13The Lord will be a mighty warrior, full of fury toward His foes. He will give a great shout and prevail. 14Long has He been silent; He has restrained Himself. But now He will give full vent to His wrath; He will groan and cry like a woman delivering her child. 15He will level the mountains and hills and blight their greenery. He will dry up the rivers and pools. 16He will bring blind Israel along a path they have not seen before. He will make the darkness bright before them and smooth and straighten out the road ahead. He will not forsake them. 17But those who trust in idols and call them gods will be greatly disappointed; they will be turned away.[1] (Isaiah42:10–17)
The Response To The Messiah
God foresaw the various responses to the Savior, His Servant. In truth, every human being should praise God for sending the Messiah into the world on such a great mission. No greater gift could have been given to the world. Through the Messiah, all human beings can be saved, become acceptable to God, and have a personal relationship with the Lord. Furthermore, they can have all the darkness of sin, guilt, and death erased from their hearts. For these reasons, all people should respond to God’s gift of the Messiah by lifting up their voices in resounding praise to the Lord. Note the responses that God foresaw.
a. God saw
that some people’s response would be positive. They would accept and
believe in His Servant. Of these people, God demanded praise (vv. 10–12).
Because of His great gift to the world in the person of the Messiah, God
expected everyone to worship Him in song and praise.
Ø
the sailors and islanders
Ø
the people who live in the desert and its towns
Ø
the few people living in the villages of Kedar
or the desert wilderness of Arabia
Ø the many people in the city of Sela, the capital of Edom
All the people were to shout from the mountaintops, singing for joy because God had made the most glorious and sacrificial contribution possible to the world. He sent His only Son, His perfect Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to save men and to set them free. Thus, everyone should glorify the Lord and praise His name to the farthest islands, the ends of the world.
b. The Lord knew that His enemies would not respond favorably to the Messiah. He knew that they would reject Christ and remain His enemies (vv. 13–15). Consequently, the Lord foretold that He would march forth like a mighty conqueror against them and triumph over them. Filled with righteous anger due to the rejection of His Servant, God would shout out the battle cry and take vengeance against them. No longer would He keep silent or be patient as He had been, hoping they would repent and praise Him for sending the Messiah. Due to their continued defiance, the day for judgment would come, just as the day comes for a woman to give birth. Like a woman in labor, God would groan, pant, and gasp as He gave birth to a new era, the period of judgment on earth. All the enemies’ land and vegetation would be destroyed. Their rivers and water resources would dry up—all because they rejected the Messiah and refused to praise the Lord for sending His Servant into the world.
c. God also
foresaw the response of people who confessed that they were blind (v. 16).
The blind would have no difficulty confessing their darkness and need for God’s
Servant. Therefore, God promised to lead and guide them. He promised to turn
their darkness into light and to remove all obstacles in their path as they
walked through life day by day. God also promised to never forsake those who
confessed their spiritual blindness and their desperate need for the Messiah.
V “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby
the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Lu. 1:78–79).
V “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess
Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
But He that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God” (Lu. 12:8–9).
V “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is
come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but
whatsoever He shall hear, that shall
He speak: and He will show you things to come” (Jn. 16:13).
V “To open their eyes, and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power
of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me” (Ac. 26:18).
V “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Ro.
10:9).
V “For God, who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ” (2 Co. 4:6).
V “The eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the
riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ep. 1:18).
V “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as
children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ep. 5:8–11).
V “But ye are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light” (1 Pe.
2:9).
V “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the
Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and He in God” (1 Jn. 4:15).
V “The meek will He guide in judgment: and the
meek will He teach His way” (Ps.
25:9).
V “For this God is our God forever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death” (Ps. 48:14).
V “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Ps. 73:24).
d. God also
foresaw the response of idolaters (v. 17). Although many would
refuse to worship God’s Servant, they would still choose to worship idols and
false gods. Despite the fact that God had demonstrated His love by sending His
Servant into the world, they would deliberately choose to place their trust in
the false gods conceived in their own imaginations. As a result, God declared
that He would turn them away from His presence in utter shame. He would reject
and condemn them. And they would be utterly embarrassed by their idolatry,
ashamed for having worshipped trivial material possessions made by their own
hands.
V “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Co. 6:9–10).
V “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or
covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but
rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean
person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for
because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience”
(Ep. 5:3–6).
V “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Amen” (1 Jn. 5:21).
V “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve
them: for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them
that hate me” (Ex. 20:3–5).
V “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be
not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them” (De. 11:16).
V “There shall no strange god be in thee;
neither shalt thou worship any strange god” (Ps. 81:9).
V “I am the Lord: that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images” (Is. 42:8).[2]
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
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