The Servant

In last week’s message I did not address the question about the Servant of Yahweh being called “Israel”. How do we understand the title Israel in light of the servant’s identity?

Is the servant the nation? Is he the prophet? It is difficult to identify the servant as the nation, because the servant is called to gather Israel to the Lord.

The servant seems to be addressed to an individual. It is hard to imagine any prophet playing the redemptive role that is given the servant.

It seems likely that the servant of Yahweh is “Ideal Israel” in the sense that all of the hopes for redemption are woven into this unique person that God calls.

Israel, the nation, was called to play a specific role as a witness for the Lord to the nations. They failed in that role. Now God is calling His servant to fulfill this role.

From the servant, God will now raise up a new Israel to be witnesses to the nations. Jesus understood this and chose the twelve Apostles to represent the new Israel.

Along with the Apostle Paul, God has called His new covenant people to carry the message of the Servant’s work of redemption.

This is our calling! We are followers of the Servant of Yahweh. We are here as a mission post for Jesus. We are making inroads into our community.

Please pray over our community and join in on what God is doing here in our midst!

Pastor Fred