“Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.” And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him- for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength- he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” ” (Isaiah 49:1-6, ESV)

In this passage we have the Servant, a name used here to describe Jesus in His role as the messiah. As he starts this message he calls out for the people of the coastlands and those far off to turn their ear to what He has to say. In other words, what Jesus tells us here in this passage, is something that wasn’t for Jewish ears alone, it was something the whole world needed to hear.

Jesus talks about how He was chosen while still in the womb, set apart for a specific work that only He could accomplish. In preparation for this task, the LORD is said to make Jesus become like a polished arrow, ready to be shot out to accomplish the work He was intended for.

Listen to what the LORD says to Jesus; “You are my Servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified”. What’s up with that? Talking all about Jesus and all the sudden the name of an entire nation is dropped on us? Obviously, the LORD isn’t talking to Israel proper, whoever He is talking to is sent out to draw Israel back to the LORD and to be a light for the nations. So why is Jesus referred to as Israel?

The name Israel literally means “Governed by God”. The nation had been brought into a covenant relationship with God for specific reasons. Exodus 19 tells us what those reasons are:

“The Lord called to Moses out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” ” (Exodus 19:3-6, ESV)

Who were they? They were intended to be God’s treasured possession, a set apart nation, those he has called to be a kingdom of priests. A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS! What a concept! A whole nation existing to serve as representatives of God to the rest of the world; carrying God’s word to the nations and carrying the needs of the nations back to God. Literally, Israel was intended to be a nation that existed as a vehicle through which God could bless all other nations. Sadly, Israel never really lived up to their high calling. This position as kingdom of priests was contingent on Israel’s obedience to God and faithfulness in keeping the covenant… something they could not and did not ever accomplish.

That brings us back to Isaiah’s prophecy here. Jesus, the “Servant” being described here, was going to be the ideal Israel, fulfilling the role they had always meant to play!

You see, Jesus was able to accomplish what the nation of Israel never could. He successfully called the wayward nation back into fellowship with God, and then went on to be a light to all nations, making salvation available to the ends of the earth.

Jesus is the only Savior that will ever exist. He alone could fully fulfill the Exodus 19 mandate.  However, we have a chance to be that same “kingdom of priests” that Israel was called to be.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. ” (1 Peter 2:9-10, ESV)

As the Family of God and the Body of Christ we have the blessed privilege of carrying the good news of Jesus to those around us. In other words Israel and the Church were and are not “ends”, they are not the goal of what God is doing in the world. Instead, they are His chosen “means” through which He is working to accomplish His ultimate goal: The knowledge of His glory covering the earth like the waters cover the seas! In light of this, we need to realize that we weren’t saved to just sit around and have a happier better life. The blessings of salvation were given to us so that we in turn can shine as lights! We have been blessed so that we can be a blessing to the nations, to all that God has created.