Title: Salvation of Jehovah (Isaiah 42:5-17)
Content The text is the spokesperson for the prophet who proclaims that a new event will occur through God's direct intervention in history. It is not an easy task for the captive people to gain freedom and return to their home countries to rebuild the ruined land. By directly intervening in history, it reveals that he will do new things for Israel.
Text Commentary = Israel is the nation of the covenant. The history of the contract is now all transparent and concrete. The fulfillment of this covenant is a new event in which God directly intervenes in history. The theme of the new event is to declare the coming of the Lord and to make a new history.
God's servants are called to build this new history. Servants who respond to that call should have a sense of hope to respond to the beautiful history as follows.
1. Light of the Gentiles (5-9) God calls His servants to build a new history. He says that the purpose of calling servants is to become a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.
God's call is a righteous call. A righteous call does not imply any moral character, but God's purpose itself. The life of the people of Israel who was called should be the light of all nations as the embodiment of God's covenant.
The fulfillment of this fact is not the result of Israel's power, but a gift of God. This is the gospel of the prophet who is full of God's righteousness.
Jesus said you are the light of the world. He said that a town on a hill cannot be hidden, and that by lighting a lamp and not putting it under a lamp, it is placed on a lampstand so that everyone in the house can see it (see Matthew 5:14-15).
Our life should be a light to the Gentiles. We must live a life that brings glory to God and light to our neighbors through a good life based on the gospel.
2. Praise of Victory (10-13).
A new job demands a new song. It is only natural that when something happy happens, there is also an upbeat song. In order to liberate the people from their captivity and give them the opportunity to build a new history, God appears like a warrior and defeats all enemies. All obstacles are removed. A beautiful and blessed new day has come.
This fact is the good news and the gospel. The gospel is good news. Where there is good news, blessed praise follows, and this praise is the theme of life that should glorify God by shouting out all the sailors, all things in the midst of the sea, all the islands, and the inhabitants of the wilderness and its villages.
Let's pay attention to the words of Psalm 150. Praise God in the sanctuary and praise him in the firmament of his power. He commanded us to sing praises, dance, and sing praises with all instruments, and everyone who breathes to praise God.
Let's look at 2 Corinthians 2:14. “Thanks be to God who always triumphs over us in Christ, and through us in every place the smell of the knowledge of Christ.” He said.
We must be victors in all our faith. I must live a life where the breath of the soul is alive. Let's live a life where the praise of victory always echoes through the victory of faith and a life where the breath of the soul is alive.
3. From darkness to light (14-17).
God has been silent for a long time. God's silence means long-suffering waiting.
The people, perplexed during the Passion, were complaining that God's patience was indifference. The people who fell into chaos looked only at the indifferent sky. But God's silence was rather a plan to accomplish a new work. He waited patiently in his great plan. Now the time has come. God will directly intervene in history and will bring down mountains and hills, making the land desolate and drying up vegetation, rivers becoming islands, and ponds drying up. He judged the Gentiles according to God's justice and changed the course of history. However, God protects the chosen people and guides the way.
Even the blind people lead the way with a bright light. He proclaimed that He would lead the way through the light in the midst of darkness. Although the Prophet did not clearly see the way to freedom and did not know the course of their return, he had always believed that God would lead the way for them.