah 42:1-4 - Servant of the Lord

There are several "servant songs" in Isaiah. The servant is the means by which God's plan of salvation will be fulfilled. These are all fulfilled in Christ, but they also indicate what Israel was meant to be like, and what we, the church are meant to be like. God spreads the good news of the kingdom though us, and we are to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19,20).

We are given many characteristics of the servant. The first is that God delights in Him and He upholds Him. When Jesus was baptised a voice was heard saying, "this us my beloved son, with Him I am well pleased". we need to realise that God also delights in us as well.

Again, at His baptism, the Spirit descended upon Him. The Spirit is sent to enable His servant to fulfill God's purpose. While He is full of power, His servant is also full of gentleness. He does not make a loud noise for the sake of it, he is gentle with those who are struggling. This is both an encouragement for us when we go through difficulties and know we just aren't getting things right, and it is also a guide to how we should treat others (Gal 6:1-5).

The servant is determined to complete the task. He will overcome all discouragement and will not rest until his work is finished. Jesus went resolutely to the cross, at the end cried out "it is finished". We are to have the same attitude. 

And Jesus' teaching reaches to the farthest ends of the world.

Isaiah 41:17-29 - Streams in the desert

Our God is a God who makes streams flow in the desert. In situations where people are in lack, spiritually or physically, the Lord makes provision. The Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, they would be suffering both physically and spiritually. The Lord promises to answer them. "I will not forsake them". Often we think the Lord has forgotten us, but this is never true. The Lord has not forgotten you.

Notice that it is in the desert, in the wasteland, where the Lord will make flowers and trees bloom. Often we want the Lord to take us out of a situation. Sometimes He does this, but at others He makes us prosper within our circumstances. Situations that seemed to be nothing but torment and trouble can be transformed. He does this so that the world can see. We are on display to the world as examples of the Lord's handiwork.

Now the attention turns back to the nations. Having seen what the Lord has done for His people, He challenges them and their idols to match Him. The Bible repeatedly states that idols are utterly worthless. 

The Lord predicts the coming of Cyrus to destroy the Babylonian kingdom and this would lead to the return of the exiles to Jerusalem. See that it is essential to the text that God is foretelling this in advance it happening. It makes perfect sense that Isaiah gave this prophecy, not some mythical "deutero-Isaiah".

Isaiah 41:8-16 - I will help you

"But you ..." There is a difference between those who know God and those who do not. The fact that we believe makes a difference to our lives, not just in the decisions that we make and the way we live our lives (though it should do that), but also because we are in a different relationship to God. Someone might object that this is unfair, but such an objection is rubbish. Anyone can choose to repent and believe in Christ, and they too will then be in a relationship with God.

We have been saved by God and called by Him. We are His servants, we have been chosen by Him. So we do not need to fear or be dismayed. We will receive help and strength directly from God.

All who rage against us will come to nothing. So we do not need to fear anything. There will come a time when we will not be able to find any enemies! There are times when we think that it is the effect of the things that oppose that will last forever. This is not true. Anything we are facing right now is temporary. It is the love of God that lasts forever.

We receive direct personal help from the Lord. "I myself will redeem you". This is what Christ did on the cross.  But our being redeemed, forgiven is not the end of the matter. God makes us in to a threshing sledge. We are made into people who will have an impact on the world. 

Isaiah 41:1-7 - Working together to make an idol

Now the plan of salvation starts to be revealed. First there is a confrontation between the nations and their gods are called to meet with God. They are invited to renew their strength and then meet with God at the place of judgement. We need to get things in right perspective. God is God, everything else is as nothing.

Verses 2-4 are referring to Cyrus, whom God would use to defeat Babylon and allow the captives to return to Israel. Cyrus would have power only because God gave it to him. In the same way that Assyria and Babylon only had power because God let them have it. The whole of history is in God's hands.

The other nations saw what was happening and started to tremble with fear. So what do they do? They encourage each other, they work together, but it is only an idol that they are creating. It will do them no good. Men working together in unity is not of itself good. Back in Genesis God judged the people when they tried to make the tower of Babel. 

Isaiah 40:21-31 - The Lord who undestands

We so easily forget who God is. Many go through life in ignorance, possibly willful, of the fact that the universe was created by God. The universe did not just happen, it is not an accident. The universe and everything in it was created on purpose by the Lord.

The people who seem so powerful to us are actually as nothing to God. Even the most powerful can be brought  down to nothing in an instant. They may have power for a time, but only for a time. We need to make sure that we have the correct world view.

"Lift up your eyes" We need to life our eyes above what we see around us. Not so that we ignore what is around us, nor live in a fantasy world, but so that we see things in their proper perspective. It is the Lord who keeps the whole universe going.

And this God who created the vastness of the universe and keeps it going is also interested in a day-to-day affairs. He knows about you and He knows about me. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. There are times when we lose the energy to carry on, or to face the battles of life, but He does not lose His energy. And His understanding is far greater than ours.

And those who look to the Lord will renew their strength. We will soar on wings like eagles and run with renewed strength. Elsewhere it refers to Israel coming out of Egypt on eagles wings (Ex 19:4). Now we will read of how they would be released from captivity in Babylon.