Servant Survivors in Isaiah and Storrs
Last week’s article asked, “Is it possible for this servant-survivor church to be used by God in the way He employed those servant survivors in Isaiah?” The servant of the Lord image is prominent throughout the oracles of Isaiah. We aspire to be servants of the Lord. It is a noble endeavor. An overlooked image in Isaiah is survivors. It appears in the first oracle. If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors we should have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah (Is. 1:9). And it is in the last oracle of the prophet: The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations … and they shall bring your brothers from all the nations to my holy mountain (Is.66:18-20). A “survivor mentality” is not what we aspire to be. It is an ignoble goal even when we admit that is what we are: survivors.
There are survivors and there are Survivors. A “survivor mentality” is not good but there is a survivor character that is very good. It depends on that which a community survives. As I read Isaiah 56-66 those few servants of God survived 1) Ethnic and social barriers as foreigners and eunuchs are joined to become a house of prayer for all peoples (56:1-8), 2) They survived Irresponsible leadership which lived to eat and drink; enjoy the good life (56:9-12). 3) They did not ignore injustices when righteous men (and women) perish and no one lays it to heart. Rather, they proclaim peace to the far and near and work with the Lord to heal them (57:1-2, 18-20). I leave you to read Isaiah’s closing chapters taking note of the contrasts between “we” survivors and “they” who do not survive.
The servant of the Lord is seen in Isaiah’s so-called servant songs (42, 49, 50) climaxing in The Suffering Servant (52:13-53:12). That servant produces offspring (53:10). Thereafter Isaiah speaks of servants. They answer when the Lord calls; they tremble at God’s word (66:2, 5). The hand of the Lord is with his servants (66:14). Servant-Survivors, what a wonderful and powerful combination. May we be this kind of church.
—Tom Yoakum