Isaiah 42 (HCSB)
The Servant’s Mission
1 “This is My Servant; I strengthen Him, this is My Chosen One; I delight in Him. I have put My Spirit on Him; He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or shout or make His voice heard in the streets.
3 He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick; He will faithfully bring justice.
4 He will not grow weak or be discouraged until He has established justice on earth. The islands will wait for His instruction.”
5 This is what God, Yahweh, says—who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk on it—
6 “I, Yahweh, have called You for a righteous purpose, and I will hold You by Your hand. I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,
7 in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.
8 I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.
9 The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur.”
A Song of Praise
10 Sing a new song to the Lord; sing His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea with all that fills it, you islands with your inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its cities shout, the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord and declare His praise in the islands.
13 The Lord advances like a warrior; He stirs up His zeal like a soldier. He shouts, He roars aloud, He prevails over His enemies.
14 “I have kept silent from ages past; I have been quiet and restrained Myself. But now, I will groan like a woman in labor, gasping breathlessly.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into islands and dry up marshes.
16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
17 They will be turned back and utterly ashamed—those who trust in idols and say to metal-plated images: You are our gods!
Israel’s Blindness and Deafness
18 “Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant, or deaf like My messenger I am sending? Who is blind like My dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 Though seeing many things, you do not obey. Though his ears are open, he does not listen.”
21 The Lord was pleased, because of His righteousness, to magnify His instruction and make it glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in holes or imprisoned in dungeons. They have become plunder with no one to rescue them and loot, with no one saying, “Give it back!”
23 Who among you will pay attention to this? Let him listen and obey in the future.
24 Who gave Jacob to the robber, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord? Have we not sinned against Him? They were not willing to walk in His ways, and they would not listen to His instruction.
25 So He poured out on Jacob His furious anger and the power of war. It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it; it burned him, but he paid no attention.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 20): This is such a powerful verse for me, Father. For many years in my faith walk with You, I would not obey or listen to You, even though I saw many things from You and heard Your word. Please forgive me, Father. I was lost and stuck in my own selfish ways that I refused to do the things I know You wanted me to do. I am sorry for being often stuck in my own selfish and worldly ways, Father.
PROMISE (verses 3-4): Father, You give an outline of Jesus’ mission here. You promise us that in time He will bring justice on earth. You promise us that “He will not grow weak or be discouraged” until that justice is founded. Such a powerful promise, Father, as I see so much to be discouraged about on this earth, yet You do not; You give us hope, strength, and encouragement to live this life in such a broken world.
ATTITUDE (verse 24): For far too long, Father, I have had a selfish and self-righteous attitude. An attitude unwilling to walk in Your ways and unwilling to listen to Your instructions. Father, please continue to mold me to Your will and remind me how my way produced so much bad fruit along the way. Help me to keep a mindset that is focused on You, Father, and willing to do Your will.
COMMAND (verse 23): You give us quite a simple command here, Father, That I have failed at quite often. You tell us to listen and obey from this point forward. Help me to embrace this command, Father, so I may no longer fail at it. Help me to keep this command in my heart, so I will listen and obey You from this point forward, Father.
EXAMPLE (verses 1-4, 6-8): The example You give us here, Father, of Jesus’ mission is definitely an amazing example to live by. Help me to live faithfully and righteously, Father, so I may glorify You at least better than I have been since coming to faith. Help me to be more like Jesus and less like what the world and my flesh wants of me.
*DAILY NOTE: Wow, Father! Thank You so much for this relationship and the conversation we had this morning. Thank You for always giving me practical advice and counsel that convicts me so that I can become better for You, Father. Thank You for Jesus, who provides us such an amazing example to follow in this life. Thank You for speaking to me in a way that I can understand and in a way that I can slowly but surely incorporate some changes in my life that honor and glorify You more than I have been, Father.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
Comments