The Heritage of the Servants of the Lord

Last Sunday a visitor asked me what was my favorite verse in the Bible. I replied with Isa. 54:17: “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD.” Perhaps in your reading of Isaiah 53 & 54 you would say Isa. 53:11 – “The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” I explained that my favorite verses are those which I am currently studying and praying about. After reading the startling chapter 53, the following chapter 54 is often minimized or detached. Rather than favorite verses, I propose that we ask about the relationship between Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 54.

For instance, how should we begin our worship service? Shall we begin with the “We” confessions of Isa. 53 – “We held him of no account; We accounted him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted; We have all turned to our own way” (53:3, 4, 6). Or shall we begin with “Sing, burst into song and shout” (Isa, 54:1-3)? It seems that a confessing community see and believe the “arm of the Lord” revealed in Him. While the nations are astonished and startled by Him (52:14-15), the confessors come to understand what God is doing in his Servant. Their confession becomes, “I will allot him a portion with the great” (53:12). Then as children they can sing and shout.

For the bigger picture, how does the Servant of the Lord in Isa. 53:11 and earlier (42:1ff; 44:1ff; 49:1ff; 50:10) become servants of the Lord in 54:17 and in the following chapters. Before Isa. 53 all the passages speak of the Servant, singular. After Isa. 53 all the passages speak of servants, plural. Foreigners will join themselves to the Lord to be his servants (56:6) There is a blessing for the Lord’s servants (65:8ff). The key is there in Isa. 53:10 -- the Servant will see his offspring, servants of the Lord, (53:10). This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. May we behold the Servant, believe Him and be servants who proclaim him among the nations.

—Tom Yoakum