Isaiah 41:28
The Bible says in Isaiah 41:28-29, For I
beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counseller, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are
wind and confusion. These verses tell us about the total inability of man to
solve the problems that need to be solved. There
was no man. There
was no counselor. They are all vanity. Their works are nothing.
This fact about mans depravity is also clearly taught in the New Testament.
Man is depraved. That is, man is totally lacking through his earthly lineage in
all of the spiritual qualities that he so desperately needs. It says in Romans
3:9-23, What then? are
we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and
Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God. They are all
gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that
doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre;
with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their
lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to
shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have
they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that
what things soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed
by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
It is interesting to note that when
speaking of what man lacks, Isaiah 41:28 emphasizes mans lack of wisdom. It
says, there was no counseller. If only we
had wisdom, we would make the right choice. If only we had wisdom, we go in the
right direction. If only we had wisdom, everything would work out so well. But
we do not have that wisdom, and that is one of the primary reasons for the
problems of the world. Through lack of wisdom the wrong decisions were made in
the past and now we are reaping the results. The result of mans wisdom or lack
thereof is stated very clearly in Isaiah 41:29: confusion.
There is no human being who has the
wisdom that we all need. The One who does have the wisdom was introduced to us
in Isaiah 41:25 where the Bible says, I have raised up one from the north,
and he shall come. He did come, and He will come again. His name is Jesus. In
contrast to man, notice what is said about Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called wonderful
Counsellor
.
We are told more about the One who
will come and the One who has wisdom in Isaiah 42. It says in Isaiah 42:1-4, Behold my
servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth;
I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he
shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged,
till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles
shall wait for his law. Marvelous things
are said about the Christ in these verses. The Father calls Jesus my servant. You were
created by God and you were put on this earth for a reason. That reason is to
be Gods servant. The Apostle Paul understood that fact. He often introduced
himself as a servant of God. For example, Paul introduced himself in Romans 1:1
and wrote, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. In order to be Gods servant on this earth, you must be
able to truthfully say to Him, Not my will, but thine
be done.
While Jesus walked this earth as a man, He was the perfect example of being
Gods servant. The Bible says about Jesus in Matthew 26:42, He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O
my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And Jesus taught us to pray, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
The Father calls Jesus Christ mine elect in Isaiah
42:1. This shows the only way to find a work to do for God. God must do the
calling and God must do the choosing. No one decides on his or her own: I will
do this or that to serve the Lord. God decides, and unless God has called you
at what you are doing, you are doing your own will and you are not being used
of God for His glory. Christians need to be very careful about any supposed
service to God. Are you doing what you are doing because of Gods calling or
because of some selfish or ego-driven motive. Those
who stand before people and get the attention of people need to be especially
careful about this. Preachers and singers and teachers had better be very
careful. They might be doing what they are doing to receive the acclaim of men
and the praise of men. As we see in Isaiah 42:8, God does not share His glory
with anyone. It says, I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to
another. God has a specific calling for each believer: something
for you to do for Him. Perhaps He wants you to tend the garden in your backyard
for His glory. Perhaps He wants you to go to some far-flung land and spread the
Gospel of Christ to those who have not heard. But whatever it is, fulfilling
that calling is the only way that you will be able to bring glory to the name
of Christ.
Concerning the Christ and His walk on
the earth, the Father said in Isaiah 42:1, I have put my spirit upon him. Jesus is the
divine eternal Son of God. He created the world along with the Father and the
Spirit. Jesus exists from eternity to eternity because He is God. But when
Jesus came to the earth and took on the form of a man, in some way He put aside
His divine prerogatives. For thirty-three years God became man. When Jesus
lived as a man on the earth, He lived life the way every human being should
live it: He was led by the Holy Spirit in everything that He did. The reason that Christians are weak and powerless and without
impact in the world today is because we have
not followed the example of Jesus in relying upon the Spirit of God.
When Jesus began His public ministry we are told in Matthew
Isaiah 42:1 says about the Messiah: he shall
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Of course, this implies that the
Gentiles are not receiving judgment now. In other words there is no one on the
earth right now performing the job of bringing forth judgment. There are
judges, but they have judged unrighteous judgment. When matters have come
before the judges of the earth, they have not understood the difference between
good and evil, and they have made the wrong decisions. When the Jewish Messiah
comes, He will come to bless the Jews, and He will also come to bless the Gentiles.
Jesus Christ will be the Messiah for the whole earth.
When we speak of the humanity of the
Messiah we can say that no greater human being ever walked upon this earth. No
one ever had more strength, more power, more authority, more love, or more
speaking ability. And so it is an amazing characteristic of humility that He
had
that
is described in Isaiah 42:2. It says about Jesus, He shall not cry, nor lift
up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. One of the
great problems with Christianity in our day is that people use Christian
organizations and churches to stand before people and to vaunt themselves and
to bring attention o themselves. Jesus was not like that. Jesus said about
Himself in Matthew 11:29, I am meek and lowly in heart. Jesus also said in
John 7:18, He that speaketh
of himself seeketh
his own glory.
One of the great promises about Jesus
that describes His attitude toward the people of the earth is given in Isaiah
42:3. It says, A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he
not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. God loves to
help those who are in need. There may be nothing worse than kicking someone
when they are down, but God will never do that. When you have been cast down,
when you have lost, or when you have failed in some way are times when you can
confidently expect mercy and grace and kindness from the hand of the Lord. You
may be down, but you are never out, if you have the Lord as your helper. The
Bible says in Hebrews 4:14-16, Seeing then that we have a great
high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in
time of need.
We have a wonderful Savior who is
kind, tenderhearted, compassionate, and forgiving. A bruised
reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall
bring forth judgment unto truth. Perhaps once you were strong and tall
and steadfast in the service of the Lord; but something happened and you
drifted away and the fire is gone, and the zeal to serve Him has subsided. One
thing you can be sure of: the Lord will not cast you away. He will not break a
bruised reed that is already partially broken. The Lord wants to mend that
which is broken and make it better. The Lord is quite capable of taking the
smoke from the dying embers and make them flame up
once again with love for Him. As it says in First John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2009 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved