Imagine driving by your child’s school and spotting a fire truck next to the building. If you recall the fire safety assembly scheduled for the day, you’ll look forward to hearing all about the brave firemen. But if you forget this event, you’ll view that truck in a different light.

Poghia (2006), public domain

In Bible study as in life, context matters. We’ve covered this topic before at Knowable Word. But with the popularity of word studies and the indiscriminate use of cross-references and search engines, we all could use a reminder.

The Servant of the Lord

In the book of Isaiah, interpreters often understand the term “Servant of the Lord” to refer to the Messiah. Beginning in chapter 42 and continuing through the end of the book, the prophet describes the coming Christ in sweeping terms—what he will be like, what he will do, why he must come and suffer. Isaiah 42:1 serves as a preamble:

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.

But read further in the chapter, and you might hear the proverbial record scratch when you hit Isaiah 42:18–20.

18 Hear, you deaf,
and look, you blind, that you may see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf as my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as my dedicated one,
or blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 He sees many things, but does not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear. (Isaiah 42:18–20)

Say what?

Are we reading here that the Messiah is the chief example of one who is blind and ignorant of God’s word? How do we explain this? It doesn’t match what we know of—or what we need from—the Savior.

The Servant Israel

When we read further in Isaiah 42, we see the last half of the chapter addresses God’s people and their failure to respond to God. We see the people in caves and prisons in Is 42:22. Isaiah writes about Jacob and Israel in Isa 42:24, explaining that God “gave up Jacob to the looter” because they weren’t willing to walk in his ways. God brought drastic measures (battle and fire) against them but they “did not take it to heart” (Isa 42:25).

God referred to Israel as his servant (twice!) in Isa 41:8–10, so if you’ve read chapter 42 in context, the reference to the blind servant of the Lord makes a bit more sense. Israel is God’s servant.

So here’s the better question: why should “servant” in Isa 42:1 not refer to Israel? If Israel is God’s servant both in Isa 41:8 and Isa 42:19, why should the reference in Isa 42:1 be different?

A Better Servant

Our understanding of the “servant of the Lord” as the Messiah is sharpened and filled out in later chapters of Isaiah. But there’s an important lesson about salvation in chapter 42.

When God calls attention to his servant in Isa 42:1–4, he has big plans in mind. This servant “will bring forth justice to the nations.” The word “justice” appears three times in those four verses.

Much of Isaiah 42:5–17 describes God’s involvement in this justice mission. He will hold the servant by the hand (Isa 42:6). God’s glory and his name are at stake (Isa 42:8). He will prevail like a warrior (Isa 42:13). He will shame those who trust in idols (Isa 42:17).

Thus, when we see Israel described as a blind and deaf servant in Isaiah 42:19, we naturally wonder—how can such a sinful servant accomplish God’s justice?

The logical answer is, he can’t. It will take a better, holier servant of the Lord to accomplish this momentous task. Considering the “servant of the Lord” in context shows us the need for a greater servant than the world had yet seen.