Introduction
We’re in Isaiah 40–55, some of the most rapturous chapters in all of Scripture, and I am not using that word lightly. Rapturous. At the universal level, these chapters speak to the experience of exile.
The feeling of displacement, not belonging, we all have. It’s really strong. I feel left out. Have you ever said this or felt it? I’ve heard this from children, teens, and grownups. I’ve heard it in work settings, in relation to friendships. So what that you were left out? Did you really want in? Have you seen who’s in? Did you really want to be a part of that? Yes, we do. If it’s the group we covet, we want in. Why? Because we were created for connection, intimacy, and love. And the reason that the feeling of not belonging, exile, is so strong is that we are all exiled from God. Since our first parents rebelled against God, they lost their place with God. They were exiled from Eden. And that same spiritual condition persists in every human heart to this day.
At the universal level, we are all exiles.
And Isaiah has a word for us in that condition. But at a more particular level, we are also dealing with the historical reality of exile for Israel, which came to them in the 6th century BC.
They lost their land, their temple, their national identity, their place with God. And that’s the reality Isaiah is addressing specifically. And he’s addressing it long before it happens by about 100 years. He’s prophesying on behalf of God.
In chapter 40 the section starts with Comfort, comfort, my people. God’s people are confronted with the unrivaled nature of God and surprised by the tenderness with which he rouses them from unbelief.
In chapter 41 the promise is that God’s people will go from feeling like a little worm to a threshing sledge, crushing mountains and hills. No one and nothing can stand in the way of what God is doing.
Then in chapter 42 we’re introduced to the Servant of the Lord. The Lord delights in this servant and puts his Spirit on this servant. This servant will bring justice to the nations. A bruised reed he will not break . . . he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
The ministry of this servant is so perfect and exalted that the ends of the earth are called on to sing a new song of praise to God!
And that’s where we left off last week and pick it up today.
God’s failed servant.
Isaiah 42:18–19
“Hear, you deaf;
look, you blind, and see!
Who is blind but my servant,
and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
Wait! What happened? We went from reading about the servant of the Lord—the one who delights him and has his Spirit and opens eyes that are blind and frees captives from prison and brings justice to the earth—to now reading about the servant of the Lord, who is deaf and blind. What’s going on?
That’s Isaiah for you. When reading Isaiah, we can’t doze off, or we’ll miss shifts, nuances, key images. Isaiah is not like Olivia Rodrigo songs (and I like some of her songs), but she’s been singing about the same thing for the last couple of years, some boyfriend that snubbed her.
Isaiah is more like a Beethoven symphony. It has many layers. Millions still listen to Beethoven 200 years after he lived. If we’re still listening to Olivia’s Vampire 200 years from now, something went terribly wrong, and I’m glad I won’t be here.
So how did we go from the exalted servant to a deaf and blind servant? The exalted servant and the blind servant are not the same.
The exalted servant is a figure that will continue to gain stature as this section of Isaiah develops. The blind servant is Israel. Though they’ve been in covenant with God, they don’t hear, they don’t see.
Isaiah 42:20–22
You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
It pleased the Lord
for the sake of his righteousness
to make his law great and glorious.
But this is a people plundered and looted,
all of them trapped in pits
or hidden away in prisons.
They have become plunder,
with no one to rescue them;
they have been made loot,
with no one to say, “Send them back.”
Isaiah is describing the exile, which, again, from when he likely wrote these chapters, some 100 years before the exile happened, the people of Judah would’ve had a hard time believing this total devastation would come. But it did, and it came because Israel acted like they were not in covenant with God.
Two seemingly incongruous things are put before us: that it pleased God to make his law great and glorious AND that his people were plundered and trapped. God’s law/revelation was given to Israel. If Israel was in disgrace, then God’s law was also in disgrace. That is, the world would come to know God’s law/revelation through Israel, but Israel was completely helpless in a foreign land, with no one saying, Send them back! Why was God letting this happen? Well, there’s more to the explanation.
Isaiah 42:23–25
Which of you will listen to this
or pay close attention in time to come?
Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord,
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
they did not obey his law.
So he poured out on them his burning anger,
the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
The explanation is that the Lord is the one who handed Judah over to be plundered and looted. Isaiah says, Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? I like that Isaiah includes himself with the sinners. In chapter 6, Isaiah saw a most magnificent vision of God, with the seraphim (these winged creatures) calling to one another, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory (6:3).
Isaiah’s response had been, Woe to me, I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty. Isaiah knew he was unworthy to stand before the holiness of God. But one of the seraphim flew over to him with a live coal and touched his lips and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.
Isaiah had never forgotten that he was among the sinners. He explains that the Lord is the one who sent Israel to the plunderers because they did not follow his ways or obey his laws. So all the penalties stipulated in the Law came on them. The violence of war enveloped them in flames and consumed them. And still, they did not pay attention. They did not take it to heart.
God’s redeemed servant.
Isaiah 43:1
But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
We are shocked again. After the description of the failures of the servant, we would expect a word telling us why Israel is cast off forever from God’s presence. What we find, instead, is a monumental But now.
When they were utterly helpless, the Lord begins to address them with incredible tenderness. Isaiah reminds them of why the Lord takes great interest in them. He who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel.
Do you see? Israel is God’s creation, but not like every other nation. God’s the creator of all things. But Israel is God’s creation in that God took a wandering Aramean, Abraham, and literally formed him into a nation. God’s nation.
God has a commitment to Israel in a heightened sense, so he begins to address them.
Do not fear [There’s that word on fear again], for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
I have redeemed you. What does that mean?
A redeemer is someone who takes an interest in you and makes you whole at cost to themselves. Land could be redeemed. Relatives could be redeemed. Something you used to own could be redeemed, that is, bought back.
The idea reminds me of one of those fixer-upper shows on HGTV where a run-down home comes into the hands of a wonderful designer and construction crew, and the transformation is jaw-dropping.
For Yahweh, the LORD, to redeem Israel from exile, he will move heaven and earth. Effort is involved. Of course, this “effort” is seen from our perspective, what it would take us to do what God does. God doesn’t have to “strain” to make this happen. Much like when we read that God took Israel out of Egypt with an outstretched arm.
Again, when we look on Egypt and the devastation required to take Israel out of it, we see what is meant.
The reason the gospel exists is because God is both creator and redeemer.
Let’s think about this for a moment.
If God were creator but not redeemer, then there would be no way forward after failure. After people failed, they could only expect judgment and retribution. (Some religions operate this way.)
If God were redeemer but not creator, then he wouldn’t have the interest or right to redeem anyone. We wouldn’t be his to redeem. He would have no claim on us. (This is how some people approach God. He has no claim on them, but they still want help from him.)
If God were neither creator nor redeemer, then people are here because of chance, time, and impersonal forces. The most fundamental principle in life would be power. If you have the power, you call the shots. (This is basically how the secular, naturalistic world operates. Survival of the fittest. There is no creation or redemption.)
But IF God is both creator and redeemer, then we have the gospel. God takes a personal interest in us because he made us, he’s our creator, and there’s a way forward for us after we fail because he’s a redeemer. And who of us has not failed? He says, I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
This is what the voice of the Redeemer sounds like.
Isaiah 43:2–7
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
This language is charged with the jealousy God feels for his people. When you pass through the waters suggests that just as he took them out of Egypt, he’s going to take them through a perilous journey, but they will arrive on the other side unscathed.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
Why such promises?
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Whether referring to the exodus out of Egypt in the past, or the conquest of Egypt by Persia in the future, the point is that God values Israel so highly that he will go to any length to rescue them.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
The language of “ransom” and “exchange” suggests that a price is required to rescue his people. Whether you’re talking about slaves, hostages, orphans, there’s always a price to free them. What’s motivating God to be willing to give people and nations in exchange for his people? His love for them. They are precious and honored in his sight.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
The jealousy of this passage makes me think of a mama bear roaring against predators that attack her precious cubs. East, west, north, south: Give me back my children. Bring them back to me. My sons and my daughters. Yes, from the ends of the earth, Do not hold them back. They are mine.
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
We’re back at creation. Are you familiar with the actor Liam Neeson? I like his voice. He’s a good actor. It seems that every action movie he makes is a version of the movie Taken.
Some bad people mess with his daughter and take her, and he does not rest or stop until she’s safely back in his arms. That’s a little bit how God shows up in this passage. He says to Israel, You are mine, and he says to the nations that have them, Give them back. These are my people. I created them. I formed them. I made them. But the reason the nations took his people in the first place was their failure to love God, so God comes in as Redeemer, to rescue them, even though they do not deserve it.
He’s creator and redeemer, and it’s because he’s creator and redeemer that we have the gospel.
God’s servant as witness.
Isaiah 43:8–9
Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
All the nations gather together
and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
Now that God has assured the exiles that he’s both creator and redeemer, Isaiah returns to his critique of the gods of the nations and their inability to foretell the future. The scene is a court trial. God’s people, blind and deaf, are brought in, not much to look at. The nations also assemble.
The prophet asks, Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right. Even though God’s people are blind and deaf, their God is not. Conversely, the nations may boast of their power, but their gods are blind and deaf. They cannot see or foresee the future. So the false gods’ witnesses at best can only make empty boasts. So, the all-seeing God puts courage into his witnesses. Verse 10:
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
What do God’s witnesses testify? To the nature of God, that Yahweh alone is God. Here’s the content of their witness:
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”
That is powerful. Monotheism is not what humanity believes by default. By default—left to our own imaginations and ignorance—we come up with many gods. The Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians had many gods. The Greeks had many gods. The Romans had many gods. Hinduism and Shintoism are also polytheistic.
The only monotheistic religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and it all goes back to Abraham’s people, Israel, and Yahweh the Lord who revealed himself to them.
The most basic confession of faith for Israel is the Shema (Deut 6:4): Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
But it’s not just that he’s one God. What kind of God is he?
There’s no other like him. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. There’s no salvation apart from him. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. There’s no foreknowledge of the future, except by him. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, and not some foreign god among you. No one can rival or stop him. When I act, who can reverse it? He says.
This is the content of Israel’s witness. The tiny, deaf and blind witnesses. And yet, 2600 years later, where are the gods of the nations? Nowhere. The belief in one God is by far the most populous and successful – because he’s the only true God.
God’s new thing.
Isaiah 43:14–15
This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,
in the ships in which they took pride.
I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King.”
Finally, the Lord announces what he’s going to do for the sake of the exiles, his people. Here he’s acting as Redeemer. He says, For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians in the ships in which they took pride. This is monumental.
From the time when Isaiah is writing, Assyria is still the world power. Babylon is still decades away from conquering Assyria. But the Lord’s announcement through Isaiah leapfrogs from his own time (and Assyria’s might), bypassing Babylon’s day in the sun, all the way to Babylonian defeat. Babylon was the empire that conquered Jerusalem and God’s people and took them into exile. But now Isaiah is announcing their defeat, and with their defeat would come the release of the exiles.
Isaiah 43:16–21
This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
Clearly, this image is taking us back to the exodus out of Egypt, the greatest display of God’s power on behalf of his people up to that point. What does the Lord say concerning that event in the last?
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
The Lord announces, Forget the former things. As amazing as my deliverance was in the past, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
What’s this new thing? A new exodus. He was bringing his people back from exile. He’s making a new way in the wilderness, giving new drink, to his people. This was unheard of. A people whose national identity had been crushed through exile to be brought back to their own land and reconfigured again—unheard of. Except that what God was doing then was even bigger. That’s why he says, Forget the former things.
What you think God is doing is not big enough.
That statement will always be true. For unbelievers and believers alike, it will always be true. It will always be true of every individual and of the entire cosmos. God will always outthink, outimagine, outsmart, outdo humanity.
God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Take the best plan you can come up with, for your life and for the world, and God will outdo you by a factor of infinity!
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Keep in mind the arc we followed in Isaiah today: Failure. Redemption. Witness. New Thing.
We all feel exiled. We’re exiled from God because we have sinned. We have failed. If you don’t think that we as humanity have failed, you’re not paying attention. But God comes to us because he’s our creator and claims us. You are mine. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you, but notice that we will pass through them, and that’s scary.
He’s our redeemer, he makes us whole at great cost to himself. He gave peoples and nations in exchange for Israel. But to make us whole and deliver us from sin and death, he gave his son. He gave his son, his one and only son whom he loved, in exchange for us. At great cost to himself, he redeemed us.
The Son came and willingly gave himself up to death for us. You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation (Revelation 5:9).
Since redeeming us, he has made us his witnesses, and we testify that there is no God before him, nor will there be any after him. There is no salvation apart from him. No one knows the end from the beginning, no one who reveals and saves and proclaims. No one can deliver out of his hand. When he acts, no one can reverse it.
And, lo, has he acted! By the death and resurrection of Jesus, he has brought about a new exodus for the people of God around the world, saying to the north, Give them up! and to the south, Do not hold them back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
The only question that remains is: Do you consider yourself a son or a daughter of the only God in the universe? Do you confess that he created you for his own glory? Do you confess that you have failed and need to be redeemed, purchased for God, by the blood of the Lamb? Do you live to be his witness to the ends of the earth?
If so, prepare yourself—because what you think God is doing is not big enough. Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?