Light Day 17: Isaiah 42:1-9

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.
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Isaiah 42:6 gives a beautiful covenant promise of God: He Himself has called us, He holds our hand, He keeps us – but instead of keeping us only for Himself, He selflessly gives us to others for a purpose: for a covenant of the people and a light of the Gentiles.

We see this first culminated in the life of Christ, our Covenant Mediator. Jesus and Father walked together every step of the way during His time on earth. Christ was called by Father, held by Him, kept by Him, and set as a covenant and the light of the world.

And now that the risen life of Jesus Christ lives in us, that covenant lives itself through us each day. In Acts 13:47, Paul and Barnabas quoted Isaiah’s words in reference to themselves: God had set them to be a light to the Gentiles. If these words applied to Paul and Barnabas, certainly they also apply to us today – as we have the very same life of Christ and Holy Spirit living within us that they had.

But there’s more. God has not only given us for a light to the world; there’s a purpose.

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

A light may seem passive, but it is anything but that. Yes, we merely reflect and shine forth Christ in us, but by our constant looking to Jesus and receiving from Him that light that flows through us to others, great works are accomplished. God may have us physically opening blind eyes and bringing prisoners out of prison. Certainly He has His light in us performing these miracles in the spiritual realm.

The greatest blindness is the self-blindness that causes us to look to ourselves as all-sufficient for our needs.

The greatest prison is the prison of our fleshly desires and nature that we are trapped in apart from Christ.

Thus, the greatest deliverance is the salvation from this blindness and this prison as the light of God shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.

And the greatest work we can accomplish in the kingdom of God is being channels of that light: fixing our eyes on Jesus and cultivating intimacy with Him that His light may flow through us to reach others, praying in the secret place for the souls of others, speaking His words in His time and His way.

May we ever be humble to receive it from His hand and faithful to continue in it – and may the glory be His alone.