49:3
One of the problems with interpreting Isaiah 40-66 is that there is no single identity for the “servant”. At times it applies to Israel, at other times to Jesus, and sometimes to both. Here seems to be an example of the latter. The glory of God was displayed in Jesus, He is the exact representation of God (Heb 1:3). But He also came so that the same glory would be displayed in us. The splendour of God will be displayed in all who believe in Him, and this includes the nation of Israel.
49:4
We can imagine these words being uttered both by Jesus and by Isaiah. Isaiah spent a long time prophesying, but to a people who would not believe. Jesus laboured hard, only to find the disciples so slow of heart, and to be rejected by Israel. “Yet my reward is with my God”. So we see in this verse both the realism, the admission that things are difficult and at times seemingly hopeless. At the same time there absolute conviction that God is faithful. We need both these aspects. We should not pretend to be full of faith when we are not, we should not pretend to be coping when we are not. At the same time we need a deep conviction that God will come through, even when we have no idea how it is going to happen.
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