Exploring the Scripture

Last week, we explored the first Servant Song, Isaiah 42:1–4. This week we celebrate God’s presence among us with the second Servant Song, which takes the form of a conversation between God and God’s servant. The song begins in Isaiah 49:1 as the remnants of the servant nation Israel (the Jews) call to all the other nations: “Listen to me…The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.” There are layers of meaning in that simple statement. To better understand, it is helpful to learn about Jacob, one of the patriarchs of old.

Jacob and Esau were twins. Genesis 25:26 tells us that as they were born, Jacob grasped Esau’s heel. He was therefore named Jacob, or “one who grasps by the heel, or supplants.” Genesis 32:28 tells us that after Jacob wrestled with the angel, God changed his name to Israel, “one who strives with God.” Jacob/Israel is considered the father of the 12 patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. The people take the name of their nation from that ancestor.

Just as Jacob was named from the womb, so the nation and people were called by God “from their mother’s womb” (or from their beginning) to be God’s covenant people. The beginning of Israel was the act of God in creation long before it was a recognizable nation. Naming the baby Jacob occurred because of an action caused by the human baby—grasping his brother’s heel. But with the servant nation Israel, God launches the call. God formed Israel with a “mouth like a sharp sword” to speak the truth of God’s word (Isaiah 49:2). God created this nation to be a prophetic people, speaking for God. Then God hid Israel away until a time—an epiphany—when God could be revealed in glory. Note that it is not the people who will be glorified, but God.

The response of the servant reflects Israel’s history of striving with God. “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity…” (v. 4). Because the servant is faithful and obedient, however, the response doesn’t end there. The passage continues, “…yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” Human efforts have failed, but faith affirms the continuing relationship of trust and grace with God.

It is this trust of the servant that prompts God to lay an added burden on God’s servant Israel. The servant’s former purpose was to bring back to God Israelites who have strayed, to expand and restore the nation, and gather the people once again. The purpose was self-centered. No, God says, that purpose is too small and limiting. God has a greater mission for the servant: to be a “light to the nations,” that all the world’s peoples shall be saved (v. 6). All the nations will know the Redeemer of Israel and the Holy One of Israel. The nations will respond by bowing before the Lord.

Today, Christians interpret the servant as a model for the coming Christ. The mission to the nations is the universal call to grace and salvation. We are the prophetic people, given the task of spreading the good news of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. God calls us to the work of restoration: go into all nations, free the captives, and be a light to the world for the glory of God.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

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Central Ideas

1. God knows us from birth and calls us to be a covenant people fulfilling God’s purposes.
2. We struggle with God, wanting our way. But God is faithful and grants grace and purpose.
3. We respond to bring glory to God, not to us.
4. God calls us today to spread the good news of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ.

Questions to Consider

1. When has God called you to respond with trust and faith?
2. When have you struggled with God? How did God’s grace enfold you during that struggle?
3. What can you do today to bring glory to God? What can you do in the coming week? Be specific.
4. How would you summarize the good news of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ?