The middle chapters of Isaiah are a threshold moment. Judgement has been proclaimed. Ruin has leveled the land. The people are in exile. Then the 49th chapter begins, “Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away!”
For those who have ears to listen, what follows are words of comfort, the famous second Servant Song. And yet, while this is a historical proclamation of restoration for the people of Israel in the mid-6th century BC, as close readers of the text, we notice that this promise stretches farther and wider than to one group of geography-bound people and this one ancient instance in time.
The story of salvation that we hear told in the Servant Song is much larger and more powerful than that. And while verse 1, quoted above, hints at a global audience with its talk of coastlines and lands and people far away, it is verse 6 that brings this reality into more specific focus.
Isaiah 49:6 says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Yes, God will indeed restore the fortunes of the tribes of Jacob. But as ones who have already read Isaiah, we know how the book ends. And this hardly catches us by surprise. It may indeed feel like “too light a thing.” Of course, God was able to restore the exiles.
But what about you? What about me? Our futures are not yet written. What about the world around us? How light will the work be to restore our brokenness? How light will the work be to restore the brokenness of our world? These days it seems like a great and weighty task. In our gravest moments of doubt, are we even sure that God is up for the task at hand?
And yet, if we are going to learn any lesson from Isaiah, it is that the work of God and the salvation offered from God’s Servant extends all the way down through the ages, from the 6th century BC to our present age. It extends geographically to coasts both near and far. It extends to people who are like us and people in lands far away who seem so different. It even extends from this mortal sphere to heaven itself. For God, there are no limits.
The Rev. Daniel Joyner Miller is Senior Pastor at St. John’s in Salisbury, NC. Before moving to North Carolina, Dan served in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. His wife, the Rev. Kendra Joyner Miller, serves as the Chaplain and Director of the Lilly Center at Catawba College in Salisbury, and together they have three young children and an old dog.
To Consider
Who are the forgotten people and places in this world that we need to remember are never too far away to be a part of God’s story of love and salvation?
How does the prophecy of the Servant in chapter 49 mirror the life and prophetic witness of who we know Jesus will be?
Prayer
God of restoration, every person on this earth has their names engraved on the palms of your hands. Empower each one of us to boldly proclaim the truth that your saving love extends far beyond the limits of our limited imaginations. When we feel discouraged, stuck, or far from home, help us remember that you are the light and salvation for our broken lives and world. Amen.