Isaiah 42:1-9

The Coming One (Isaiah 41:25 to Isaiah 42:9 ).

The theme of the failure of the idols to tell the past and the future continues. They do not know of ‘the one from the north’. Identity of the ‘one from the north’ has produced widely differing ideas. In context there are good grounds for arguing that he must be the servant of Isaiah 42:1, for the theme of the servant immediately follows.

Some see it as referring to Cyrus in the light of Isaiah 44:28 to Isaiah 45:1. But there Cyrus is God’s shepherd, not His servant, and it would be meaningless to the reader until he came to that chapter. For the idea here is that He is describing someone who is known, someone who is therefore evidence of what He has done. Far better is it to see it as Abraham in the light of Isaiah 41:2. Certainly Abraham came from both the north (Haran) and from the east (Ur of the Chaldees). And he is specifically described as one who called on the name of Yahweh (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:4 compare Genesis 26:25). And he was certainly disastrous for rulers (Genesis 12:10-20; Genesis 14:0 all; 20 all), including the king of Elam and the king of Shinar (Babylon) (Genesis 14:1; Genesis 14:9). He seems well represented in this description.

(Actually anyone who came from the east in Mesopotamia would come from the north through Syria. It was only Arabs like the Midianites coming across the Jordan who came only from the east).

Opting therefore for Abraham as being clearly described, we must, however, recognise that it is not just as simple as that. Strictly it is talking about Yahweh’s Servant, thus about Abraham and his seed who came into the land in him. It is summing up salvation history in Abraham. Abraham came, and all who came from Abraham were in Abraham when he came. Thus as he entered the land in him came Isaac and Jacob, His servants (Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 9:27), and Moses and Joshua (both officially called ‘the servant of Yahweh’), and David his servant (Isaiah 37:35; Psalms 89:3; Psalms 89:20), and in him came the greater David yet to come. As he entered the land they all entered it in his loins. (This was Israel’s way of thinking).

We should note especially that the term ‘my servant’ is used regularly in Isaiah as depicting various descendants of Abraham, and is used of no others. Thus Isaiah is ‘my servant’ (Isaiah 20:3), Eliakim the viceroy is ‘my servant’ (Isaiah 22:20), David is ‘my servant’ (Isaiah 37:35), Israel is ‘my servant’ (Isaiah 41:8-9), all are His servants in Abraham. And included under the name of David is David’s greater son, Immanuel. For He is the fulfilment of the Davidic hope. (Nebuchadnezzar is called it by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 27:6), but not by Isaiah, and then only as a temporary function, not as a permanent status. Thus application of the title to an outsider would be contrary to Isaiah’s whole usage).