The Servant of the Mission- Commissioned

(4)  Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. (5)  And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.  (Isaiah 49:4-5)

Explanation:

The Servant continues to speak in this passage and speaks of his commissioning by the Lord.  He said that he was formed from the womb “to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to Him.”  Interestingly, it seems as though there is a sense that Israel does not respond.  Israel is “not gathered”.  The Servant seems to be responding to this reality in verse 4 when he says, “I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain.”

Yet the Servant is confident that He will glorify the Lord and be found glorious in God’s sight. God would be “his strength”.  This is a confirmation of what the Lord already said in verse 3 when He assured the Servant that His actions would glorify the Lord.  Ultimately the Servant says that God will be His strength.  There is a confidence in His obedience to the sending by the Servant.  He is obedient to the commission of the Lord.

Application:

Christ was obedient to the mission that He was commissioned to do.  Not everyone responded to this mission in repentance and turning.  The Servant’s response ought to be our response.  We must put our confidence in being obedient to the commission no matter what the response is.  The foundational response to commissioning is obedience. 

Response:

What is a way you can be obedient to the Great Commission today?