Isaiah 42

Isaiah 42:1-4 (ESV)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my Spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be discouraged

till he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his law.

This is an interesting chapter. The servant of the Lord will bring about justice on the Earth. The enemies of God will be turned to him. Yet the people of God, when they experience his judgment, fail to recognize that he is the source of their pain. It is interesting that we always want to blame someone else.

The servant of the Lord will bring about justice, but what is justice? Justice seems to be defined in a variety of ways. Some people equate Justice with fairness. Some would equate justice with judgment and law. I do not think either of those definitions is what Isaiah 42 is actually talking about. There is a little of both in the answer, but neither reach the fullness of the concept. There is injustice when the wealthy fail to care for the poor. There is injustice when human trafficking occurs and people are taking advantage of other people. There is injustice when some people have heavy fines and jail time for small crimes, while others get away with their indiscretions without consequence. There is injustice when part of the world takes food and clean water for granted while another part of the world does not even know that kind of lifestyle exists. There is injustice when certain freedoms, rights, and privileges are granted to one group of people and not another simply because of how they look, or their station in life.

Until Heaven, there will always be poor, there will always be underprivileged, there will always be those who have less. The fact that there will always be poor does not justify keeping people poor. The fact that there will always be underprivileged does not justify keeping people underprivileged, or guarding one's privilege. The servant of the Lord will bring about justice on the Earth. That is a reference to Jesus. If our Lord will bring about justice on the Earth, then should not we, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, work for justice also?

Unfortunately, as believers, we have too often been more interested in guarding our privilege than in serving the less fortunate. In Isaiah 42 the people of God were experiencing his judgment and did not even recognize it. Could it be that the church today is also experiencing some of God's judgment and we cannot see it? Is that why there seems to be so little spiritual life and so much empty show in Christian circles? What if we as Believers in Jesus Christ truly had the heart of Christ for a lost and broken world? God says of his people, “He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear” (Is 42:20). It is sad that the very people who ought to be seeing and hearing clearly are blinded by their own fear of loss.

Our privilege, our lifestyle, our tradition, and culture have become more important to us than the Word of God. So, we listen, but we do not hear, we have eyes to see but we do not observe what God is saying or doing. It reminds me of Jesus’ words to his own disciples, “Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?” (Mk 8:17-18). I wonder how much church is done in the name of Jesus without the people of God ever really listening to him. If our Lord will bring about justice on the Earth, then should not we, as Believers and followers of Jesus Christ, work for justice also, yet we spend most of our time and effort trying to be safe and guard our privilege. God forgive us. Open our eyes Lord.