December 15 | Isaiah 49:1-6

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DAILY READING

Isaiah 49:1-6

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REFLECTION

Too Small a Task

By Dave Mann

These verses in Isaiah 49 (and several others) refer to the Servant of the Lord. Some of these passages concerning the Servant of the Lord might be interpreted as the people of Israel.  But today’s text and others (particularly Isaiah 53) are best interpreted as the Servant of the Lord being the coming Messiah, i.e., Jesus.

In Isaiah 49, the Lord speaks to his Servant and states his mission, which is two-fold.  The first aspect of his mission is to bring the descendants of Jacob (Israel) back into an intimate relationship with him (v.5).

And now the Lord says—

    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant

to bring Jacob back to him

    and gather Israel to himself,

But that is not the entirety of his mission.  The Servant’s task is much greater than only to bring Israel to the Lord.  His task is to bring all peoples to God (v. 6).

It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

    to restore the tribes of Jacob

    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,

    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

This two-fold mission was clearly in the mind of the elderly man Simeon as he prophesied over the baby Jesus when his parents brought him into the temple (Luke 2:28-32).

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

   which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and the glory of your people Israel.”

We, too, may need to be reminded that the Lord may have a larger mission in mind for us or our church than we might envision.  We may want to put our God in a box.  But it is very possible that God has a grander plan for us than what we might think.  God’s love has no limits.  The task that the Lord has for us may stretch our imaginations to the point that if indeed it comes to pass everyone will know that it is God himself who brought this about.  The glory will indeed be directed toward him, not to us.

PRAYER

Almighty God, grant us eyes to see what you see.  Grant us minds to envision what you desire.  Grant hearts to embrace what you long for.  May all of this happen so that it is not to us but to your name be the glory, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE MANN

I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of seven. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.