God's Assurance of Success To His People, Weak Though They Are (Isaiah 41:8-16).
“But you Israel, my servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The seed of Abraham, the one who loved me.”
He now declares Israel's unique position. They are His chosen, but not because of what they themselves are, but because they are the seed of Abraham, the one who loved Him, the one who came from the east. They are His chosen ones in Abraham. They are begotten through Jacob. Thus do they enjoy the unique position of being the servant of Yahweh because they are ‘in Abraham'. They are the seed of Abraham His servant (Psalms 105:6). We have already had ‘David my servant' (Isaiah 37:35). Now we have ‘Israel my servant'. But both come below Abraham, who was ‘the one who loved Him' (compare 2 Chronicles 20:7 also see John 15:15) and had had directly revealed to him what God was going to do. Abraham is also constantly described as His servant in the tradition (Genesis 26:24; Psalms 105:6; Psalms 105:42; see also Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 9:27).
This confirms that the previous verses referred to Abraham. Why else bring Abraham's name in here? It would not be like Isaiah to suddenly bring his name in and then include nothing further. These words make the most sense if we see them as following a detailed reference to Abraham in Isaiah 41:2-4.
The use of ‘Jacob' here (in contrast with Israel) may be intended to indicate their unworthiness. In Isaiah 41:14 he is called ‘you worm Jacob', and Jacob was the double-dealer who became Israel, the prince with God. This may especially be being brought out here in the reversion of the names. Always elsewhere in this whole section (Isaiah 40:1 to Isaiah 49:26) when the two are in parallel Jacob comes first. But here Israel comes first (contrast this with Isaiah 44:1 where an almost identical phrase has the usual order). Jacob was chosen because he was the seed of Abraham, but it was in order to manifest himself as Israel, God's servant. (But see Isaiah 10:20 where there appears no reason for the order).
Of course the people of Israel were not all literally descended from Jacob. Far from it. Many had originally been adopted into his ‘household', his family tribe, which itself was composed largely of people, his household servants, not descended from him. They further came from a conglomerate people, from many nations (Exodus 12:38; Exodus 12:48), and were united in Jacob by the covenant at Sinai. So God's people were made up of people of many nations, as ‘adopted' by Abraham. But as so adopted they were seen as his seed, and the implication is that they too should love God. Love was at the heart of the covenant (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
This brings out Israel's unique privilege. They were called to be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:5-6). It was they who should have taken His word to the nations (Isaiah 2:3), and one day would through the Dispersion (Israel scattered among he nations), and then through the Apostles and the foundation Jewish church, but it was dependent on their obedience.
We are already getting the seeds of the idea of ‘the Servant'. David is His servant, chosen by Him to rule over His people who are also called upon to be His servant (Isaiah 37:35). Israel is His servant, chosen to be a witness to the nations. Thus the Servant is one yet many, king and people, fulfilling the purposes of God revealed to Abraham, who was His servant par excellence. Indeed the nation of Israel would have agreed with this way of seeing things. They certainly saw themselves as ‘in David'. He was their very breath (Lamentations 4:20), and this was why the status of the king, whether good or bad, was so important in the books of Kings. And they saw themselves as ‘in Jacob/Israel' the patriarch, as looking back to Abraham.
“You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth,
And called you from its furthest reaches,
And said to you, “You are my servant.
I have chosen you and not cast you away.”
Israel has been taken hold of from the ends of the earth and called from its furthest reaches. The primary thought is first of the call of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees far away, then of the return of Jacob from Haran, and then of their deliverance from Egypt to be called to be His holy nation, His kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6), so that Yahweh's purpose through them might be fulfilled. And then of the fact that He will reach out to scattered Israel worldwide and call them to His service (Isaiah 11:11-12). What He has done before He will do again. They are His chosen servant to the nations, and in spite of what they have done He has not cast them away. They are seen in their totality as His servant if only they are willing.
This idea of the oneness of the nation must not, however, be overpressed. They are seen as one because within the covenant, but they are only so because they are in the covenant. Thus in the end the true servant is the body of those who reveal themselves as within the covenant by obedient response to it. They are the true Israel within Israel (Romans 9:6). As with the remnant, it is only the righteous who will survive, the unrighteous will in the end have been pared away (Isaiah 6:13). The fruitbearing branches will be pruned, the unfruiful will be removed (John 15:1-6).
This will become clearer later. In Isaiah 49:3 ‘my servant Israel' will minister to Jacob/Israel seeking to restore them to Yahweh (Isaiah 49:6), the remnant thus clearly being distinguished from unbelieving Israel, and in 53 there is only One Who is qualified to represent Israel, a unique personality representing them all in His own person.
There may be implicit within this also the thought that those who have since been dispersed to every corner of the earth may also be confident that they too can be His servant and a witness both where they are and by returning. For they can be sure that He has not forgotten them (contrast Isaiah 40:27). And certainly those who were faithful among the dispersed did cause many Gentiles to seek God. But Isaiah also expected many of them to finally return to the land of God's inheritance (Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 27:12-13), which must literally have occurred with the faithful once the opportunity arose durint the inter-testamental period, because of the strength of their beliefs.
But the main idea behind the promise is that they will be gathered to Himself. First in the coming of the righteous son of David calling them under the Kingly Rule of God, and finally in the new heaven and the new earth (Isaiah 65:17).
“Do not be afraid for I am with you,
Do not be dismayed for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you,
Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Yahweh encourages His people in their service. If they are faithful they can be sure of His strength and help wherever they are. For He is with them in their situation and those who look to Him will be upheld. Notice, however, that the hand that will uphold them is the right hand of His righteousness. These promises are only made to those who seek to be righteous in His sight. The righteous right hand will only uphold those desirous of righteousness (Isaiah 1:27; Isaiah 3:10; Isaiah 10:22; Isaiah 24:16; Isaiah 32:17; Isaiah 33:5; Isaiah 33:15), just as He called Abraham in righteousness (Isaiah 41:2). These promises remain true today. The righteous may look for help to the Righteous One. (The right hand is the hand of power).
“Behold, all who are incensed against you,
Will be ashamed and confounded,
Those who strive with you,
Will be as nothing and will perish.
You will seek them and will not find them,
Even those who contend with you.
Those who war against you,
Will be as nothing and a thing of nought.
For I Yahweh your God will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, Do not be afraid, I will help you.”
The opponents of God's people will be thwarted. Those who are enraged against them will become ashamed of their rage and will find themselves confounded, those who strive with them will achieve nothing and will perish, so that if they are sought for no one will be able to find them. Those who war against them will be nonentities. And this will be because Yahweh is holding His people's right hand, assuring them of His constant help so that they need not be afraid. The picture is one of complete protection. But the holding of the right hand is not just for comfort. It is in order to impart strength. His people may go through tribulation but they can be sure that He is always with them.
‘Fear not you worm Jacob, And you few men of Israel.
I myself will help you, says Yahweh,
And your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.'
Even though Jacob is but a worm, he need not fear, for the One Who will help him is Yahweh, and the One Who will redeem him is the Holy One of Israel. Though he is worth nothing, God, as the Holy One of Israel, is willing to pay a price for his deliverance, even as ‘Jacob'. So Jacob is but a worm and the men of Israel are few, that is, they are inconsequential. His people are both the worm Jacob and the few men of Israel. They are as nothing, but they need not fear for if only they will trust Him they will bring the world to nought (Isaiah 41:13) because God will help them.
The idea of a worm is of one who is totally unworthy (Job 25:6), one who is a reproach (Psalms 22:6). The word used for men regularly means ‘few', and thus inconsequential, unable to deal with the problem in hand.
‘See, I will make you a threshing instrument,
New, sharp and that has teeth.
You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small,
And will make the hills as chaff.
You will waft them with a winnowing fan,
And the wind will carry them away,
And the whirlwind will scatter them.
And you will rejoice in Yahweh,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.'
But the worm will turn. Yahweh will make him like a threshing instrument, sharp, new and with teeth. The mountains and the hills will be turned into dust and chaff by them. The mountains are their opponents, and they will not only be turned into chaff, they will also be blown away. Then His people will rejoice and glory in the One Who has done it, for He is Yahweh, He is the Holy One of Israel.
Threshing instruments were heavy sledges of timber with stones and sharp metals underneath. They were dragged over the grain to divide it up and separate grain from chaff, ready for fanning with the winnowing fans which would blow away the chaff leaving the good grain.
The final idea is that God's true people will become triumphant overcoming all obstacles.