The Gentle King Establishes Justice on Earth

By the time of Jesus’s birth, God’s credentials of prediction will have been established through the fulfillment of the prophecies of Cyrus (Isa 42:9). But now new things are springing up, and all that he has promised he will certainly fulfill. Fulfilled prophecy gives the gospel message tremendous credibility.

The only proper response to all this is worship! So verses 10-12 call on the people of the earth to sing a new song of praise for such a great salvation (Rev 5:9; 14:3). The ends of the earth and sailors are summoned to sing. Even the desert will shout with joy: the settlements of Kedar (the Bedouin tribes of Arabia, descendants of Ishmael; Gen 25:13) and the inhabitants of Sela (Edomites). What is so amazing about these names is that they represent people who have been hostile to Israel and to God. The sovereign grace of God will guarantee elect people from every tribe will be singing eternal praises for their salvation in Christ (Isa 42:12).

Isaiah 42:13-17

The meek gentleness of Christ should not mislead us into thinking that the King lacks power or zeal. Actually, this advancing kingdom will be opposed every step of the way by powerful enemies. So verses 13-15 picture God’s terrifying wrath, which is as essential to the advance of this kingdom as is the gentleness of Christ. God “advances like a warrior . . . he roars aloud, he prevails over his enemies” (v. 13). Christ is a delightful Savior but also a terrifying enemy. God’s apparent silence in the past is easy to misunderstand, but he was intentionally holding himself back from judgment on sinners who were opposing his kingdom (v. 14).

All of this power is for the purpose of saving his weak, frail people—of leading the formerly blind along paths they’ve never traveled before (v. 16). Again, this could refer immediately to the restoration of the remnant to the promised land, but the whole chapter is speaking of the kingdom of Christ. Verse 17 is a warning, however, to all who refuse the call; if they will not repent, they will be put to shame on that final day.

Isaiah 42:18-25

In this final section Isaiah was writing to Judah and Jerusalem before the fall into idolatry during the reign of Manasseh that would result in their degrading exile to Babylon. The events that would occur in their destruction and exile would be absolutely humiliating to God’s people. But what is worse, they could mislead observers into misunderstanding God’s purposes. It was not that God was powerless to stop the Babylonians or didn’t see them coming. No, actually, God brought the Babylonians to exact judgment on his blind and deaf “servant,” Israel. The willful blindness of the Jewish nation was more despicable than the blindness of the Gentiles because God had made his law glorious in Israel’s midst (v. 21). If there are two men who do not read and pay attention to a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign, and one is in a dark cave and the other in a brilliantly lit room, the blindness of the second is more clearly exposed than that of the first.

For this reason, God commanded the Gentiles to plunder his own people, putting them into dungeons with no one to rescue them (v. 22). The tendency among God’s people is to hate the Gentiles and wonder why God has forsaken Israel. Instead, Isaiah wonders aloud who among his people will understand the true message here: God was judging Israel (Jacob) for their willful blindness, deafness, and disobedience (vv. 24-25). Only the humble and faith-filled among the remnant (Dan 9:1-19) would recognize that the holy God was doing this because of the sins of his people.

First, simply kneel before the humble and gentle King, Jesus Christ, and by faith enter his kingdom. Jesus is the fulfillment of these words, as Matthew 12:15-21 makes plain.

Beyond this, delight in the gentleness of Jesus in dealing with sinners like us. We have a difficult time believing God loves us when we’re so sinful. Sometimes we feel like we’re a damaged reed, barely holding on by a slender green thread. We feel like the work of grace in our hearts is a flickering, smoldering, smoky fire just about to be extinguished. We must learn to trust the exquisite skill of Jesus in binding up our broken hearts and fanning into a more vigorous flame the work of grace within us.

This should also teach pastors and other Christians how to deal with those feeling guilty for sin. We must learn to be skillful and gentle in counseling sinners to a vigorous and healthy walk with Christ. It’s so easy to be judgmental and harsh in a toxic, self-righteous way.

For all of this, however, we must not underestimate how much power Christ exerts every day as a mighty warrior to destroy his enemies and rescue his chosen people. Christ is a gentle Savior but a terrifying adversary. Let us fear the Lord and warn rebellious sinners of the coming wrath.

Finally, we should delight in the spread of the gospel to the distant islands, including the Arab nations who are descended from Ishmael. Christians should continue to give full exertion to the spread of the gospel, even in Muslim nations and hard-to-reach places.