©
2005 Tony
Garland
www.SpiritAndTruth.org
Prophet to Judah
Isaiah was a prophet to Judah, the southern
Kingdom, during the time of the divided kingdom. He lived during the
reign of four kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (ca.
739-686 B.C., Isa. 1:1).
Captivity of
Northern Kingdom
Assyria captured Samaria, the
capital of the Northern Kingdom during Isaiah's ministry (722 B.C.).
Commercial and
Military Strength, but Moral Decline
Isaiah
ministered during at time much like ours, when Judah was still
commercially and militarily strong, but the society was in a state
of moral decline.
The LORD'S Servant
A major theme of Isaiah concerns the LORD'S
servant through whom God reveals Himself and gains glory.
Identification of the servant is complicated by the fact that Isaiah
applies the term servant to a variety of persons:
1.
Isaiah (Isa. 20:3),
2. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah
(Isa. 22:20),
3.
David (Isa. 37:35),
4. Jacob who is Israel
(Isa. 41:8-9; 19-24;
43:10; 44:1-2,
21, 26;
45:4; 48:20;
49:3?)
5.
a mysterious man (Isa. 42:1-7; 49:3-7;
50:4-10; 52:13-53:11).
Who is Isaiah's
Mystery Man?
In the majority of places, the
servant is identified as the nation of Israel. But what about the
passages where this identity is not explicit? Some believe that
these passages speak strictly of Isaiah himself or the Jewish
nation, or perhaps the believing Jewish faithful among Israel.
Keys to the Puzzle
Among the characteristics which establish the
identity of this individual, two keys rule out these common
identifications:
1. He will restore
the "preserved ones of Israel" (Isa. 49:6),
2. God gives Him as a
covenant to the people. (Isa. 42:6; 49:8).
Both
of these factors rule out His identification as (1) Isaiah, (2) the
nation of Israel, (3) the faithful remnant within Israel.
"Coastlands . . .
peoples from afar"
The term for "Coastlands"
refers to islands and shorelines. We find it in passages describing
the Phoenicians, the inhabitants of Tarshish, the distant coasts of
the Mediterranean Sea. Here it has a global scope -- the abode of
the most distant peoples. Those who are to listen are the same ones
who, in a related passage, Isaiah says are to wait for His law (Isa. 42:4).
Hear O Gentiles
Our
passage begins almost like the famous Shema Israel : "Hear,
O Israel . . ." (Deu. 6:4). The Servant's message here is almost a Shema Goyim,
"Hear O Gentile Nations!"
Israel vs. the
Nations
Notice a distinction which will be evident
throughout the passage: the distinction between Israel and
the nations. Although most of what is said applies to all
nations, (including Israel), different aspects of the message
are emphasized with regard to each of these two groups.
"called from . . .
the womb"
The Servant is called from the
womb. This speaks of His special destiny, known by God prior to His
birth. His purpose and service of God was ordained before birth,
like that of Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5) and the apostle Paul, whom God separated from his mother's
womb far in advance of his conversion (Gal. 1:15).
"from the
Matrix of My mother"
"Matrix" can
be translated: inward parts. While the Servant was literally
within His mother, God made mention of (hiphil stem:
"declared") His name. Here we begin to see problems with
interpreting the Servant as the nation Israel or the prophet Isaiah.
Although God formed and sustained Israel "from the womb"
of Egypt (Isa. 44:2,
21-24; 46:3;
Hos. 11:5), the man
Jacob was named prior to the incubation of the nation in Egypt. Nor
is there any indication that Isaiah was named by God while in his
mother's womb. Matthew records the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy
regarding the Servant (Mat. 1:18-25).
Born of a Woman
Unlike the nation Israel which was formed and
called out of Egypt, the humanity of the Servant is
emphasized. This emphasis on the human birth of the Servant reflects
the promise made to Eve to bring forth a Redeemer from her seed Who
would crush Satan (Gen. 3:15). The great crucifixion Psalm, which the Servant quoted
while on the cross, also emphasizes His humanity (Ps. 22:6-10)
"mouth like a
sharp sword"
This speaks of the effectiveness
of the Servant's judgments which rely exclusively upon God's Word.
He wields "the sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17) which is "living and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,
and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). In this, the Servant is the ultimate embodiment of the
purpose of the nation Israel which is to speak forth God's truth
(Isa. 51:16; Rom. 3:1-2; 9:4). The
Servant is the One Whom God predicted through Moses (Deu. 18:17-19). Isaiah also made mention of this attribute of the
Servant (Isa. 11:1-4).
The power of the Servant's mouth was revealed to John who saw Him in
a vision of His glory, "out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword" (Rev. 1:16).
We know from the New Testament that it is by God's spoken word that
the Antichrist and the ungodly nations will be judged and overthrown
at the Servant's Second Coming (2Th. 2:8; Rev. 19:15).
"in the shadow
of His hand He has hidden Me"
"He has
hidden" is the word chaba which emphasizes protection,
used of relief from the heat of the day under the shadow of a roof.
It is in the hiphil stem which emphasizes the LORD'S active
involvement as protector. "In His quiver He has hidden me."
Here, the word for hidden is satar, emphasizing concealment,
but also protection and safety. The Servant is
concealed! This is seen by the progressive nature of
revelation within Scripture. Mysterious passages give only
tantalizing hints of the nature of God's unique Son (e.g., Ps. 2:7-12; Pr. 30:4).
Other mysterious passages speak of the "Angel of the LORD"
who appears at key junctures in Israel's history, but never reveals
His name (Gen. 32:29;
Ex. 23:21; Jdg. 13:6,18 cf. Rev 2:17;
3:12; 19:12).
"a polished
shaft"
"Shaft" is the word chets
meaning "arrow." "Polished" is from root
meaning sharpened. The Servant is compared to a select
arrow (NASB), one that has been polished so as to be extremely
sharp (HCSB, NET). Among the various arrows that God has
within his quiver, this arrow is His most effective weapon, reserved
for a very special purpose and guaranteed to overcome His foes.
"O Israel"
Since the term servant is applied to a
variety of persons within Isaiah:
1.
Isaiah (Isa. 20:3),
2. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah
(Isa. 22:20),
3.
David (Isa. 37:35),
4. Jacob who is Israel
(Isa. 41:8-9; 19-24;
43:10; 44:1-2,
21, 26;
45:4; 48:20;
49:3?)
5.
a mysterious man (Isa. 42:1-7; 49:3-7;
50:4-10; 52:13-53:11),
how are we to understand the use of the term "Israel"
here?
The king of a nation is sometimes called by the name of the nation itself.
In His person and work He epitomizes the calling of the nation (Ex. 19:6 cf. 1Pe. 2:9).
Many things which are said concerning the Servant also apply to His Body which ministers in His absence.
"Then I said . . .
"
In
view of the subsequent "yet surely," the waw-consecutive
"then" is best translated as but (NASB, HCSB, ESV,
NET). There is an intentional contrast between the calling of the
Servant and the apparent failure of His work.
"I said"
Literally: "But I, even I, said . . ."
Even the speaker Himself wondered. Here we see a great mystery--the
tension between the deity and humanity of the Servant (Mat. 26:38).
"I have labored
in vain . . . spent my strength for nothing"
His
toil was intended to produce fruit, but resulted in apparent
emptiness and vanity (riq) He appeared to have spent His
strength "for nothing" (tohu - which described the
state of the earth prior to God's creative act, Gen. 1:2). This is often the pattern of God Who is shown to be strong
through perceived weakness.
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BROWN - Brown, R. E., Fitzmyer, J. A., & Murphy, R. E., The Jerome Biblical Commentary (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1996, c1968).
DOBL - Swanson, J., Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 1997).
EBAN - Abba Eban, Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (New York, NY: Summit Books, 1984).
GESENIUS - Gesenius, W., & Tregelles, S. P., Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1810-1812, 2003).
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HUCKEL - Huckel, T., The Rabbinic Messiah (Philadelphia: Hananeel House, 1998).
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JSB - Adele Berlin and Mark Zvi Brettler, The Jewish Study Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004).
K&D - Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F., Commentary on the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002).
MCHRIST - Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Messianic Christology (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1998).
MSB - MacArthur, J. J., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville: Word Pub., 1997, c1997).
STONE - Nosson Scherman, ed., Tanach - The Stone Edition (Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 2001).
TWOT - Harris, R. L., Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., & Waltke, B. K., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, electronic ed., (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999, c1980).
UNGER - Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Commentary On The Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2002).
WALTKE - Waltke, B. K., & O'Connor, M. P., An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1990).