In Isaiah 42.4, the unfailing steadfast and righteous Servant of Jehovah "shall not fail nor be discouraged"; nothing will impede Him "till he have set judgment in the earth". He will continue steadfastly until He has accomplished this further service, when He will reign in righteousness over this world, bring forth divine justice to the nations, and bring the whole world under the acknowledged authority of God. How will He do this? How will such a wonderful reign of justice be established? This future service of the Servant will require His coming again; the second advent of the Servant in manifested power, as detailed in Isaiah 42.13-16.
The Mighty Conquering Servant of Jehovah
In the preceding verses of the chapter (10-12), there is a call to "Sing unto the Lord a new song"; a song of praise and glory that is to resound all over the earth. The reason for this universal call to praise is given in verse 13, namely, that when the Servant comes again to this world He will be the mighty conquering Servant; "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies." The One who first came in lowly grace, ultimately to be crucified in seeming weakness, will come again to take the field of battle as a mighty warrior King, and from apparent indifference He will stir up zeal like a man of war, accustomed to battle and victory.
This second advent of our Saviour is depicted in Revelation 19, as He comes forth seated on a white horse, with armies following, and "in righteousness he doth judge and make war" (v 11). At this time on earth there will be a great gathering together of military might; the armies of a revived Roman empire from the west, an Arab league of nations marshalled by the king of the south, a very great army from the east, together with those coming down from the north. These will all converge on the Land, seemingly about to extinguish the nation of Israel once and for all.
But then there will be the appearing of Christ out from heaven; "He shall cry, yea, roar" (Isa 42.13). The word "cry" is the idea of a shout of victory or triumph, as His enemies are vanquished. He will "roar" like a strong lion against His enemies, who will be utterly destroyed by "the brightness of his coming" (2 Thess 2.8). His voice alone will have great power; "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake" (Joel 3.16). He will come with His army following; "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (Rev 19.14). But those armies of saints will not themselves have to strike a blow, or have to engage in any battle at all. Instead, He Himself will deal with all who oppose by the breath of His mouth, even with the majestic brightness of His coming; "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (v 15).
In contrast to His first coming in grace, this will be the time to deal with all enemies; the time to break the bruised reed and quench the smoking flax of all who would seek to oppose the establishing of His Kingdom on earth, when "he shall bring forth judgment unto truth" (Isa 42.3). Certainly then "he shall prevail against his enemies" (v 13); specific enemies like the antichrist and the false prophet will be dispatched to the Lake of Fire (Rev 19.20), and Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Rev 20.2-3). He is the Servant who did not fail when He came first in grace (Isa 42.4), and neither will He fail when He comes again in power. As the mighty conquering Servant of the Lord "he shall prevail" (v 13).
In verse 14 we are given a most interesting personal insight into this momentous event from the Servant Himself; "I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once" (v 14). When the time for patient refrain and non-intervention is over, He will arise in judgment upon His (and Israel's) enemies, and in mercy upon the faithful remnant of the nation. He has patiently held back for a "long time"; from the nation of Israel's perspective it has remained in distress and persecution for a long time. However, from the divine perspective, it has been but a moment; "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee" (Isa 54.7). Their time of persecution has been but a small moment compared with the "everlasting kindness" (v 8) that God has in view for that nation.
So, we learn that, today, with respect to the land of Israel, the Lord holds His peace, actively refraining Himself from intervention, but that nation is not forever forgotten or forsaken. The Servant speaks of Himself as crying "like a travailing woman" (Isa 42.14), comparing the intensity of His feelings for that nation to those of a woman in childbirth. When He can restrain no more, He will come to deliver His people from their enemies; He will "destroy and devour at once" (v 14), also rendered "I will blow and pant at once" (JND¹), continuing the analogy of childbirth, and the short breathings and panting associated with the very moment of delivery.
In verse 15, there is a description of how He will deal with the enemies of His people: "I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools." He is the Creator, who has power over all creation, and that irresistible creatorial power will be used to deliver His people from their enemies, to remove every obstacle to the establishing of His Kingdom, and to fulfil the purpose of God. In verse 16, He will deal in mercy with the godly remnant of the Nation. Throughout their time of distress and hopelessness, throughout the time of Tribulation that culminates in being besieged and surrounded by enemies, they will see no way out. The godly remnant will have been searching the Scriptures for a path to tread, but they will remain blind and in ignorance to a way of deliverance until He leads them. Then He will come to "bring the blind by a way that they knew not", and to "lead them in paths that they have not known"; the way of redemption and the path of faith in their Messiah. In that day, the language of the faithful remnant of Israel will be "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isa 9.6). For the first time as a nation they will say "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isa 53.5). The mighty conquering Servant will then illuminate the path of salvation for them, and make it a straight path; "I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight" (Isa 42.16).
Finally, in verse 16, He gives His gracious promise and assurance that "These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them", confirming that the nation of Israel has not been irreversibly forsaken by Jehovah, and that Israel's future salvation and blessing is assured. They will then be the beneficiaries of the grace and mercy of the perfect Servant of Jehovah. How good for all who are believers in the Lord Jesus today to appreciate even now, in this day of grace, that we too are the beneficiaries of the unfailing service of this mighty unfailing Servant, and that by His rich grace and mercy we know Him now as our blessed Lord, Saviour and Helper. He has given to us His absolute assurance and promise "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Heb 13.5-6). Our trust, for time and eternity, is in this unfailing and mighty conquering Servant of Jehovah.
(Concluded)
¹ J N Darby, The Holy Scriptures - A New Translation from the Original Languages.
