The Servant To Restore Israel

Thus saith the LORD, “In an acceptable time have I heard Thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped Thee: and I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that Thou mayest say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth;’ to them that are in darkness, ‘Shew yourselves.’
“They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.  They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them.  And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways shall be exalted.
“Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted.”
Isaiah 49:8-13

Chapter 49 is the beginning of the Servants song; a prophecy of the work of the Messiah known to most Christians as the Christ. So here we have a prophecy of the Savior of the world, and what He comes to do.

  1. He came at an acceptable time.
  2. He is helped by the LORD, who is His Father.
  3. He is promised to be preserved.  Could that be a hint of His death, burial and resurrection? I believe so.
  4. He is the covenant with the people.
  5. He is given authority to set prisoners free.
  6. He is the light to those in darkness.
  7. He makes a way through the earth, and for life eternal.
  8. He is the source of sustenance, and strength.
  9. He calls people from all nations to Himself.
  10. He brings joy, and singing to the heavens and the earth.

Because the LORD has comforted His people, and will have mercy on the afflicted.

He is still alive, active and still calling the lost to Himself. His name is Jesus Christ, and He is the Son of God who left the glory of Heaven, to become a Man, to die for our sins on the old rugged cross. He was buried, and He rose again.

I the LORD have spoken

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.  Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.  And I the LORD will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.”
Ezekiel 34:20-24

Fear Not… And Be Not Dismayed

But fear not thou, O My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
Fear thou not, O Jacob My servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Jeremiah 46:27-28

Spoken by Isaiah the Prophet

Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him.  But when Jesus knew, He withdrew Himself from thence: and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all; and charged them that they should not make Him known: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
“Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen; My beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased: I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.  He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory.  And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.”               Matthew 12:14-21

The life and ministry of Jesus was the fulfillment of Scripture. It has been said that you can see Jesus on every page of Scripture.

The above quotation is from Isaiah 42 verses 1 through 5.

Till He Send Forth Judgment Into Victory

“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
‘Behold My Servant, whom I have chosen; My Beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased: I will put My spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory. And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.’ ” Matthew 12:18-21

Words of Jesus; Son of God, God the Son – 092820

“And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, ‘Sir, we would see Jesus.’
Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.  And Jesus answered them, saying,
‘The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.  If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will Father honour.’
”  John 12:20-26  (KJB)

The Heavens Shall Praise The Wonders Of The LORD

“I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, ‘Mercy shall be built up for ever: Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.’
‘I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.’ Selah.
And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O LORD: Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him.”  Psalm 89:1-7  (KJB)

Corrected in Measure

The people of God. Jacob and his descendants are never without the discipline [correction] of God.  That correction shows, in fact, that they are the children of God.  The same is true of those who are genuine Christians; those who have been regenerated through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God, God the Son.

That correction is not for destruction, but a guided, blessed comfort, rest, peace which is indescribable by mere words.  Let us hear from the prophet Jeremiah…

But fear not thou, O My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear thou not, O Jacob My servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished. Jeremiah 46:27-28 (KJV)

After giving a declaration from God of the demise of Egypt for their treatment of Jacob/Israel the LORD God gives a word of comfort to His people.  Here we see that promise “Fear not…” once again.  This fear not is for the people of God who are descendants of Jacob; yet we as Christians can rest in this promise as well, because we can get assurance from it that God does know how to deliver His people in all days and all ages.

Hear what Peter, the New Testament apostle of Jesus Christ wrote…

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished… 2 Peter 2:9

He is speaking of the deliverance of Lot from the destruction of Sodom, yet the word holds true for us all.  We can trust God with our future.  We can trust Him with our health.  We can trust Him with our finances – but that does not give us license for frivolous spending or waste.  Frivolousness in anything will be judged.  Be wise.

For the child of God; He does not correct for destruction, but for deliverance, freedom, rest, comfort and peace.  Find rest, forgiveness and peace with God through  Jesus Christ His Son who died on the cross as the atonement for our sin, was buried, and bodily arose from that grave; and is forever alive giving us fellowship with God.

When You are God’s, He will not Leave You Undisciplined

Much of the Scripture we will look at today have to do with the judgment upon Egypt. Judah was or had been depending on Egypt for their deliverance, and fight against Babylon; but they were in grave error and sin for doing so. Judah’s help was in God. Because of their trust in Egypt God gives Judah the following words…

“But fear not thou, O My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear thou not, O Jacob My servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.” Jeremiah 46:27-28 (KJV)

Egypt would fall. Judah would be in captivity for seventy years; but God reminds the one’s who are in Egypt now; against His word; that He will not utterly destroy them.

He also will not leave them altogether unpunished; for God disciplines those who are His.

Note the LORD is still referring to Jacob as “My servant” and “Israel”. Jacob means “heel holder” or “supplanter” or “deceiver”. Israel means “God prevails”, and though Jacob was a trickster, always getting things done his way; God still loved him. Even when Jacob wrestled with God at Bethel (Genesis 32:24-32), and named him Israel God knew he was not perfect nor sinless.

The child of God, in Christ Jesus, will always have chastisement for sin in his/her life. We must be grateful for that; for without it we are not a child of God (Hebrews 12:8). We can rest assured that what God has began through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; He also will complete, and bring to His desired end (Philippians 1:6).

Back to the Smiters

“The Lord GOD hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Isaiah 50:5-7 (KJV)

This is more dealing with the Servant prophecies. Isaiah writing of the Messiah who was coming, and came; and His name is Jesus, the Christ; or Messiah.

The prophecy above speaks of His coming in what is called the first advent. He was born as a baby in a manger. He came into the world just like the rest of us did, by human birth. He was, and is the Lamb of God, and it is quite fitting that He would be born in a manger where the animals fed.

Jesus was not rebellious to do the Father’s will. He said,

“I do always those things that please Him.” John 8:29

Even at the age of twelve He told Mary and Joseph,

“How is it that ye sought Me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49

As Jesus was tried in the unjust, early, trial He was beaten, and willingly gave His back to the whip, His cheeks to those who plucked off His beard, and spit in His face (Matthew 26:67; 27:26; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:64; John 19:1).

The Obedient Servant, Jesus the Christ obeyed the Father all the way to the cross so that those who believe, trust in Him might be saved from their sins. He went to the cross, in obedience and without shame; because He had a mindset for the glory of the Father.

Thus saith the LORD… 012614

“For thus saith the LORD; ‘David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.’  And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, ‘Thus saith the LORD; ‘If ye can break My covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me. Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD hath chosen, He hath even cast them off?’ ‘Thus they have despised My people, that they should be no more a nation before them.’  Thus saith the LORD; ‘If My covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.'”  Jeremiah 33:17-26