Year 2, Week 8, Day 3 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 8, Day 3

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Isaiah 51-53.

Today’s reading continues Isaiah’s prophecy to Judah. Isaiah 51 expresses words of comfort from the LORD as He remembers His covenant promising restoration reminiscent of the Garden: “For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song” (Isaiah 51:3). Isaiah 52 is an announcement of salvation as the LORD will provide blessing to Israel and well as the nations: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”…The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:7,10). Isaiah 53 continues a section begun in the previous chapter as it returns the focus to the servant of the LORD. In the clearest description yet concerning the servant, it is declared that the servant would suffer for sins as a substitute: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the wide range of exaltation and humiliation that the LORD’s servant would encounter. Isaiah starts with the servant’s exalted status: “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted” (Isaiah 52:13). And Isaiah concludes with the servant’s exalted satisfaction: “when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:10b-11). The servant would successfully accomplish his work of substitution by exchanging his people’s sins with his righteousness. The servant, whose work would be intercessory (that is on behalf of others), would conquer sharing the spoils of his victory with his people: “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).

But while the servant would be exalted, Isaiah vividly depicts the extent of his humiliation. The servant would become disfigured beyond recognition: “As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind” (Isaiah 52:14). But before the horrific acts of violence renders the servant unrecognizable, the servant would not be deemed impressive to look at: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). The lack of a majestic image is intriguing for Isaiah, by referring to the servant as a “root out of dry ground,” is linking the servant to the promised, much anticipated king from the line of David: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). But the servant, though kingly, would be lowly esteemed and face the sadness of rejection.

The servant’s humiliation would go even further: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). In accordance with the LORD’s earlier promise to David, this servant would be a suffering servant: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men” (2 Samuel 7:14). The LORD would afflict him with the griefs and sorrows of others. The servant’s suffering would be intense, but he would not fight back as his sufferings would be on behalf of others: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?” (Isaiah 53:7-8). The servant would remain obedient unto death: “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:8). For it was the LORD himself who arranged for the servant to suffer on behalf of others: “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10a).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe

Year 2, Week 8, Day 3

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Isaiah 51-53.

Today’s reading continues Isaiah’s prophecy to Judah. Isaiah 51 expresses words of comfort from the LORD as He remembers His covenant promising restoration reminiscent of the Garden: “For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song” (Isaiah 51:3). Isaiah 52 is an announcement of salvation as the LORD will provide blessing to Israel and well as the nations: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”…The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:7,10). Isaiah 53 continues a section begun in the previous chapter as it returns the focus to the servant of the LORD. In the clearest description yet concerning the servant, it is declared that the servant would suffer for sins as a substitute: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the wide range of exaltation and humiliation that the LORD’s servant would encounter. Isaiah starts with the servant’s exalted status: “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted” (Isaiah 52:13). And Isaiah concludes with the servant’s exalted satisfaction: “when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:10b-11). The servant would successfully accomplish his work of substitution by exchanging his people’s sins with his righteousness. The servant, whose work would be intercessory (that is on behalf of others), would conquer sharing the spoils of his victory with his people: “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).

But while the servant would be exalted, Isaiah vividly depicts the extent of his humiliation. The servant would become disfigured beyond recognition: “As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind” (Isaiah 52:14). But before the horrific acts of violence renders the servant unrecognizable, the servant would not be deemed impressive to look at: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). The lack of a majestic image is intriguing for Isaiah, by referring to the servant as a “root out of dry ground,” is linking the servant to the promised, much anticipated king from the line of David: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). But the servant, though kingly, would be lowly esteemed and face the sadness of rejection.

The servant’s humiliation would go even further: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). In accordance with the LORD’s earlier promise to David, this servant would be a suffering servant: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men” (2 Samuel 7:14). The LORD would afflict him with the griefs and sorrows of others. The servant’s suffering would be intense, but he would not fight back as his sufferings would be on behalf of others: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?” (Isaiah 53:7-8). The servant would remain obedient unto death: “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:8). For it was the LORD himself who arranged for the servant to suffer on behalf of others: “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10a).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe