“A just world, to Isaiah, is human society as God means it to be, with no corrupting idolatries. When we see slums and poverty and oppression and illiteracy and pollution and human misery in all its forms, do we have the prophetic eyes to discern the meaning of it? These massive disorders prove that we are arranging human life according to idolatrous ideals. That’s why we always end up shoving each other into the ground.
Injustice is more than a political dysfunction. It is a spiritual evil, a denial of God. And by now the mess we’ve made is so far advanced, so systemic, so overwhelming, it’s beyond our powers of correction. Should we work for a better society? Yes. God himself tells us to (Amos 5:24). But at the same time, let’s have the humility to face the facts. In the whole sorry length of human history, we have failed to assemble even one human society as we ourselves would really like it to be. There are flashes of brilliance here and there, but they never last. Why? Our social constructs are fundamentally unjust. It is wrong when children are begging on the streets. It is wrong when old people are shivering in the cold. It is wrong when people have only filthy water to drink and sickening food to eat. But the more we try to force our societies into a more human shape by our own schemes, the worse it gets, because every human plan for salvation unwittingly asserts our own idolatrous self-idealization.
Our salvation will never come from our own self-assertion; it will only come from the gentle servant of the Lord. Our idolatries can do nothing but corrupt, because they’re the magnification of our proud self-salvation. That’s why our good intentions end up unleashing more evil. Everything we do is laced with poisons we cannot detect in time. Isaiah has eyes to see this. He also sees God’s alternative—the servant whose salvation will prove how beautiful human life can be, to the glory of God. Jesus will succeed with his gentle servanthood where we have failed with our coercive pride.
Therefore, the hope of the world lies in the servant of the Lord, the delight of God, the quiet healer, the man for others who wields the only true power that exists—the power to reorder human civilization not by bullying but by suffering, not by imposing demands on us but by absorbing our sins and miseries into himself. And the furthest coastlands will not dread his approach; they will wait eagerly for his law. This is Jesus.
In verses 1–4, then, God presents his servant to us. In doing so, he is asking us to step over a line. On this side of the line we might appreciate Christ, but we’ll deal with him only on our own terms. We don’t delight in him as the Savior of the world and our Savior. More than we want to admit, we trivialize and evade him. We exalt our own potential and wisdom. On the other side of that line, we humble ourselves. We set no preconditions. We say to Jesus Christ, “Lord, you are the only hope of the world, and you are my only hope. I admit my share of responsibility for the world as it is. Forgive my injustice. Destroy my idols. Make me the kind of human being that lives up to the name. You alone are my salvation, and I give my allegiance entirely to you.” God wants every one of us to step over that line right now, from pride to worship. Will you do that? Or will you refuse Jesus Christ? Which will it be?”[1}
I came across this section in Ray Ortlund Jr.’s commentary on Isaiah in my preparations for class. I read it to Amie and we were both really struck by the idols that we blindly have in our lives. It’s easier in our minds to come up with “answers” for how things need to change in Africa as a whole and how we should live here. But, as counter-intuitive to the world’s way of thinking as it seems the Servant as described in Isaiah, the Messiah is the answer. All of our “answers” are poisoned by sin. The West can’t solve Africa’s problems and dare I say neither can Africa solve Africa’s problems. We know this at home if we fix one problem we usually just create two new ones.
Pray with us that Christ the suffering servant would be seen and heard here in Africa. Pray that idols would be torn down and that people who follow Christ here would live up to His name. Pray that we would be able to personally do the hard work of tearing idols out of our lives for the glory of Christ as we live here in Mombasa.
[1] Ortlund, R. C., Jr, & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Isaiah : God saves sinners. Preaching the Word (273–274). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
Thanks for this challenge. I can be blind to the many ways I look to other things for security or identity. Christ alone is sufficient. God grant me grace to remember this truth and that idolatry is destructive.
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