II. CHRIST AS A COVENANT FOR THE PEOPLE
AND A LIGHT FOR THE NATIONS
Isaiah 42 reveals Christ as a covenant for the people and a light for the nations. Christ is a covenant, and this covenant is a testament. A covenant denotes an agreement between two parties, a contract signed by both parties. A testament is a covenant, a signed agreement, that has become a will in which certain things are passed on to the heirs. The covenant is the agreement between God and us. Through the death of Christ, the covenant became a testament, a will. Now in His resurrection Christ executes, enforces, this testament. According to the book of Isaiah, the covenant, which has become the testament, is Christ Himself. Thus, we first have the covenant, the covenant becomes the testament, and the testament is Christ. Christ has not only given us the testament— He Himself is the testament and the reality of everything contained in it. For example, two items in the testament are life and strength. Today, Christ is our eternal life, and He is our strength.
A. Called by Jehovah,
Held by His Hand, and Kept by Him
Christ has been called by Jehovah, and He is held by His hand and kept by Him (42:6). This means that Christ and the God who calls are one. First, Christ has been called by Jehovah, and then Christ is held and kept by Jehovah. Therefore, Christ and God are one. This Christ has been called to be a covenant for the people (49:8b; Heb. 7:22). Christ has also been called to be a light for the nations (Isa. 49:6b; Matt. 4:13-16), to open the eyes of the blind (Isa. 42:7a; Luke 4:18; John 9:14), and to bring the prisoner out of prison and those who dwell in darkness from the prison house (Isa. 42:7b).
B. The Servant of Jehovah,
Whom Jehovah Upholds,
Jehovah’s Chosen One,
in Whom Jehovah’s Soul Delights
Isaiah 42:1 says, "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold, / My chosen One in whom My soul delights; / I have put My Spirit upon Him, / And He will bring forth judgment to the nations" (cf. Matt. 12:18). For Jehovah’s Spirit to be upon His Servant means that His Spirit and His Servant are one.
The word judgment in 42:1 is significant; it is an inclusive term. If we have the Lord, we have judgment. Without the Lord, we do not have any judgment. When we have the Lord, everything is judged. Christ must be the judgment for everything in our daily life. For example, we should have the Lord’s judgment concerning the kind of shoes we buy and the way we style our hair.
Christ’s being the judgment means that Christ is the answer. In order to have Him as our judgment, we must have Him as our answer. Without Christ, we have only questions; with Christ, we have an answer for everything.
To wait on Christ means that we bring every question to Him. Before doing a certain thing, we should bring that matter to the Lord and wait for His judgment. We must learn the lesson not to do anything or say anything before waiting on Him. When we turn to the Lord and wait on Him, judgment comes, and we are able to act and speak in oneness with the Lord.
(Life-Study of Isaiah, Chapter 22, by Witness Lee)
