(Continued-Chapter VII)

In the first half of verse 4 the Servant looking back over His labors when they are completed declares: "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity." Humanly speaking then, at the time of his giving utterance to these sentiments it appears as if no results follow from his labors. This conclusion is confirmed by the latter half of the verse which is introduced adversatively, and which shows that the complaint is but a human estimate; "Surely (lit. nevertheless) the justice due to me is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God." He expresses the conviction that, notwithstanding the seeming failure of the work, there are results from his labors, vindication of himself from the Lord, and a recompense for him which consists, as is seen from other passages, of satisfaction and joy in the triumph of his redemptive work.

With verse 5 there seems to be a new turn, as it were, in the career of the Messiah. Since his labor among his own people, as is expressed in the first part of verse 4, appears to be a failure, now the Lord lays before him a two-fold plan: (1) to bring Jacob again unto Himself (this statement presupposes that Jacob has departed from God), and to regather Israel back to the homeland; (2) to become "a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." Upon his first appearance in Israel his labors bring little results; when he reappears as the "sword" of God and the "polished shaft" or "arrow" he restores Israel to God and becomes God's salvation to all nations, which fact will be the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3).

In verse 7 the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, in speaking to "him whom man despises, to him whom the nation (Israel) abhorreth, to a servant of rulers" who is Israel's Messiah, says: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of the Lord that is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee." The words "whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth" throw a luminous light upon the prophecy in verse 4 which foretells the seeming failure of the work of the Messiah. When he appears to Israel the first time the nation despises and abhors him. He then withdraws from the scene and God hides him in His quiver; when the time is ripe for judgment upon Israel and the world he appears in his power and glory. Then "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship." The nation will then see its mistake and will accept his sovereignty and Messiahship. So will the kings of the world.

According to verse 8 God makes this same Messiah whom the nation despised and abhorred "a covenant of the people (Israel)", i.e., "the personal bond of connection uniting Israel and their God in a new fellowship." In 42:6 this same prophet emphasizes the same thought and in verse 4 he gives additional information which is: "He (the Servant of the Lord, the Messiah) will not fail nor be discouraged until he have set justice in the earth and the isles shall wait for his law." It is very clear from this statement that this Servant is a prophet who delivers a law to Israel and acts as a mediator between her and God, as did Moses at Sinai, in bringing Israel into the bonds of an everlasting covenant of which different prophets spoke. The fact that this Servant of the Lord delivers a law for which the isles (nations of the world) wait, and mediates an everlasting covenant between God and Israel, unmistakably identifies this Servant Prophet as The Prophet whom Moses promised in the Torah. This conclusion is confirmed by the promise found in Isa. 55:3,4:

הַטּוּ אָזְנְכֶם וּלְכוּ אֵלַי שִׁמְעוּ וּתְחִי נַפְשְׁכֶם וְאֶכְרְתָה לָכֶם בְּרִית עוֹלָם חַסְדֵי דָוִד הַנֶּאֱמָנִים׃ הֵן עֵד לְאוּמִּים נְתַתִּיו נָגִיד וּמְצַוֵּה לְאֻמִּים׃

"Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples."

The context shows that the prophet invites all of those who are thirsty and hungry, spiritually speaking, to listen to his message, to incline the ear and he will make an everlasting covenant with them. Though he uses the first personal pronoun "I," it is evident that it is God who is speaking and who is delivering a law and inviting all who will listen to enter into an everlasting covenant, "even the sure mercies of David." This statement refers to the oath of God to David concerning the establishment of his throne for ever (II Sam. 7). In verse 4 he speaks of this descendant of David as a witness to the people and a leader and commander of the nations; therefore this king of the Davidic dynasty is not only to be king but also a law-giver. Besides his being both prophet and king he will likewise, according to Psa. 110:4, be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Hence he shall function in three capacities: as prophet, priest, and king. Zechariah in 6:13 speaks of this one, King Messiah, as a priest sitting upon His throne. Therefore, according to the warning of Deut. 18:15-19, everyone who does not heed this prophet shall be held personally responsible.

According to this same verse Messiah when he returns will "make them (the Hebrew race) inherit the desolate heritages." No movement nor organization, regardless of finances, influence, power, etc. can restore the people to the land, and vice versa. Only this Servant, King Messiah, can do this thing.

Another glorious picture of Messiah and His work is given in Isa. 61:1-3:

רוּחַ אֲדֹנָי יְהוָה עָלָי יַעַן מָשַׁח יְהוָה אֹתִי לְבַשֵּׂר עֲנָוִים שְׁלָחַנִי לַחֲבֹשׁ לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵב לִקְרֹא לִשְׁבוּיִם דְּרוֹר וְלַאֲסוּרִים פְּקַח־קוֹחַ׃ לִקְרֹא שְׁנַת־רָצוֹן לַיהוָה וְיוֹם נָקָם לֵאלֹהֵינוּ לְנַחֵם כָּל־אֲבֵלִים׃ לָשׂוּם לַאֲבֵלֵי צִיּוֹן לָתֵת לָהֶם פְּאֵר תַּחַת אֵפֶר שֶׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן תַּחַת אֵבֶל מַעֲטֵה תְהִלָּה תַּחַת רוּחַ כֵּהָה וְקֹרָא לָהֶם אֵילֵי הַצֶּדֶק מַטַּע יְהוָה לְהִתְפָּאֵר׃

"The Spirit of the Lord יְהוָה is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified."

In verse 1 the statement is made that Messiah shall be anointed, not with oil as were the ancient kings of Israel, but with the רוּחַ אֲדֹנָי "Spirit of the Lord." The anointing with oil was simply symbolical and typical of the real spiritual anointing by the Spirit of God which the Messiah shall receive and which thus constitutes Him Israel's Messiah. In the succeeding verses appear the glorious results which follow the work of the Messiah. For glowing descriptions of the earth during the reign of the Messiah see Psa. 72; 132; Isa. 11 and 12.*


Footnote:

* In some quarters the Messianic prophecies are interpreted not as predictions of a personal Messiah but of an age or period of the world during which certain ideals and standards will prevail. During that age, according to this theory, the world will have evolved a civilization intellectually, ethically, culturally, and materially far superior to the present order: in other words, a golden age. In order to teach this lesson the most effectually to their contemporaries, the prophets personified the age, since, according to the current idea, a noble king was the very embodiment and personification of life's highest ideals and principles.

In reply to this position let the reader note the fact that the one fundamental principle for interpreting any language, oral or written, is that each word is to be taken in its ordinary, primary, literal meaning unless the context indicates otherwise. Whenever this rule is not observed, it is impossible for one to understand correctly what is said. Another important rule that is absolutely essential to proper understanding of language is that whenever the context points to a figurative or metaphorical meaning, that secondary or figurative meaning of the words or of the passage is to be chosen which accords with its symbolic or figurative meaning in passages about which there is no discussion. An examination of all of the Messianic passages in the Tenach points clearly to the conclusion that the literal meaning is to be chosen. Therefore the figurative interpretation of Messianic prophecies is purely arbitrary and gratuitous.

A second objection to this theory is that in the Messianic passages the Messiah is represented as coming and ushering in this golden age. Therefore the Messiah is distinguished in these prophecies from the age itself (For examples see Isa. 11; 32; 33:17-23; Jer. 23:5-8; Psa. 72; 132).

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