All glory to God our Father.
Let us turn to Isaiah 42. I want you to keep in mind while we go through this scripture that the Holy Spirit was speaking through Isaiah about Our Savior Jesus Christ 600 years before Christ was born. Imagine if we were given an important message 600 years before the event. How would we as a people react? 600 years ago was 1419. That was before the printing press, which was still a couple of decades to come, and even before Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. A very large chunk of time, and the amazing thing to me is this book spans 1500 years, written by around 40 authors. A consistent story of the Grace and Mercy of God and the coming of His Son Jesus Christ. I have had people tell me that the Bible is a fairy tail, couldn’t be true.
How could it not be? People generally can’t agree on the color of the sky, but this Book, written by many different men, over a really long period of time, and they kept the message? How does that happen except by the hand of God. Yet the unbelievers scoff, can’t understand, it just don’t make sense to them. It does to us and that in itself is proof of God’s hand. Just something to consider…
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
An interesting observation of content and meaning between different versions of the Bible. I primarily have used the NIV version because it is a bit easier to read and I really get tired of all those Thees and Thous. However, the NIV version has been known to condense or paraphrase the Word of God down to something that changes the meaning, at least for me. We keep a King James version, in fact my wife uses it, to check on things now and then. This is one of those times. The King James version of verse 3 is this:
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
Did you notice the difference? Just one word, will over have, put a gnat in my orange juice, so to speak. Does it change the meaning for you? It did for me. The NIV states that God will put His spirit on Jesus. The King James states that He did put His spirit on our Savior. Both are true. When Isaiah was speaking it was a future event, where God will do this thing. But God is everlasting, meaning that there was never a time when God was not around. And He knew that we, the people of this day would be reading it and His spirit had already been placed on Jesus.
Now, in the big picture view, where we all hold hands and sing Kumbiya, I suppose it doesn’t change all that much, but it sort of bugged me.
Getting back to verse 1 of Isaiah 42, I think we will go with the King James version at least verse one.
1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
Matthew 3:16-17
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
Our Lord Jesus is the servant that our Heavenly Father delights in. So gentle that he does not break a bruised reed.
Matthew 21:7-9
7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 20:28 Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Jesus rode a donkey when he came the first time.
Yet when he comes back the second time, He will be riding a white horse and come as a conquering King.
Revelation 19:11-16
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
you islands, and all who live in them.
11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;
let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
let them shout from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
and proclaim his praise in the islands.
13 The Lord will march out like a champion,
like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry
and will triumph over his enemies.
14 “For a long time I have kept silent,
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up the pools.
16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.
What a wonderful message, the mighty hand of God stretches out and gives us breath. He opens the eyes of the blind and frees captives of their prison. Our enemies are but dust before Him. He will smooth the rough places and will not forsake us.
That was the good news part of the scripture. God will do and has done all these things, but we must fear our Creator too. Those who do not accept his Son as Lord and Savior and walk in righteousness will suffer His wrath.
17 But those who trust in idols,
who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’
will be turned back in utter shame.
18 “Hear, you deaf;
look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
21 It pleased the Lord
for the sake of his righteousness
to make his law great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted,
all of them trapped in pits
or hidden away in prisons.
They have become plunder,
with no one to rescue them;
they have been made loot,
with no one to say, “Send them back.”
23 Which of you will listen to this
or pay close attention in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord,
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
they did not obey his law.
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,
the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
God the Father will shower Blessings upon us if we do as He asks. And as our Holy Father, He will discipline us when we stray and we will stray. The price of sin is death but He has given us His Son, our High Priest and Savior, that we might live.
Let us now step back a bit further and turn to 1 Kings 1 and see just how God’s children, those brothers of Joseph, who became very fruitful on the plains of Goshen, why had they become the idol worshipers of Isaiah’s day.
This is one of the great stories of the Bible. David, the King of Israel is now an old man and could not keep warm. So his administrators searched the land and found a beautiful virgin named Abishag to nurse him and keep him warm. I think this is where the saying “It’s good to be King” arose from. It was during this time that one of his sons decided that he would now be king. It appears that David was a father that spared the rod and spoiled the child. You will recall that this had happened before with another Son. Absalom was another who exalted himself, and he had great hair.
2 Samuel 14:25-26
25 Now in all Israel was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him.
26 When he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, for it was heavy on him so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at 200 shekels by the king’s weight.
That’s almost 5 pounds of hair. He tried to be king but it didn’t work out. You could say his hair did him in.
2 Samuel 18: 9-15
9 Now Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. For Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. And his head caught fast in the oak, so he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going.
10 When a certain man saw it, he told Joab and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”
11 Then Joab said to the man who had told him, “Now behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”
12 The man said to Joab, “Even if I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not put out my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Protect for me the young man Absalom!’
13 Otherwise, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.”
14 Then Joab said, “I will not waste time here with you.” So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
15 And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him.
David’s sons thought much of themselves and now while David is an old man, just trying to stay warm, another son, Adonijah, decides now is the time to be King. But God makes the decisions here, not man and it was such that Solomon was made King. Because it was promised to Solomon’s Mother, but mostly because God wanted Solomon to be King. Much like God chose David to be King, instead of his handsome brothers.
1 Samuel 16:6-13
6 When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
9 Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
David Anointed
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Another would-be king finds that his aspirations did not meet with God’s approval.
So now David now charges Solomon to walk in the Lord’s way…
1 Kings 2:1-4
1 As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man.
3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,
4 so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
David now goes to be with the Lord and Solomon starts to get busy with running the Kingdom. His father, David, left him a bucket list of people needing attention.
Adonijah the would-be King was executed. He asked for Abishag as a wife and Solomon did not find favor with that request.
Joab the bloody and traitorous head of David’s army is executed.
Shimei is executed for leaving his home when Solomon had told him not to. Shemei had cursed David mightily and David had told him that he would not put him to the sword. Never said anything about his son not doing it.
Solomon marries the daughter of Pharaoh and gets asked a question from God.
1 Kings 3:1-15
Then Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.
2 The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.
3 Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.”
Solomon’s Prayer
6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.
9 So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
God’s Answer
10 It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice,
12 behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.
13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.
14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”
15 Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
What a deal! Solomon only wanted discernment and wisdom enough to run his kingdom. God was delighted with that humble request and said yes to that and MORE. Which we will find is a double edged sword in a sense. Get everything you didn’t even ask for and see what a mere sinful man will do with it. And we will pursue that next time.
Good study!