A Covenant for the People

Isaiah 42:1-9 is the first of what many call the four Servant Songs (with 49:1-6, 50:4-9, and 52:13-53:12). The Servant is chosen, upheld, delighted in, and filled with the Spirit: "Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him." His mission is global justice. In the New Testament, Matthew 12:18-21 quotes verses 1-4 directly about Jesus, and the Father's words at Jesus' baptism and transfiguration echo verse 1 (Matthew 3:17; 17:5).

The Servant's method is surprising. He will not "shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street." He won't break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning wick; the weak are safe with him. Yet he is not weak: "He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice on the earth." Interestingly, "fail" and "be discouraged" use the same Hebrew roots as "dimly burning" and "bruised." God will make him "a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon." In the New Testament, Simeon calls the baby Jesus a light for the Gentiles (Luke 2:32).

A hymn follows: "Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth." God, long silent, now acts like a mighty warrior, leading the blind "in paths that they don't know." The chapter closes by contrasting the faithful Servant with Israel, the servant nation that is "blind" and "deaf." Israel saw many things but did not take them to heart. This contrast prepares for the Servant who will do what Israel could not.