Isaiah - episode 6

Light for the nations

In the present post we start to read the Second Isaiah’s four little poems about a mysterious Servant, called by the Lord to realize His plan of salvation in history. We have to keep a wide-range identification to the Servant: he has prophetic (he announces God’s Word) and regal traits («my chosen one»). In the Servant we can catch a glimpse of Isaiah himself; of Cyrus the Persian king (see Is 45,1-8; 41,2); of Moses who “brings out” the people from Egypt and whom is held by the hand (do you remember the battle against Amalek in Exod 17,11-12?); of Jeremiah called since the maternal womb to be «a prophet to the nations» (Jer 1,5) and who suffered a great opposition during his ministry; of the people of Israel or a part of it that remained faithful to the Lord (see Isa 49,3); of Jesus Christ king, priest, prophet, the suffering Servant in whom the Father delights (see Mark 1,11). The common trait to all these characters is to be chosen by God, called to sacrifice all their lives to serve Him.
In the first poem of the Servant the Lord speaks: «“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. He won’t break a bruised reed. And he won’t extinguish a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice. He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and for his law the coastlands will hope.” Thus says God the LORD, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it. “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations; to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison [...]”» (Isa 42,1-7). I underline here the meek and merciful way of the Servant in bringing the justice, namely the announcing that God is the only Lord.



In the second poem, the Servant speaks in the first person, denouncing that Israel did not accept his word. The Lord, however, renews His confidence in him and expands his mission even to the foreign nations. «Listen, islands, to me; and listen, you peoples, from far: the LORD has called me from the womb; from the body of my mother has he made mention of my name: and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand, he has hidden me: and he has made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he kept me close: and he said to me, “You are my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely the justice due to me is with the LORD, and my reward with my God.” Now says the LORD who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered to him (for I am honorable in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength); yes, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.” Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of the LORD who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” Thus says the LORD, “In an acceptable time have I answered you, and in a day of salvation have I helped you; and I will preserve you, and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage: saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’» (Isa 49,1-9).
In the third poem an anonymous character speaks (probably he is again the Servant: see Isa 50,10). Like the slave in Exod 21,6 he expresses his total belonging to the Lord having his ear pierced: this means he renounces the right to leave in freedom to stay at the Lord’s service. The Servant is «taught […] morning by morning»: he is a faithful disciple who listens with attention to the Word of the Lord. In spite of the harsh persecutions that the mission brought him, the Servant maintains his faith in the Lord. «The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary: he wakens morning by morning, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; I did not cover my face from insults and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore I have not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed. He is near who justifies me; who will bring charges against me? Let us stand up together: who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he who shall condemn me? Behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. Who is among you who fears the LORD, who obeys the voice of his servant?» (Isa 50,4-10).
In the next post we will read the last poem of the Servant and we will conclude the examination of the Book of Isaiah.