Transition: Isaiah 41 to Isaiah 42

0:01 All right. In the last hour, we finished Isaiah chapter forty one. We are done. We could then just immediately jump to chapter forty two, but we're not going to do that. Next week, we will start Isaiah forty two by doing an observational outline of the entire chapter. Then after we do an observational outline, then we'll start kind of breaking it down by the sections that we put together through that outline. So that's what we'll do next week. But today, as we did going from forty to forty one, we're gonna do the same thing going from forty one to forty two. We're gonna spend some time trying to look at how forty forty one transitions into forty two. Also, depending on how far we get today, there is a possibility that next week we won't even start with the observational outline. Next week, possibly the first hour may deal with one phrase. Is if you look at chapter forty two, verse one, you see the phrase behold two words, my servant.

1:09 We may spend a considerable amount of time on that phrase. Because the forty and through a good portion of the rest of Isaiah, this idea of the servant or servant songs are going to become very critical and identifying this is going to be important, and I'm going to be very honest with you. I'm still struggling with it. I have major disagreements with everyone in Christianity over this issue. I even have I Me and Ai've argued and argued and argued. I don't even know if I'm in agreement with anybody on this because I just have some major problems with this, and we'll talk about it in greater detail.

1:51 Just remember, I will just tell everyone just right now, you can go ahead and write it down in your notes. Whenever we discuss the servant or the identity of the just write down Isaiah forty one eight. We talked about it in the last hour, forty one eight because forty one eight is identifies my servant as Home Israel. All right, everyone, just keep that in mind, okay. I think that's the first time the servant is identified is in forty one to eight and it's identified as Israel. Just keep that in mind. Well, we're gonna do a lot of work on this, and just I'm gonna reference that a lot, okay, And I'm gonna put myself in great conflict with everyone over this, but we'll see. All right, so you're ready to do a study and the transition between forty one and forty two? Everybody ready? All right? Forty two chapter forty two, Isaiah forty two. How many verses in Isaiah forty two twenty five? If I believe? Everyone want to verify that? All right? So Isaiah forty two is directly connected to I cannot stress this enough. You should already know this. Isaiah forty two is directly connected to and builds upon Isaiah forty one. I'm trying to drive this point home, all right. When you get into Isaiah forty through fifty five, one flows into another. Everyone likes to

3:24 rip these chapters out of context and make them about us, And this is going to be very important, all right. And Isaiah forty through fifty five? What is the most famous chapter in Isaiah forty through fifty five? What is the most famous chapter in Isaiah forty through fifty five? Everyone, here's one should know this. Fifty three. Everyone look at fifty three. Everyone look at fifty three. Everyone look at fifty three. Everyone look at Isaiah fifty three, and just start looking at it. What's some of the famous verses in Isaiah fifty three. Come on, just start, Someone named some of the famous verses. You should be able to recite them from memory. You shouldn't even have to look. Okay, all my sheep have gone astray? Okay? What else? He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruise for our iniquities.

4:23 Everybody see that? Okay? Now immediately, Isaiah fifty three is all about whom, and every sermon you hear it's about Christ. It's about Christ. It's about Christ. Now, remember, if we're following the flow from Isaiah forty through Isaiah fifty five, something dramatic has to change to get us from the context that we have been looking at, right, because what establishes the context of Isaiah forty through fifty five? What establishes the context of Isaiah forty through fifty five? Chapter thirty nine? We covered this like a million times? Is it versus five three eight? Everybody verify that thirty nine five to eight that talks about them going into Babylonian captivity, and then forty begins with comfort yee, comfort yee? Who is the comfort? Four? They've been identified numerous times in Isaiah forty and forty one Israel those in Babylonian captivity.

5:18 So all of a sudden, you get to fifty three and it's about Jesus being crucified. What is they gonna do for the people in Babylonian captivity? Okay, well, let's just be blunt. It's gonna do absolutely nothing for them. Correct. Okay, so how are we going to get there? So? What do we have to? Then? Follow close attention to how each chapter transitions because something has to happen to get us to fifty three, and all of a sudden, you're like, whoa, We're not in Babylon anymore. Okay, hey, hey, we're not in Kansas anymore. We're we're now with the Crucifixion of Christ.

6:02 What just happened? So I'm focusing on the transition mainly for there. But I don't want to just start looking at the transition when we get to fifty four or go to fifty two to fifty three. I have to start looking at the transition from forty to forty one, forty one to forty two, so we can see how one is building upon the other. Okay, does that make sense? I don't know if it's gonna help us. But that's what we're going to do, all right, because most sermons, most churches don't do the transition that much. They just go into the next chapter and we'll make it all about us. And we've already talked about that. Okay, So forty two is directly connected to and builds upon, Isaiah forty one. Everyone should say amen. But the issue is the question is, well, how are we going to get to this to fifty three? That's where my mind is already.

6:52 I'm already like ten steps ahead thinking about that problem. All right, has everybody got that? But this is important. Oh we just heard a butt which typically negates everything. It marks a significant thematic and structural transition into the larger prophetic message of Isaiah forty through fifty five. Uh oh, that just got my attention. Something happens here that gets us to a broader prophetic message that may be key to fifty three. Right, that may be key to fifteen.

7:42 Maybe forty two is going to be the key to fifty three. I'm not saying that's the case. So let me read that to you again. Forty two is directly connected to and builds upon, Isaiah forty one. Everyone should just say, hey man, that should just be we should just assume that's what's going to happen, right, but it marks it's a significant thematic and structural transition and to the larger prophetic message of Isaiah forty through fifty five. Now, if you've been since we started this and last year, I've been telling everyone read Isaiah forty through fifty five over and over and over and over and over and over. If you've been reading it over and over and over, you should already know what's coming and go, oh yeah, I know what the thematic shift is. I know how this works. If you don't, then hopefully we're going to figure this out. All right. Now, Isaiah forty one focused on God's sovereignty over nations and his rejection of idols.

8:39 For those who were here the first hour, is that not true? Did Isaiah forty one focus on God's sovereignty over everything? Yes? Did it show his rejection of idols? Yes? He took him to court, right, he took them to court, and he gave his final verdict. All right, everybody saw everybody. Well, if you weren't here, hopefully just take our word for it. Okay, all right, isa say of forty two shifts to the introduction of what forty two to one. What's the very first word behold? Then what does it say, my servant? Behold?

9:21 Now this is a this is gonna shift here behold. It wants you to see something. Everybody see that. It shifts to the introduction of the servant of the Lord a fake. Now just start looking in forty two, just start scanning it, skimming it. Tell me some things about what this servant in forty two, how he's, how they are described, and what they're going to do. Just start looking in forty two, just start skimming it. Tell me, just throw out some things about this servant. Oh, he should bring judgment to the gentiles. That's interesting, okay? Is elect chosen? Put a spirit upon a bruise? Read? I mean, there's a lot of descriptions going on here about this servant, right, And in fact, what I almost want to do, like if we're in Hermoneutics class, I almost want to just say, you know what, I don't even care how this works on the recording. I almost just want to say, guys, just start working on it and write down everything, every description of the servant in forty two. I almost want to just make you do that, all right, because it's very important, because this is a dramatic shift, right. This servant now becomes very key here, right, So I'll just read a couple of things. This figure, this individual, this person is going to carry out God's justice. I think

10:52 that's fair to say. Do you think that's fair? All right? Bring a light to the nations? Do you think that's a fair description, and fulfill God's redemptive purposes? I think that that's all pretty accurate, all right? Everybody got that? So that's kind of something big is getting ready to happen here, and we're going to have to figure this out. We're gonna have to figure this out. Now. You already know where my mind I'm gonna struggle here a little bit, right because forty one eight identifies the servant as whom Israel forty two to one. You know where I want to go with, right, The servant was already identified where and forty one eight. So then I made a big deal of this in the last hour. So my thinking is, well, then this has to be Israel. But does that seem to fit Israel? It seems a little complicated now to make that Israel. Yes, so is it going to be identified?

11:59 I don't know, all right, So here we go transition from Isaiah forty one to Isaiah forty two. Now I'm just gonna break down this in different arguments. I'm gonna I'm gonna play Devil's advocated times, I'm gonna challenge, I'm gonna question. I don't know where we're gonna end up by the end of this hour. Okay, we may end up so confused, it may not be funny, but we're gonna do our best. Okay, all right, So forty and forty one, right, I think we can can? Can we agree that forty and forty one Cyrus is seen, even though he may not be named. Find me where Cyrus?

12:43 We did this in the last hour, So some of those who are here in the first hour, you should already be ready to do this. Show me where Cyrus is identified or hinted, or are mentioned or seeming to find him in forty and forty one. Yeah, now we think that Cyrus? Right, Yeah, we think that's Cyrus. Okay, possibly, so chapter forty that's verse three is where we started first discussing Cyrus. Correct, Okay? Where else? Okay? Verse six is that is verse six of Cyrus and chapter forty verse six. You can go back and look at your nodes.

13:29 I don't think we identified that voice as Cyrus in six, okay, all right? Anything else in forty all right? How about forty one? Forty one? I think I think we're really I think forty one we're very clear. In forty one, right, verse two, what does it say? Okay, I'm gonna stir up one from the east. Everybody see that, all right, I'm gonna raise who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, made him rule rule over kings, gave them as the dust to his sword, and as a driven stubble to his bow. He pursued them, passed safely, even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. Okay, so verses two and three we know that's Cyrus, all right?

14:24 Where else in chapter forty one? Non chapter forty one? Twenty five? I think someone said forty five. I'm like, there's not forty five verses? Okay, all right, twenty five? Right, I have raised up one from the north. Cyrus is clearly identified in forty one, no question about it. There's no question, all right, So here's what happens, all right, so make sure we hear this all right. This first first key point in our transition is it's a transition from Cyrus the instrument to the servant, God's chosen agent, from Cyrus to the servant, from Cyrus to the servant.

15:13 So then one could argue, what, yeah, I'm talking about the transition, Yeah, from Cyrus to the servant right now. But so what's what's the obvious question? And one could ask, is Cyrus and forty one, who's who's clearly identified? Is that the servant in forty two? Now, on one hand, I want to say it's Israel, because Israel's identified in forty one right as the servant. But this servant seems different. So does now just go back to what we read about Cyrus. Now, okay, we've got a couple of passages about Cyrus looked at all right, So just take the two verses in chapter forty one about Cyrus. A right, everybody got those written down, right? Got those? Now there's two other we read in the last hour, well, no, before Ezra was it forty four and forty five? Right?

16:19 Find that is at the last part of chapter forty four. In the first part of chapter forty five, Cyrus is mentioned by name, is he not? Forty four to twenty eight? Okay, So here's what I want you to do, all right, everybody ready, Now, I'm not I'm I'm not making any dogmatic assertion. I'm getting you to think. All right, Go to forty one. What are the two verses in chapter forty one? Verse what two three and twenty five? Look at two three and twenty five and just start making a list of what it says about Cyrus and verses two three and twenty five. All right, Just start making a list of the things said about Cyrus and versus two three and twenty five, two three and twenty five.

17:14 Let's just try to make kind of a list of what is said there. Just make a list what is actually said about Cyrus two three and twenty five. Just go two three and twenty five. This may be an exercise in futility, but it's still a good I don't believe it's an exercise in futility because it's getting us to think. Here, all right, I maybe it may not lead you to an answer, but it's gonna it's getting you to think. All right, So I think Sarah's writing these down. All right, Sarah, what is the first thing we learned about Cyrus? And forty one? What verse three or two is righteous? It's from the east. He's gonna rule over king plural that means up nations? Right. Next?

18:06 Is that everything in two and three? Okay, okay, that's okay, but you're getting the be okay, gotcha, all right? And then twenty five it comes from the north, call qu on God's name. Uh, he's gonna crush. He's gonna crush, all right, So we got him a conqueror crushing. God's involved. Okay, Now go to forty four is it twenty eight? Forty four twenty eight? What do we hear about him? In forty four twenty eight he's named specifically Cyrus. Okay, he's he's god shepherd, oh boy, Okay, he should basically do everything God wants. He's going to fulfill God's will. He's going to be called for Jerusalem re rebuilt and the Temple to be rebuilt. All right, that's everything in forty four twenty eight, and then forty five to one it's named again he's God's anointed. Oh boy, that's even who.

19:20 Now we're taking it up a notch. Right now, we're really getting somewhere next. And just note this is very important. Now this gets into a translation issue. In the NIV forty five to one, he's not called God's anointed, he's called what in forty five to one. Oh, I thought you said it said servant in the first hour. I thought you said sir. Okay, all right, okay, all right. I was like, wait the nivy said servant. I was like, I was like, we got major translation issues here. Okay, all right, good, I'm glad it's not in some ways. I was got that's going to make it more complicated. Good, this is going to make it easier now, okay, good. So it doesn't say servant and forty five one okay, good? Right, anything else? Hold his right hand subdues nations again. Nations have got that plural? Okay, okay. The gates are going to open for him. God's going before him. Oh there, Oh, there we have it. He's gonna make the crookeedre's there's the Isaiah forty three. Okay, all right, Remember nobody wanted me to say that. Isaiah forty verse three was talking about Cyrus everyone, all commentaries, sermons. Everybody thinks I'm wrong on that, even uh, even Ai argued with me a little bit. But right there, it sounds like Isaiah chapter forty verse three, anything else, Okay, yeah, that's okay, okay. Oh,

21:04 so he's gonna do something for Israel for a servant. Okay, that's interesting. Okay. So now now go to forty four. Now go to forty two to one, and now look at everything about that servant, oh called thee by name. Okay, all right, so there's a lot going on. Now look at forty two and all the description of the servant. How similar or how different is it to Cyrus? How similar? How different? Now look at everything about the servant in forty two, everything you can find about the serving forty two?

21:46 How similar different is it to all the things we just read about Cyrus? Okay? Is that different? Or saying? What do we think? Kind of similar? Yeah, he's gonna tread down, knockdown. Okay, okay, okay, that's similar. There. Put it this way. There is some similarity, right, there's no way to get around that. There's at least some similarity inspirit. Yeah, he's going to fulfill old God's purpose just now, no established justice on earth that goes now? Is that just using a hyperbolic kind of idea. That's that gets into there is some similarity, can we agree. I'm not saying it's perfect, but there's some similarity. Okay, Oh there's oh man, very direct. Oh my goodness, those are exact words. No,

23:24 that's a little different, but some of that other is almost identical Cyrus language. This is where I just want you to at least fill the tension here. That's is Yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot of parallels here, ladies, a lot of parallels. Now what I'll do at some point I'll have AI build a chart for us. I'll have AI build a chart and then we'll look at it and greater. I didn't want to do that today. I just wanted you to start seeing we got something going on here. Right. So most people, so at least most will say that we have a transition from Cyrus to the servant. I say, is it? Is it a transition from Cyrus not being named to Cyrus now being identified as a servant. I can't say that, but there is a transition here, right, Isaiah forty one focuses heavily on Cyrus, the unnamed one from the East or from the North, whom God uses as an instrument to deliver Israel from Babylon. No one can get around the fact that in forty one Cyrus plays a major part. He does, he's mentioned in two, he's mentioned it, He's mentioned it at the beginning, he's mentioned at the end, and he is mentioned. And why is he so significant? In forty one,

24:55 God calls the Idols to court, and what does God used for his numberumber one piece of evidence? God's number one piece of evidence is Cyrus. He's my evidence. The Idols can't do anything. They don't do anything. I'm doing something, and Cyrus is his name. So Cyrus is key in forty one. No one can Everyone has to see that, okay. In Isaiah forty two, well, the servant is introduced. Some would state it this way, a different kind of figure. See I struggle here the servant of the Lord. Now this is how some describes the person in forty two one.

25:42 I struggle with this. He's not a political conqueror, but one who will bring justice, gentleness, and spiritual restoration. Do you feel that that's accurate? That The servant in forty two is notolitical, is not a political conqueror who will bring justice, but he brings gentleness and spiritual restoration. Well, the gentiles aren't mentioned, but even with Cyrus, he talks about nations. So that doesn't really that doesn't to me meaning much to me, right, but I'm looking for Okay, maybe is that the gentleness and how about the spiritual restoration? Maybe?

26:46 But so let's just say this. Let's just say this. The transition from forty one to forty two is Cyrus unnamed to a servant unnamed? Is that fair? Forty one Cyrus is not named, is he? No? But then the servant is the servant named in forty two? No, So we go from the unnamed Cyrus we know it Cyrus to forty two to the unnamed servant. We have to at least acknowledge that transition takes place. Can we agree to that much? All right? Okay, then how about this from confrontation with Idols to God's chosen servant Isaiah. Forty one ends with a mock trial condemning idols as delusion and empty wind. Look at forty one twenty nine. Everyone should see that we covered that in the last hour.

27:46 It ends with this mock trial condemns the idols as delusion and empty. Win everybody see that. In forty one to twenty nine, okay, all right. Forty two to one, though, opens with a completely different tone. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights. The contrast is intentional. Idols are what empty. The servant is filled with the spirit of God and brings truth and justice. It's contrasting these I now see. This is where this is where Cyrus comes right to my head. What was the evidence in forty one? Cyrus? No? Immediately forty two begins with a clear contrast between how the idols are described in forty one to now, the servant being completely different. Well, Cyrus was the evidence in forty one, why would he not be the evidence in forty two? You see where I struggle here. I'm not saying I'm right, I'm not.

28:50 Look all I like to take you through. This is where a lot of times people in church always gets confused with me. When I'm thinking things through, people think, well, immediately want to argue with me. It's like, just slow down, you gotta let me get to the end. I'm still working through it. I like to take you through the process, right, I don't know. Sometimes I don't even know where I'm going to end because I'm still trying to work through it. But you can see where why my mind would be like, well, if the contrast is intentional, well, then the contrast was already established in forty one, was it? Not? Idols? You're nothing, you can't do anything, you can't look Cyrus is my evidence? Well, then, clearly, how does forty one to twenty nine ends? The idols are delusional, they're empty, they're vain, they're worthless. And then forty two, all of a sudden, my servant, though, is the opposite to those idols? Right, my servant is what, Oh yeah, there's no chapter. Yeah, there's no chapter division.

29:53 Behold behold right exactly, there's no If you we don't see the chapter division, it's even more striking, is it not behold nothing? But behold this? Well, who's he been telling them to behold in forty one? The one from the eastern, one from the north Cyrus. So then you see why my mind is like, Cyrus is all over this. Now nobody likes me to say that right. In fact, I was listening to a sermon on the way here on Isaiah forty two. This before the sermon even began. Who did they identify the servant as? What do you think Jesus? Again?

30:38 I would say Jesus is not of any help to them from if you're going to be pointing to what he does in the future for them in their current situation. And everything has been about what their current situation? And how did we go from forty one to forty one? How did we go from Cyrus to Jesus without any transaction? I mean, what just happened? How did I get from Cyrus to in one chapter? And and and as Sarah just pointed out, it would make no sense to go, hey, behold the idols, now behold Jesus. What just happened? It's well, thank you, Look, Sarah said, I made sense. Everyone hear that.

31:19 The Pope has declared that. I make sense. We're stopping church. I'm retiring. Why No? But yeah, hey, the one thing you know when you come here, you're gonna hear what you've never heard anywhere else. Okay, that's the one good thing. I don't know if that's a positive thing. Or not okay, but that we're gonna close the church down today because I've been told by the Pope that I make sense. So no one listening online can send me an email and argue because the Pope has declared it does. Think that'll work. I don't think it'll work. I don't think it'll work, all right, But but I agree that I'll get a call. I'll get a call from the man. No, the Pope has not made that declaration. Okay, here, he doesn't even know who you are. But I get I do like the fact that Sarah pointed that out. Just look again, look at verse twenty nine. What does twenty nine begin with in the King James behold? And then forty two begins Behold, that is great observation. That's a great That's why I try to train you guys to do It's good. That's great observation because it I mean, man that seems to scream everything at me. All right, So it goes from confrontation with idols to God's chosen servant.

32:32 Forty one ends with a mock trial condemning idols they're delusional and empty. Forty two opens with a divine declaration, Behold, my servant. The contrast is intentional. Idols are empty, the servant is filled with the spirit of God and brings truth and justice. It answers the implied question if the idols are worthless and Cyrus is a temporal when what or who is God's true instrument of salvation and justice? Now? I don't know if it answers that question. I don't know if it does. I struggle with this because he everybody wants forty two to jump to something else, But to me, forty two opens with just following what forty one was doing. I don't know. I because just the way I see, all right, So we have from Cyrus to the servant, or I'm gonna say, from unnamed Cyrus to unnamed servant, from confrontation to God's chosen servant. I'm gonna state it that way because then we don't have to get we don't have to handcuff ourselves, all right.

33:49 Is there continuity between forty one and forty two? Well, I think the continuation of the theme of God's sovereign action Isaiah forty one shows that God alone directs history and his purpose whomever he chooses, whomever he wills to carry out his purpose and who is that person identified in forty one who carries out his will Cyrus? And Isaiah forty two begins, whom my servant, whom I uphold mine elect. I mean, He's chosen this person, right. Isaiah forty two continues this by revealing God's chosen servant who will not only deliver his role, but bring justice to the nations a broader mission. Now I understand the mission may be broader, but it's hard for me to just say Cyrus, Cyrus. Oh, Cyrus is gone. And then what happens if we leave Cyrus in forty two? Where do we end back up in forty four and forty five?

34:52 Right back to Cyrus? See that. Ah, I'm gonna struggle with this. I'm going to struggle with this. I'm gonna be nobody's gonna like me, but I struggle with this. All right? So we have the continuation of the theme of God's sovereign action. All right? Then do we have a continuation of kind of the trial? Idea forty one is a courtroom scene the nations and idols are summoned and found waiting. Isaiah forty two introduces the servant as the one who will bring justice to the nations, fulfilling what the idols could not. The trial thing kind of continues, Right, idols, you can't do this, you can't do that, but who can my servant? Well wait a minute, That's what God was saying in forty one when he pointed to whom Cyrus.

35:46 You see, I know I'm gonna get myself in trouble, but I'm just It continues. So we have a continuation of the theme of God's sovereignty, we have the continuation of the trial kind of the idea, and we have an ongoing contrast between the true God and false gods. What happens in forty one twenty nine Behold, they are all delusion referring to idols. And then, as Sarah pointed out, and I'm going to redo this, we have this ongoing contrast between the true God and false gods. Isaiah forty two to one, Behold, my servant. It's a deliberate use of behold to draw a contrast. As Sarah pointed out, behold emptiness, idols, Behold God's true agent, the servant. I mean, you cannot deny that that it's right there on purpose a man that something going on here. Okay, so I'm just going to go through a couple of things. God uses Cyrus as a pagan ruler to deliver Israel. That's chapter forty one. No one can deny that. Forty two, God introduces his servant, a figure of humility and righteousness.

37:01 Does that you see? How does that not Sorrus? I don't know, all right, go ahead, all right? Oh oh true, I agree, and I and I would be I would be right there. But when we get to forty four and forty five and he refers to him as his anointed, his shepherd, well then it's like, okay, well, even though I am uneasy, God is not uneasy with it.

37:43 God's not uneasy. Oh yeah, the duality is all majorly struggle with Yeah. I agree, Yeah, I do agree there. Yeah, but from that from the text, right, Forty one emphasizes judgment against nations and idols. Forty two emphasizes justice, heading healing and restoration for the nations. Forty one, Israel is called my servant, but often passive and weak. Forty two, a new servant is introduced, active, gentle, and empowered by God's spirit. See that sounds like Sarus. He's active, and he's empowered by God. I mean, now the other gentle part is the only thing that could be. But again, if Sarah's the one who gave us the history, he's pretty gentle. When it comes to Babylon, he walks in, and what does he do for all those people there?

38:44 He lets him go, how much do you? How gentler can you be? And he has to be gentle to be called God's shepherd? Do we not see a shepherd as being gentle? Will you call him a shepherd? That's pretty gentle? Okay, at least to some level. All right? Forty one historical political deliverance from Babylon. Now forty two. See this is where people will say it's spiritual, it's messianic. I don't know. And even if you say it's messianic, even if you say forty two is messianic. What is Cyrus literally called? And forty four or forty five God's anointed?

39:31 That's a messianic term. Okay? True? All right? So man I struggle with this. So what are so those are kind of the differences and shifts from forty one to forty two, just trying to really emphasize that. How about some of the philological implications between the two. God uses both ordinary and extraordinary means, Isaiah. Forty one Cyrus is used in a political and military way, an example of God working through ordinary and historical processes. And forty two see this is where everyone's going to run to. The Servant's work is quiet, healing, spiritual, and redemptive. I just don't I think we want it to be that, because everybody wants forty two to be about Jesus Man. I struggle with this all day, all right, but I do believe God uses both ordinary and extraordinary means to some level. Okay, I think most of this is done ordinarily, but okay, number two, the shift from national to universal. Forty one is mostly about Israel and their enemies. Forty two introduces a servant for the nations. He will bring forth justice to the nations and a light for the nations. I do believe the nations are more prominent in forty two.

40:55 I do agree there. I do agree there. Dude, can we look up, Sarah, I don't know if you have the ability to look up? How like? How many nations did Cyrus conquer or take over? Like? I think it's a lot, right, Yeah, see you see, guy, I just want to see, like if if, if, if forty two has this more global scope, is that's historically consistent with cyrusbility. Okay, that's three, that's within twenty years. It's three pretty big areas.

41:41 Babylon was seen as like the under you know, that's a massive part of the world. Okay, yeah, so that's the nations, and many of those nations would be gentile, right, okay, yeah, clearly, yeah, all of them would be. Right. In fact, what does he do with the Jews? Hey, lets them go back, right, right, which shows gentleness. See. To the others, it would be wipe them all out, burn them all down, destroy them right. See.

42:26 Oh man, see there's too much history that see it sounds like Cyrus. Here. I struggle with this. Okay, he doesn't roll long but right, yeah, but he's there, all right. So the philological implications God's use of ordinary and extraordinary means the shift from national to universal. There is that shift from that national to universal. I will agree that that shift occurs from forty one to forty two, but I still think it fits Cyrus. I still think it fits Cyrus to some level. All right. So here's kind of a conclusion. All right, Isaiah forty two is not disconnected from forty one. It is a natural and necessary development. Now, I believe that that helps prove my case that I'm kind of at least hinting at right. Look, I'm just putting a hypothesis here that we can't forget Cyrus. Right, and if it is true, let me read that again.

43:31 If it is true that Isaiah forty two is not connected from a disconnected from Isaiah forty one, it is a natural and necessary development. Okay, forty one ends with a vacuum. False gods have been discredited, and even God's use of Cyrus is only a temporary measure. Now I struggle with that. I don't see Cyrus as being described as a temporary measure in forty one. I don't think it ever states, Hey, this Cyrus guy is only temporary. No, Cyrus has pointed us God's evidence of his omniscience and sovereignty. So I don't know about that. All right, Isaiah forty two now says, now, look at my servant, who will accomplish with no what, no idol or empire ever could.

44:20 Now I will. I know this Cyrus does accomplish what no idol ever could Can we agree with that? Now, Cyrus does not accomplish what no empire ever could. That right there, I may that my name be a little bit more difficult. But how much does forty two lay that out? We'll have to see. So the transition sets the stage for the profound unfolding of the servant songs the servant songs. Is there a dictionary entry for the servant song? You may want to look up servant and see if it says servants songs. I don't know if there's an entry for it or not, and I don't have internet connections, so I can't just pull up I didn't even think about having this ready to go, but may not have Servant songs may not be listed. No it look in look up the entry for the Book of Isaiah and see if it has a thing about the servants songs. Yeah, oh wait, maybe maybe maybe maybe

46:09 hang on looking up pulling up every textbook I ever used in school. Yeah, I don't, may may not have Yeah, okay, okay, the suffering servant. Okay, Well, basically forty two is going to set this whole thing up for these what's known as the servants songs. Well, well, we'll look at this in the greater detail and break this all down, all right, because that becomes very key. All right, now, I'm gonna give you see how many one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

47:30 I'm gonna give you ten passages really quick here, all right, just look at them and tell me what you find here. All right, we'll just end with this, Okay. Look at forty one versus eight through nine. Forty one eight through nine. You're gonna see what we're looking for immediately. Forty one, eight through nine, you're gonna see the phrase my servant, are you not? Okay? Forty one eight through nine, there's no question about it. Who is the servant Israel? Everybody see that they're his. God reminds Israel that they are his showsen. Sorry, I'm not gonna have time to get an any explanation. I just want you to have these scriptures down right. Forty two to one, my servant, we have my servant. Everybody see that. I think we can agree that the servant in forty two to one is different than forty one eight through nine. I think we can agree there, Do we agree? I think we can agree there? Now which from a reading comprehension perspective, it irritates me so much, right because if you're going to identify the servant in forty one and you're gonna come to forty two and use the exact same phrase with no helping me under it, and that just drives me crazy because everything from reading would say, well, identify the servant from forty one, but then not only that, which makes that already frustrating. Forty one is all about Saras, Saris, sars cyrus. So then forty two seems to I mean,

49:01 there's just so many problems here, right, So we got that one. How about forty two nineteen? All right, this is I think this is Israel. This is basically his unfaithful servant. So it goes back to Israel. Well, for crying out loud, you can't do it. How do you do that? How do you do that? Like from a reading comprehension, this thing blows my mind. Okay, this is where this is where when people say Isaiah is the most convoluted and complicated mess. This is a good example. You go from my servant being identified as Israel, then you throw in forty two one that seems to throw it out of cot whack. And then you go to forty two nineteen the same chapter, and now my servant is back to referring to whom it seems to be Israel.

49:53 That seems to be the implication. Did everybody see that? Okay? All right? How about forty three ten that you may know and believe me, this goes back again to guess what Israel? Israel is God's witness and servant chosen to testify to God's uniqueness and faithfulness. It's back to Israel again. All right? How about forty four one through two. Oh, we're back to once again Israel is described as as my servant. How about forty four to twenty one. Forty four to twenty one, it's Israel Israel again. How about forty five four? Okay, there we go, So we have Israel Israel. Do what's the same words? What is that?

51:20 I don't understand? Okay, now we can see. Now we're making a separate case. Do you see where I'm going with this? Now? Right? Okay, do what I'm not even making that claim now. Now I'm claiming that this is the exact same language in forty two to one. It's the exact same language. All right, all right, now that was forty five four, Okay, how about forty eight twenty. How about forty eight twenty? Okay, back to Israel. We're still back to Israel. Okay, how about forty nine three Israel Israel. How about fifty two thirteen, Yes, fifty two thirteen. Yeah, Behold, my servants shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and

52:51 extolled and be very high. Now this one's a little complicated on what to do there, But so what can we see from the use of my servant in all of these situation cuations? Come on, Sarah, what are we seeing? Behold night, sir? And again, so what are we noticing? Sarah? Every single time I said it too, And that's because we imply that forty two one is not Israel. Now go back to forty two one. I challenged forty two one as possibly being Cyrus. Okay, possibly you get the god of Israel. Yeah, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel. Now go back to forty two to one. Now I'm not saying this works. I told you, by the time we end this, you're gonna end up more confused than you give. But that's why you come to this church, right, you come here to be confused? Right? All right? So because we don't, because no other church is going to be doing what we're doing, No other church is gonna become anywhere close to handling what we're doing here, right. And I say that, and I don't say that in an arrogant way. It's just true. I mean, after a million sermons on this, no one touches what we're doing here. Okay, So my argument for the servant in forty two to one being Cyrus is what, how would you summarize my argument for Cyrus being the servant in forty two to one? Well,

54:24 Sarah made it very Yeah. Now behold my servant, right, all right? So, from a contextual standpoint, God is in forty one, He's having a trial against the Idols, and he proves to the Idols that I have some I'm showing you I'm in control because I have Cyrus, who is going to do these things. Behold you are nothing, and then behold my servant. It makes sense that that's Cyrus from a contextual standpoint. However, my pro problem with that is that the servant is literally identified as Israel and forty one and forty two and forty three and forty four and forty five, and on and on and on.

55:13 Throughout the entire section, Israel's identified as the servant, over and over and over and over again. Well, then that screams to me from a hermeneutical standpoint, whoa Well, then one in the world happened in forty two. So is there anyway for forty two to be about Israel if we see Israel being personalized? Now, remember this happens constantly, right, Israel's referred to as what a sun. It's sometimes used in an ethropomorphic way, where it's described as a person. Right, we know that it's Israel's described as servant. And Sarah found a verse where was what was that verse that we read that was almost the exact identical language of forty two describing Israel. I can't remember which one of the what was it forty five? Yeah, look at forty five, and Israel's clearly identified in forty five? What versus it? Oh? Okay, oh okay, yeah, Now that's the one we have the exact language. But I thought there was one that described Israel almost the exact same language. And all of those references that we just looked at Okay, all right, I thought I thought there was one that gave even more information. Okay, but all right, well we looked at so many references.

56:42 Well we'll have to do that. But if you go back to forty two, all right, behold my servant, whom I uphold mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth I have put my spirit upon him. He should bring forth judgment to the gentiles. Now, other than the judgment to the gentiles, all the rest of that sounds like Israel. And I don't even I don't think you can even say it doesn't. Now, bringing judgment to the gentiles, well that that, how do we understand that? Right? Christ bring Israel brings forth the judge? Correct? And what do they do?

57:31 For a thousand years? They rule and reign with Christ during the Millennial Kingdom. If said, can we make that work? I'm not saying we can, but it kind of I'm not saying I think it's within the realm of possibility. Right, I'm not saying it's plausible, but it's when the realm of possibility. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. Israel is humble, silent, right because they remain in a position of humility and brokenness and defeat. Do they not? I think they do? Right, A bruised read. Shall he not break in the smoking flag? Shall he not quench? He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail but be nor be discouraged. That he have set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law.

58:18 Israel is going to be ultimately elevated as everyone comes to Jerusalem. Right from Jerusalem, the word of God goes forth. Who brings the law? The law is given to Israel. They're the keepers of the law, are they not? And when I say keepers of the law, preserving it, not that they obey it? Okay, But you get the idea, right, So I just men, I just yeah, all right. I the Lord have called THEE in righteousness. God called THEE in righteousness. He called Israel and righteousness, and will hold thine hand right. And I will keep THEE and give THEE for a covenant of the people, for a light to the gentiles. Is Israel not supposed to be that?

59:12 I mean? I just oh, I'm looking for a cross reference here. Hang on forty two, Hang on Look at Isaiah forty three to one. Hang on, that's uh oh yeah, look at Isaiah forty three to one. But now, thus saith the Lord that created thee O Jacob, and he that formed the O Israel. Fear or not, For I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by name, Thou art mine, when thou passest through the world, He's going to preserve them. He's doing all of that for Israel, for Israel, for Israel, for Israel. Can it be possible?

59:58 So we have we have three possibilities. We'll end with this, all right. I know we didn't get anywhere close. We're gonna have three possibilities. Forty two to one. The servant is introduced. That's a fact. Can everyone agree? All right? We have three possibilities. The servant in forty two to one is Cyrus, and I've given you my best reasons for it. Okay, everybody got that number two. The servant in forty two to one is Israel. And what's the best argument that it's Israel? Because the verses before and the verses after, over and over and over universally identify Israel as God's servant. It is clear. I mean how many times can you see it? So it makes sense? Correct?

1:00:47 And number three is, for some weird reason, in every church in America, the servant in forty two one becomes what Jesus? Because everything is Jesus in the church? Right again, what's brown? How's the fluffy tail runs up trees and gather nuts? Well, if you're in church, it's Jesus. Okay. Now from a historical textual context, can we agree Cyrus in Israel makes far more sense than Jesus from a textual context, Yeah, absolutely right. How in the world did Jesus show up in forty two one? I don't even know.

1:01:39 I don't even know what is happening. Now, what has this got to do? How is this going to bring any comfort to the people? Now? Some people say, but but Israel is seen as we and and broken. Well, wait, does anyone remember what happened in forty one? Do we not have that section about Israel being transformed? They're being all transformed? Right, Israel's gonna be completely transformed, which, once again you could argue, is a piece of the evidence. Hey you see Israel, they're broken, They're gonna be completely transformed. Now, behold my servant the servant. That's a worm and forty one right, it's a worm in forty one right, then it says it's gonna be transformed, and then forty two says the idols are nothing. But now behold my servant.

1:02:30 My servant's gonna be completely transformed. Which fits perfectly from forty one to forty two, does it not? Now? Cyrus also fits perfectly from forty one to forty two? But guess what does not show up anywhere? Jesus doesn't show up anywhere. Okay, well, I'll have to stop there, aren't you? Glad you got all the answers? Okay, all right, which one do you prefer? Which one do you prefer? And it's okay, Well, just how many like Cyrus being the servant in forty two? One? Do what? I tried to make a pretty good argument? Okay, I like it? How many like Israel being it? If it's how many like Jesus being the servant? I've heard it preach my whole life, and I don't. I don't. I don't like it at all.

1:03:38 I don't like it. It makes no sense to me. Like at that point, the whole thing just begins to fall apart. I don't even know where we even are in the I don't even know where we are in the narrative anymore. We lost we lost the narrative completely, Like the narrative just falls completely and utterly apart, Like, wait, how did Jesus show up here? Like, well, I'm still we're still in Babylonian kept They're not even out of Babylonian kept tim Yeah, like what happened? Like how did we get Jesus here? Now? It may set the stage for Jesus maybe in fifty three, but I'm a long ways away from Jesus showing up here, Like I come on, I got problems here put him here? But again, I could I could play the sermon that in fact, Yeah, I think I think it begins with it. Hang on, let me see if I can go back to the beginning.

1:04:25 Hang on, because I think he says it right from the start. In your few Bibles Isaiah forty two, Isaiah, Jeremiah lamentations, Ezekiel's amazing. This is about seven hundred and twenty five years before the birth of Christ. It can't help but see the Lord Jesus here as the Great Servant, among other things, opens the eyes of the Blind. It is this Jesus like, what are you talking about? What are you talking about? Wait? How did you do? Where did Jesus come from? I'm like, hey, He's like, you can't help, but see, No, I can very much help.

1:05:09 But see, Okay, I can help, but see because I don't have to have you reading it into the text. Okay, but if you study forty to forty one and its natural progression of thought, we get to forty two, and Sarah's the one who pointed it out, and I'm glad she did not Behold Behold, I mean, come on, you got to see that. So I don't have any good answers, but we definitely had. I hope you had fun exploring all the questions because we gotta we gotta do something, and we'll do We'll do somewhere. So I'm gonna I'm gonna feed my three hypotheses into AI over the week. I'm gonna feed it and feed it and argue, and then I'm gonna have to create a chart for basically challenging and critiquing my hypothesis. And then and then we'll I'll ask AI what does it conclude? And then we'll see we'll see, we'll have we'll have all of my theories, and then we'll have Ai tell me if I'm wrong or not. And Ai has no problem telling me when I'm wrong, okay. So but but I sometimes get mad and argue back. Okay, but and it says, why what are you doing? I'm always right okay, and I'm like, I'm bit all right. So so we'll see. It'll be interesting to see how AI handles this, because this is a major we got a major problem here, we really do.

1:06:30 We got to figure this out, and we and we got to figure it out. Not so much for us. It's got to make sense to the people who are getting the message. Right, it's this is supposed to be comforting to them. Okay, how is this comforting to them? The message has to make some sense to them. Cyrus makes the most sense for comfort, or it could be comforting to them that, oh, we're going to be basically restored to be God's servant. We will fulfill what God wants Israel to do. And well, we do know when you get to the New Covenant promise, Israel is going to be They're going to be the light to the nations. The nations are going to flow into Jerusalem to hear the word of God. No one's going to have to ask if they know God, because everyone's going to know God from the smallest and then they're going to be a light to the nations. All those things promised about what Israel will become sounds a little bit like forty two.

1:07:24 Sounds very similar. And of course Israel's identified as the servant throughout all of forty through fifty five, over and over and over and over and over again. So we can't just leave them out of it. All right, We'll got we come before you this afternoon, or we are grateful that we are in a church where we can do this type of thing. I know it would be rejected and we would be we would be in so much trouble in other places. I hope we never take for granted what we've gotten to do all of these years, all of the study and debate and struggle. It may at times to some seem not worth anything, but it is worth far more than maybe we will ever understand.

1:08:05 And I'm grateful I got to experience this all these times and years struggling through text, where in other places we would not be allowed to do this. We're grateful for it, and we thank you for it, and we ask all of this in Jesus name, and God's people say amen.