Passage: Isaiah 42:5-9
The LORD’s Chosen Servant.
5 Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 "I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them."
Journal: There are two things that stand out here. First, it is the inarguable sovereignty of God. His hand is in all things; there is nothing that escapes His intention or attention. He speaks all things into existence and sustenance, both physical and spiritual. [v. 5 -- "Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it . . ."] He is the author of that which has been and the author of that which is yet to come. [v. 9 -- "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."]
Second, there is God's instrument for His sovereign redemption of man. It is Christ now, and it was Christ then. It has always been Christ. His redeeming nature and quality was decided in eternity past. It was not a chess move to thwart Satan's attack on man. Rather, it simply was, and has always been. [v. 6-7 -- ""I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness."] Man was free in the enjoyment of God's glory. Man threw himself into the "dungeon," the "darkness," the "prison." Yet, God did not forget us, for He has always remembered us. It is Christ the redeemer of whom Isaiah speaks, and it is Christ the redeemer whom we now claim. Better yet, it is Christ the redeemer who has always claimed us from the far edges of eternity and then some. "I am the LORD; that is my name . . ."
Heard [Seen] 'Round the House: I give today's picture of Ella [age 3] the title -- "Work Hard, Play Harder . . ."
