Isaiah 50:5b I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. Yesterday, we saw how the Lord speaks daily to the Servant. Today, we see how the Servant responds to those words. They are not merely background noise to him, or one voice among many others, which he can pick and choose between. Rather, the Lord’s voice is what the Servant listens to AND obeys. When he hears God’s instructions, he is obedient rather than rebellious. This is particularly striking when we remember that Isaiah’s ministry is all about warning God’s people of the judgement that is coming because they have been disobedient. Everywhere we look, in the earlier chapters of the book, we see a people turning their backs on God’s words and doing their own thing instead. And so the obedience of the Servant stands out in complete contrast. But he’s not just unique amongst the people of Israel in the time of Isaiah. He is uniquely obedient, compared to every person who has ever lived. From Adam and Eve onwards, human history is the story of God speaking, and people turning away. And we’re no different. We too have the privilege of hearing God speak wonderful words of wisdom and grace and compassion to us daily. Indeed, we are more blessed than many previous generations, since we have these words written for us to refer to for ourselves, in a language we can understand. It’s on our bookcases, and – probably – electronically in our pockets.  An ocean’s-worth of ink has been used to write commentaries and devotions and bible study guides so that we can know and understand these words better. And yet none of that makes us any more obedient than those who didn’t have such advantages! Only the Servant can say “I have not been rebellious. I have not turned away.” As we look at his life of perfect obedience, it highlights more clearly for us our failure to live like that. Our failure to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourself, as Jesus did. How wonderfully gracious of Jesus, therefore, that he didn’t come into the world to condemn us – “See, this is what your life ought to look like!” but to save us, by transferring his perfect obedience to us at the cross. Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:4b-5a He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; Yesterday we heard about the Servant’s well-instructed tongue. Today we find that his ears are equally well-trained! At first glance, we might not be surprised by this verse. We know that the Servant, who is speaking here, has been appointed by God to bring God’s wayward people back to him. Since the Servant is working for the Lord, it makes sense that he should listen to his boss. But we know, better than Isaiah did, that this Servant is in fact Jesus, God’s own son. God himself in a human body. That being so, why does he need to be quite so disciplined about listening to his Father? Doesn’t he already know everything he needs to know? He has the closest relationship to God of anyone who has ever lived. Yet he still begins each day by listening to the words of the Lord. He comes to his Father humbly, seeking instruction and guidance. As we’ll see tomorrow, he wants to hear and obey the Father, rather than going his own way and serving his own agenda. When the Lord wakens the Servant with his words, the Servant is alert and attentive. He doesn’t want to miss any of it. No pressing snooze and going back to sleep. God’s voice is not an unwelcome interruption to his day, but the thing he most wants to hear. If God’s own son needed to listen to the Father, how much more do we? If we’re ever tempted to think ‘I don’t need to read the Bible today … I already know what God’s going to say’, let’s remember this image of the Servant, deliberately tuning his ears to his Father’s voice. And let’s pray today that we would increasingly love to listen to our Father’s voice, as the Servant does.

Isaiah 50:4a The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. In our household at the moment there’s a lot of discussion about Christmas presents. The extended family have been asking ‘What would the girls like for Christmas?’ and so lists are being prepared! As far as I know, no-one’s requested ‘a well-instructed tongue’ but now that I’ve read this verse, I think I’d quite like one! Imagine never being at a loss for what to say … Always ready with the right word in a tricky situation. Able to speak in a way that sustains the weary. Able to unravel a complicated situation so that the way-ahead is clear. Able to speak the truth gently. Imagine never having to apologise because you spoke harshly, or got the wrong end of the stick, or said the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. “No human being can tame the tongue”, writes James, in his New Testament letter.  “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect.” We all need a well-instructed tongue. Yet none of us has one, and none of us is likely to find out underneath the Christmas tree! Only Jesus can claim to speak perfectly. His is the only well-instructed tongue the world has ever heard.  And what did he do with it? He used it to announce the good news of the coming kingdom of God. To call people to repent of their sin and follow him. To pronounce forgiveness for sinners and healing for sufferers. To teach his followers how to come to the Father in prayer. We know that his words had sufficient authority to cast out demons and raise the dead. If he’d wanted to, he could absolutely have used his words to raise up a powerful following, entirely devoted to his own comfort and satisfaction. He could have used his words to serve himself, rather than serving others. But he didn’t. Instead, he used his words to sustain the weary. Let’s praise him for that today. And let’s pray that we would be those who listen carefully to his words so that our tongues might learn more and more to speak in a way that honours him.

Isaiah 49:7c This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’ Are you bored of Covid yet? Or maybe it’s something else that is sapping your energy and joy – a long-term medical condition, or some other difficulty that seems to have become a permanent feature of your life rather than just a temporary interruption. Many things in life are hard to experience, but I think we probably struggle most with the ones that drag on without any end in sight. Persevering when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel is incredibly tough. That’s why we need to be reminded that the Lord is faithful. He doesn’t give up. He will never abandon either his purposes or his people. As we were reminded yesterday, there IS always light at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately, the story ends with Jesus exalted and victorious, and all evil and suffering done away with completely and forever. We don’t know how soon that day will come, and it’s entirely possible that it could be today! But if it isn’t, then we may need to wait for months or years or decades or generations to see God’s plans fully and finally fulfilled.  If that’s the case, what can keep us waiting for it in hope, rather than giving up in despair? What was it that enabled the Servant to keep going through all the days when he was despised and rejected? This verse tells us. It’s “because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”  If God was simply a great innovator, known for starting remarkable things, that would have been little comfort to the Servant in his suffering. His hope came from knowing that God is a completer-finisher. God’s plan was that he would enjoy glory, through suffering. One day there would be a cross, but beyond that there would be a crown. God’s faithfulness guaranteed that the glory, and the crown, would be given him in the end. God wasn’t going to abandon the plan half-way through. But nor was he going to leave the servant to persevere alone. Faithfulness is more than a dogged commitment to finish the job, come what may. God’s faithfulness is relational. He’s not simply committed to his plans, he’s committed in love to his people. He is faithful to his people in the way that the best imaginable husband is faithful to his wife. To be properly faithful in marriage means far more than simply not committing adultery! It means consistent, daily, self-giving, generous love.  That’s what God’s faithfulness to his people looks like.  Even when life is hard, God is faithful. He will bring us through it, into eternal joy and rest, as he has promised. And in the meantime he is faithfully with us, loving us, protecting us, guiding us and strengthening us to persevere. Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:7b This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, Back in verse 4, we got our first hint that even though the Servant has been called by the God who rules the universe, his work looks more energy-sapping than epically-successfully; more, well, servant-like, than kingly. In today’s verse, that is spelt out even more clearly. When the Servant comes, people will not be queueing up to listen to him. They won’t even politely ignore him. Instead, he will face outright hostility. He will be despised and rejected. ‘Abhorred’, as it says here – which is such a strong word that I don’t think I’ve ever used it in everyday conversation! It means, apparently, to regard something or someone with horror or loathing. It’s a shocking way for someone who has been appointed by God to be treated. But that’s not the worst thing. The greater surprise comes when we see just who does the loathing. It’s the whole nation. Not just one or two misguided individuals, but all the people. Isn’t that an accurate description of the reaction that Jesus got when he came to earth? Yes, he did have friends and followers, but he was also widely hated, despised and ridiculed. And by the end of his life, the hostility had the upper hand – his followers fled whilst his opponents delighted in his defeat.  As Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, battered and humiliated, he’s being treated far worse than a servant by both the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers. And yet, this is not the end of the story. God himself makes a promise to the Servant that one day that picture of the Servant in the hands of human authorities will be completely turned on its head. One day, the kings and rulers who rejected Jesus will stand up to honour him. One day, the nations who saw him as abhorrent will worship him as the greatest and most beautiful man who ever lived. Whenever it seems that evil has the upper hand, we need to remember the end of the story. One day, nothing and no-one will hold any power at all, except the Lord and his Servant.  On that day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, either willingly as his children or unwillingly as his defeated enemies. Let’s praise him for that today, and bow before him willingly while we have the chance.

Isaiah 49:7a This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – Did you notice what Isaiah does in this verse? Just as he’s about to report to the people something that God has said to the Servant, he interrupts himself to tell them something important about who God is. That may not seem very significant on its own, but if we were to read through the whole of chapters 42-49 together, we’d see that it’s not just a one-off, but something he does repeatedly. 13 times in fact. It’s as if he wants to keep reminding the people why they must listen to the words of the Lord. This isn’t just anyone speaking, but the Redeemer, the Holy One, the creator, the king, the rescuer, the Lord Almighty. Some of those titles are self-explanatory. But what, exactly, is a redeemer? It’s not a word that we hear much outside of church and the Bible, so even if we recognise it as a description of God, we might not be very clear about what it means. The best place to look in the Bible to discover what ‘redeemer’ means is in the book of Ruth. There we read the story of a widowed Israelite – Naomi. When she loses first her husband and then both of her sons, she is not just bereaved but also bereft. She has no-one to provide for her and her two daughters-in-law, no breadwinner, no safety or security. So, she returns to Israel – the land of her birth, where she will be dependent on the kindness of others. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, goes with her and keeps them both alive by going into the fields at harvest time to gather up the leftover grain. There she meets Boaz. He turns out to be a distant relative of Naomi’s late husband, who wants to provide for these vulnerable women by marrying Ruth and buying back the family land. In other words, he wants to act as their ‘kinsman-Redeemer’ - the guardian who bears the responsibility for safeguarding the weak and providing for the needy within the extended family. We might think that sounds like a burden, but remarkably, it turns out that Boaz doesn’t even have to do it. There is a closer relative, who ought really to be the redeemer in this situation. Yet Boaz goes out of his way to take on the responsibility for meeting Naomi and Ruth’s needs Boaz acts, therefore, as a picture of God’s redeeming work – not only for the people of Isaiah’s day but also for us, who are redeemed by the death of Jesus. Motivated entirely by his own love and goodness, God steps in to meet our needs, pay our debts and secure our safety. He isn’t obligated to do this – he willingly chooses to become our Redeemer. Let’s thank him for that today, and let’s commit ourselves to listen carefully to what this Redeemer says when he speaks. For who wouldn’t want to listen to someone who has demonstrated such sacrificial love?

Isaiah 49:6 he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’ As we saw in verse 5, the job of the Servant is to restore God’s people back into right relationship with him. This is not going to be an easy task – it requires the servant to die, taking the judgement that the people deserved upon himself. Yet, remarkably, God says that this is ‘too small a thing’. He can’t possibly mean “it’s not difficult enough, I’d better give you something harder!” Nothing could be more apparently impossible than for the sinless son of the everlasting God to die bearing the penalty for sin. Nor does he say “It isn’t really fair for non-Jews to miss out on this salvation. In the interests of equality, I think we’d better open this covenant up to everyone.”  I think that’s what we’d expect. What we’d insist on, even. “Come on God, of course you’ve got to let us in. It’s hardly my fault I was born into the wrong family!” Entirely forgetting that relationship with God has always been about his gracious forgiveness being extended to the undeserving, rather than about what any of us might be entitled to. No. The reason that we – the Gentiles – get to share in the benefits of being God’s people is nothing to do with us! It’s all about the glory of the Servant. He is so great that his light deserves to shine throughout the whole world, not just in one small corner of Palestine. His gracious love is so vast that it overflows national boundaries, to encompass all people everywhere. His sacrificial death is so precious that it saves a countless multitude. His majesty is so great that people from every tribe and language and nation will sing about it for all eternity. Why do we get to share in the promises first made to Abraham? Not because we deserve to. But because the servant deserves the glory that comes from such a great salvation. Let’s praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:5b for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength – Whose opinion matters most to you? Some of us feel almost paralysed by the weight of other people’s expectations, and our desire for them to approve of what we do, say and think. Others of us think less about other people’s opinions. But for all of us, there will be some people whose opinions carry particular significance. Some person, or people, who we especially want to think well of us and praise us. Maybe they are the people we love most. Maybe they are especially gifted or successful in a particular field, and we value their expert opinion. Maybe we crave someone’s approval because they’re notoriously hard to please, and so a compliment from them is especially precious. The Servant is not – at first glance – someone who everyone is queueing up to praise. So far, we know that he is quiet and gentle. In future weeks we’ll see that he is also despised and rejected. He’s not a likely candidate for one of those annual lists of ‘The world’s 100 most influential people’.  And yet, he doesn’t seem to mind. “For I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord” he says. It is the Lord’s verdict that matters to him. The rest of the world can hate him, reject him and mistreat him – and indeed, it did, and continues to do so – but that’s not where he looks for validation. That doesn’t mean that the rejection doesn’t hurt him – it must have wounded him deeply to be despised by those he loves and came to rescue. The world did have the power to bruise him – physically and emotionally. But it doesn’t have the power to completely strip him of his confidence and strength, because those things come from his Lord. God’s verdict on him is the only one that really matters. That’s what he will listen to most. Even in his final hours, when the crowd is baying for his blood, he will be honoured in the eyes of the Lord. He will know his Father’s approval, as he is faithful to his calling.  I wonder if the knowledge of his calling was partly what helped him to keep his focus on pleasing God, rather than trying to please the world?  The Servant knows who is, and what his life on earth is for. God has chosen and appointed him to his task, so it is God’s honour that he cares about. Although we don’t have the Servant’s unique role, we too have been chosen and appointed by God. Chosen to be adopted as his children and appointed to live as a holy people, declaring his praises to the world around us. So today, let’s pray that we would learn from Jesus how to value God’s opinion of us – as his precious, loved, forgiven children – more highly than we value the opinion of the world.

Isaiah 49:5a And now the Lord says – he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, From Genesis 12 onwards, God committed himself especially to lead and guide and bless one particular family – Abraham’s descendants - that grew into one particular nation – the people of Israel. Even though God always was and continues to be the creator and sustainer of everyone, everywhere, these people enjoyed a unique relationship with him. They had both God’s words – in the law – and his special presence among them – in the tabernacle (and later, the temple). Yet still they repeatedly turned their backs on him and were unfaithful, following other gods and behaving just like all the other nations around them. And so it will be the job of the Servant to bring them back. When you think about it, this pattern of turning away and restoration is the constant theme of the whole Bible. We’re given many striking images of God’s relationship with his people to express this same idea: He is the husband of an unfaithful wife in the book of Hosea, he is the shepherd of wandering sheep in Ezekiel 34, he is the patient father of a rebellious son (also in Hosea). This ‘bringing back’ and ‘gathering to himself’ is not an occasional activity on God’s part. It’s his constant purpose, the expression of his essential character. And so it’s no surprise that this activity is characteristic of Jesus, too. When the promised Servant comes, he announces himself as the ‘good shepherd’ who will restore the lost sheep once and for all. His very first miracle, at Cana, reveals him to be the bridegroom of God’s people, who will purify his bride –the church – so that she can enjoy a wedding banquet with him forever. One of his most famous stories features a loving father running with his arms wide open to welcome back the son who had squandered his entire inheritance. We – the rebellious, unfaithful, wandering sheep – are so blessed to have a God like this. One who doesn’t turn his back on us when we turn away from him. One who is patient to restore us, and who gave his one and only son to bring us back to himself. Let’s not despise that because it is so familiar. Rather, let’s thank him for it afresh today. And let’s ask God to teach us to walk more and more closely with him until the day when we are finally gathered into his presence in glory.

Isaiah 49:4b Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’ As we saw yesterday, the Servant’s mission to save God’s people is going to cost him everything he has, and will end in pain, weakness, humiliation and death.  That’s not a mission that would immediately appeal to most of us! Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that when Jesus begins his adult ministry, the Devil appears to him in the wilderness and tries to tempt him away from obedience to the job he has been given. If you remember the event, from Matthew chapter 4, you’ll know that the devil offers Jesus ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour’ if he will turn away from trusting his Father and worship the devil instead.  The words of this verse perfectly summarise why Jesus says No. The promised Servant has complete faith in the One who has called him. He will only accept the reward that comes from the Lord’s hand. He won’t turn away from his calling and chase rewards that come from elsewhere, even though that would have been a much easier path. So, Jesus said No the devil’s offer of earthly power. Just as he spent his whole life saying No to the constant temptation to seek comfort, satisfaction or status from going his own way instead of living the life God had called him to. This verse beautifully reveals the humility of Jesus. Instead of fighting for his ‘rights’, and pursuing his own rewards, he entrusts himself entirely to his Father’s will. Whatever God chooses to give him he will willingly accept. Whatever God withholds, he won’t scheme to get it some other way. So today, let’s praise Jesus for his perfect humility and willingness to trust himself and his future to his Father’s will. And let’s ask him to change our hearts so that we would increasingly do the same.

Isaiah 49:3-4a 3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’ 4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. At first glance, today’s verse appears to be an argument between God Almighty, and the promised Servant. God is confident that the Servant will be glorious – he is the one God will use to display his splendour to the world. Yet the Servant seems to disagree – “I’m exhausted” he says. “I’ve poured out everything I have but there’s nothing to show for it.” There’s nothing splendid about his experience. Yet this is not a disagreement in the heart of the Trinity. The Father and the Son are both always perfectly committed to their shared salvation plan. Rather, I think it’s an example of a paradox that we find repeated time and again in the Bible: Our God is glorified in weakness. We see this most clearly at the cross. When Jesus is ‘lifted up’ to be crucified we see a weak, tortured, humiliated man. His life’s work seems to have come to nothing. He came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, yet now he has barely any energy left to speak. He is rejected by the religious establishment and deserted by his followers. What does he have to show for his life of obedience to the Father? And yet, at the same time it is the greatest display of God’s splendour the world has ever seen. Never before has the extraordinary extent of God’s love and grace and generosity to sinners been so clearly visible. Jesus is not only ‘lifted up’ to die. He is ‘lifted up’ and highly exalted, for his saving work to be seen and marvelled at by all the world. At the moment when it seems that evil and darkness have won, we see God reveal his glory. At the moment when the suffering Servant takes his last breath we see his majesty. To a world that doesn’t know God, splendour and weakness seem to be irreconcilable opposites. But for those of us who know him, they should be inseparable. The God who reigns over all things is the same one who took on human flesh to live as a servant. Born in poverty, killed in pain and humiliation. Now risen and exalted and reigning in majesty for ever. So today, let’s praise and worship the one who deserves all glory and honour because he so willingly poured out his life and strength so that we might be saved.

Isaiah 49:2b in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. What’s the safest place you can think of? It’s not a question that often occurs to us here in the UK in 2020. If we’d lived in London during the Blitz, we’d probably have had a very good idea where the nearer Air Raid shelter was, and which furniture was sturdy enough to hide under if we couldn’t get there in time. In today’s verse, we discover where the Servant finds safety and security: in the shadow of the hand of God. But the Servant hasn’t had to search out this hiding place for himself. Instead, God reaches out to cover him from harm. It’s a beautiful picture. But it’s also quite surprising, given everything else we know about this Servant. Taken on its own, this verse might mean that the person God wants to save is swept up into his hand and hidden far away from any possible risk of harm. Wouldn’t that be lovely?! But that can’t be exactly what he means.  The Servant has been chosen by God to be the rescuer of his people.  As we’ll read later on, this will be no easy job. The Servant will be despised, rejected and eventually killed to accomplish his mission. Surely if God was serious about protecting this Servant, he’d keep him safely out of harm’s way by not sending him to do this painful and difficult work in the first place! Hiding in an Air Raid shelter during the Blitz was better than nothing, but living in a country at peace would surely have been a whole lot safer. The people of Isaiah’s day faced a similar puzzle. God has already warned them that they face judgement and exile because of their rejection of him. Then they hear that he will send this Servant to be their rescuer. Wouldn’t it be great if the coming of the Servant meant that they were going to be spared the suffering after all? But it turns out not to work like that. Everything that God has warned of in chapters 1-39 is still going to happen. In fact, the Servant isn’t even going to be born until hundreds of years later. Yet, in Chapter 51, God promises the people the exact same safety and refuge that he gives the Servant here. “I have … covered you with the shadow of my hand” he tells them.  Total safety and protection. Not the complete absence of suffering, or judgement, but protection through it. Not an immediate ceasefire, so that no bombs fall, but the provision of a strong enough shelter to withstand the damage. The Servant was held safely in the shadow of God’s hand throughout his life and death, into eternal resurrection. And because we have been united to him by faith, that’s where we are too. Even in the midst of all the suffering and dangers of a fallen world, we are safe in the Lord’s hands throughout our life and death and into eternity. Let’s thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:2a He made my mouth like a sharpened sword As I’ve worked my way through Isaiah over the past few months, I’ve been amazed to discover how often Isaiah words are quoted – either directly, or indirectly – in the New Testament. Again and again I find myself reading a verse and thinking ‘I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before ….’  This is one of those verses! In the apostle John’s vision, in the Book of Revelation, the risen and exalted Jesus is described as having ‘a sharp double-edged sword’ coming out of his mouth. It’s a striking image, and also an unusual one. Only Jesus’ mouth contains a double-edged sword, because only Jesus’ words have the power to bring judgement, to determine life or death for those who hear him. So many people underestimate Jesus … “He was just a good moral teacher” they say. From one perspective, it’s easy to see why – he was, after all, a humble, gentle servant. Born in a stable, not a palace. Riding a donkey, not a war horse. Leading a small, motley band of largely poor and uneducated disciples, rather than a powerful, disciplined, victorious army.  If you’d passed him in the street you probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance. ‘Nothing to see here’. Which is why we need a powerful visual image, like the one in this verse, to make us look again.  After all, if you actually met a man with a sword literally coming out of his mouth, I think you’d stop and take a second look! Jesus’ physical appearance may have been unimpressive, but his words … well, that’s a whole different matter! When he speaks, that’s when we discover that he is like no other man who ever lived. His words make the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead return to life. “I am the way, and the truth and the life” says Jesus. As we listen to him, and trust his words, we find life and truth and a way into eternal relationship with God as our Father. But those same words bring condemnation and judgement for those who reject them. “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” says Jesus. A double-edged sword. Life or death, salvation or judgement. Jesus’ words bring both. They have power greater than any human weapon ever devised. Let’s pray today that we will be those who will trust and depend on the life-giving words of Jesus.

Isaiah 49:1b before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. Even in an age when choosing your own identity is considered to be almost a basic human right, we find it hard not to project our ideas about the future onto babies and children. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I wonder if she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps?” It’s fascinating to look at a newborn baby and realise that you could be looking at a future Prime Minister, Nobel Prize winner or Under 11s table tennis champion. You just don’t know! A child born today could grow up to pursue a career that doesn’t even exist yet. But that wasn’t the case for the Servant. From before he was even born, there was no doubt at all what his life’s work would be. He was chosen and set apart by God to be the saviour of God’s people. This verse just tells us that he was called before birth, but 1 Peter 1 tells us that in fact he was chosen before the creation of the world. The Servant was appointed to be the saviour before any of the people he would save had even been made, and before the sin from which we would need saving made its first messy marks on God’s perfect creation.  Isn’t that so reassuring? At no point in human history has God ever been caught off-guard. Never has he had to scrabble around for a Plan B because his original idea failed. His wonderful decision to send Jesus to be our rescuer has stood the test of time, accomplishing God’s purposes perfectly. Even more wonderfully, we know from the rest of the Bible that this Servant is not an unwilling participant in the salvation plan, like the child who inherits a generations-old family business, but who would much rather have done something else with their life instead. This Servant is only born into a human body because he chose to leave the glory of heaven in order to save us.  He didn’t have to go anywhere near a mother’s womb if he didn’t want to. But he chose birth, and life and death, in all their messiness and pain, for our sake. Let’s thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:1a Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:   Over the past 2 weeks, we've looked at verses from chapter 42, where God tells us, through Isaiah, about the character and work of the promised Servant. This week, in chapter 49, we get to hear the Servant himself speaking. And look who he is speaking to! ‘Islands’, as we’ve already seen, means ‘everywhere that isn’t Israel’. The Servant, when he speaks, addresses all the nations - not just those who considered themselves to be God’s people.  Who does this Servant think he is?! It's one thing to the expect a hearing from the small band of people who already identify as followers of Yahweh. It's quite another to demand the attention of the entire world! Yet that is exactly what he does: "Listen to me, you islands. Hear this, you distant nations" All people, everywhere. Stop what you're doing and pay attention to me! If Isaiah was writing today, I imagine he'd be bracing himself for the backlash: "What right have you got to go foisting your religious ideas on the rest of the world?!" "By all means keep your own traditions alive, but don't expect everyone else to join in.” "Haven't you heard of cultural imperialism?!" It’s still – just about – OK in our society for Christians to listen to God (providing he doesn’t say anything too controversial!).  It’s definitely not OK for us to suggest that what God says applies to everyone, everywhere, even those who don’t call themselves his people. Most people might reluctantly agree that God’s allowed to speak to his followers if they’ve willingly signed up to receive his emails. But they’re pretty convinced that he hasn’t got the right to broadcast, uninvited, across the airwaves.   Except, of course, he has. Because there isn’t a person alive in the world right now who God didn’t make. There isn’t a single square inch of the planet that isn’t his, because he created it all. So when he sends his Servant as his appointed ambassador, the Servant has every right to address all people everywhere.   Let's not be bullied into thinking that Jesus is only relevant to the few who call themselves Christians. The coming of this Servant is momentous news for the whole world - those who were waiting for him and those who've never heard of him. Those who welcome his coming and those who want to turn him away.   Let's pray today that allpeople everywhere would listen to the words of Jesus, and acknowledge his authority over them. And let that begin with us.

Isaiah 42:9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.’ So far, we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be gentle, just and faithful. He will bring hope and light to all the nations, by being the one who makes possible God’s covenant with his people. He will free the captives and make the blind see. Doesn’t that sound exactly like the life and ministry of Jesus, as described in the pages of the New Testament? Even the people of Isaiah’s time had some grounds for knowing that God keeps his promises. They have already seen all the ‘former things’ that God has done for his people, from the calling of Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt and the entry into the Promised Land. Again and again, God has announced in advance his good plans for his people, and then acted mightily to make those things happen. So, when he promised ‘new things’ - that the nation will be brought safely through the coming judgment and exile, and then restored by the promised Servant - they had good reason to believe that it would happen. But they didn’t get to see the compete fulfilment for themselves. The return from exile wouldn’t happen in their lifetime. It would be hundreds of years before the Servant would set foot in their land. How much more confident we can be of God’s faithfulness, now that we have seen this Servant for ourselves. One of the things I love most about the Bible is the way that we get to see God’s purposes developed, from Old Testament promises to real, flesh-and-blood historical New Testament events. It’s like watching an artist sketch a rough pencil outline, lightly at first, but then building up the details and filling in the colours until we see the complete masterpiece in all its glory. So let’s praise God today for faithfully keeping his promises in the past, and ask for his help to go on trusting him completely as we wait for the completion of the promises that are yet to be fulfilled.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. Back in verse 5 we were reminded that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is the covenant LORD who has committed himself to care for and protect his people. As we remember those things, it would be fitting to praise him. In fact, the next section of this chapter is all about the praise and glory which a God like that deserves from all people everywhere. When human leaders court glory and chase praise, it’s usually a bad sign. We’re rightly sceptical of people who go out of their way to tell us how great they are, or who insist that we celebrate their successes. I think most of us would probably take being described as someone who ‘blows their own trumpet’ or ‘hogs the limelight’ as criticisms rather than compliments. God alone is right to direct the spotlight onto himself. God alone can draw attention to his greatness, goodness, power and wisdom without being selfish or self-obsessed.  God alone is entitled to command that all people everywhere should sing his praises. He deserves all glory and honour. And so it is right that he should guard that glory jealously. Nothing and no-one comes close to God in holiness and might, authority and wisdom, mercy and grace. So nothing and no-one should share the praise which he deserves. And yet … there is one who is entitled to sit at the Father’s right hand and share the applause of his people for eternity. The Servant, who we see in Isaiah as a humble and often despised figure, is in fact the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ before whom every knee will one day bow. When the LORD shares his glory with the Servant, he is not giving glory to some undeserving other. When Jesus is worshipped in heaven, it is not as an idol who has stolen the praise which is due to God.  The Servant deserves to be worshipped as God because he is God. That wasn’t made clear to the people of Isaiah’s day, but we can look back and know that the Servant we read of here is none other than God himself in human form. And so he is fully deserving of all the praise and glory and honour and worship that we – and every creature ever created – can give him. Let’s praise and worship wholeheartedly today.

Isaiah 42:7 I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness Over the past few years we’ve got used to retailers using our order history to target us with offers for things that they think we’re likely to want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well for families like ours, where we share one account between us. My husband recently bought some bits for servicing his bike and so now I’m targeted with ads for all kinds of replacement bike parts, most of which I couldn’t even name!  I’m never going to click on the link, or take up the special offer, because they’re not things I’m remotely interested in. We only respond to the ads that get it right – the ones that offer us things we actually want, or recognise that we need. In this verse we’re shown another aspect of what the Servant has come to do. He is sent to open the eyes of the blind, and release the prisoners. Is that an irresistible offer? Or just another piece of irrelevant spam to be ignored? It all depends on how we see ourselves. If we know that we are the blind, sitting in darkness, unable to clearly God, or ourselves, or the true nature of reality around us, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to open our eyes. If we know that we are hopelessly trapped by our sin, held captive by the devil, then we’ll welcome someone who comes to set us free. But if we see ourselves as clear-eyed, far-sighted, liberated individuals, successfully making our own choices and living life our own way, then this servant has nothing to offer us. The gospel is good news to those who know they need to be rescued, but utter foolishness to those who don’t think they are lost. Which are we? So today – whether for the first time, or the millionth time – let’s ask God to grant us the humility to see ourselves as we really are: blind prisoners, in need of rescue. And let’s thank him for sending us the rescuer we so desperately need.

Isaiah 42:6b I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles Yesterday we remembered that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He chose for himself a people to be his very own, and committed to blessing them. He proved himself to be faithful to that promise even when they were repeatedly unfaithful to him. So it seems natural when we read about ‘a covenant for the people’ to assume that God has in mind only those people, the 12 tribes of Israel. But in fact as we read on today, we discover that the Servant has come not only for those who are already part of God’s people, but also for the Gentiles. The outsiders. The other nations who weren’t included by birth in the promises which God had made to Abraham. We already got a glimpse of this back in verse 4, when we read about ‘the islands’ putting their hope in the promised Servant. Throughout Isaiah, ‘the islands’ refers to the Gentile nations who don’t yet know God. Here we see another important aspect of the Servant’s mission – he comes to throw open the gates of God’s kingdom to those from every tribe and tongue, every language and nation. Which is good news for all those of us without any Jewish ancestry. We were born outside the promises of God. We have no natural claim on the covenant promises which were made to Abraham and his descendants. Yet God has graciously invited us in. He has sent this Servant to shine his light into the remotest corners of his world to seek and to save us. Let’s praise and thank him for his generosity in opening up his kingdom to us, who were far off, and bringing us near to him through Jesus.

Isaiah 42:6a I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people So far in this chapter, God has been speaking to the people about the Servant. It’s as if he is standing on a stage in front of his people, with the Servant next to him, introducing him to them. But here in verses 6 to 7 God turns to speak to the Servant himself. It’s a bit like when a service leader introduces a visiting preacher to a church and says something like, “well, Steve, I’m delighted to welcome you to speak to us today. It’s been 20 years since I first met you at Bible college, and it’s been so great to keep in touch and watch how God has used you in your ministry. You’ve been a real encouragement to me.”  Why on earth is the leader telling Steve that they’ve been good friends for 20 years? Surely Steve knows that already!  Of course, he’s not saying it for Steve’s benefit … He’s speaking to Steve but he’s saying it for the congregation who are listening. He wants the people to know that this is someone who he knows and trusts. Someone who has been faithful in ministry for many years and is therefore worth listening to. I think it’s the same here. What God says in these verses is addressed to the Servant, but he’s not speaking for the Servant’s benefit. It’s intended for the people, so that they will understand who the Servant is and why he has come. They, and we, need to know that this Servant is called and led and protected by God himself. He’s not self-appointed. He has been chosen by the LORD for this mission. But what is his mission? He has come to be ‘a covenant for the people’. What does that mean?! A covenant is a binding promise. When God says here that he will make his Servant ‘a covenant for the people’ it’s not that the Servant is suddenly inventing the idea of a covenant where one ever existed before. From the time of Abraham onwards, God’s relationship with his people has always been a covenant relationship in which he committed himself to be their God and to bless them.  Rather, I think it means that the Servant will be the mediator of the covenant, the basis of the covenant – the one who makes it possible. Only with the coming of Jesus do we discover how it is that a holy God can enter into binding relationship with sinful people. Only by the death of Jesus can we fully enjoy the blessings of being God’s people, in God’s place, living under his rule and blessing for all eternity, which God first promised to Abraham. So, today, let’s thank God that we can experience the blessings of being part of his covenant people forever, because of the death of the Servant in our place.