Isaiah 42:1-25

God has certain expectations of His people.  He makes great provision for them and has made many promises to them but they still refuse to acknowledge Him, worship Him, obey Him and serve Him as they should.  God’s revelation of Himself to mankind should always result in worship.  Instead, man has consistently turned his back on God and pretended to be blind and deaf to the glory of God, preferring to worship idols of their own making.  God will not tolerate this kind of idolatry forever.  A day is coming when all of His expectations will be fulfilled and every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will speak of His glory.  Oh what a glorious day that will be!

GOD HAS SENT HIS SON: God’s greatest promise to mankind was that He would send Messiah to save us from our sins.  He sent His Son empowered by His Spirit to bring justice to the nations and salvation to all who trust in Him.  His purpose in redemption will not fail and He will not rest until it has been accomplished.  The same power that God used to create the heavens and the earth will be used to bring about His kingdom.  He who gave mankind physical life will also give us spiritual life.  God promised to send His Son as a light to the world, to open the eyes of our hearts and to set us free from the chains of sin.  His purpose in redemption is to call the nations of the world to worship Him.  He will not share His glory with any idols and His determination to bring about His kingdom is firm.  God reveals this plan to us so we might be prepared for His glorious kingdom.

MEN SHOULD SING A SONG: The expected response to the revelation of God’s plan of salvation and His coming reign of justice should be one of praise and adoration to the Lord.  A new song of praise should rise from our lips.  All men from all places should be fully engaged in worshiping the Lord for His great mercy and grace.  Those who live by the sea, the inhabitants of the desert, the mountain dwellers and those living on the fertile flat lands should all lift their voices in songs of joy to the Lord.  The Lord has revealed Himself over and over again.  His strength and valor are beyond compare.  His mercy and grace have made Him wait patiently for men to turn to Him, but the Day of Judgment in coming where He will shake this world at its very foundations.  He will judge the nations, lead His children into safety and exterminate every form of idolatry from the face of the earth so that He alone will be the object of our worship and our songs of praise will be for Him and Him alone.


BUT THE SON WAS NOT SEEN: Despite God’s promises and the clear revelation of His glory through the Lord Jesus, man continues to walk in blindness and will not hear the words of the Lord.  God was pleased to reveal Himself to His people.  He longs to gather them to Himself and rejoice in their salvation, but they refuse to hear Him and their eyes are blind to His glory.  As a result of this rejection they will be taken as captives to live in holes and hopelessness.  God longs for us to understand the dire consequences of our sin and idolatry so that we will turn from idols to Him.  God brings judgment and captivity to the lives of His children so they might turn from evil, walk in His ways and worship Him alone.  Unfortunately, mankind has continued in blindness and deafness to the point that his heart has become hard.  We must respond to the revelation of God’s glory or our hearts will grow cold before Him. 

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