Isaiah Chapter 42 – Behold My Servant, the Light to the Nations
The chapter opens with a powerful call to “Behold my servant” — a prophecy pointing directly to Jesus Christ. Isaiah 42 reveals God’s perfect Servant who brings justice, heals the broken, and shines light into the darkness. This Servant is not loud or forceful but gentle and faithful. The chapter shifts from Messianic promise to a rebuke of Israel’s spiritual blindness. Yet through it all, hope emerges for the nations and for those willing to see.
From Blindness to Light: The Servant and the Song
✔ God introduces His chosen Servant with delight.
✔ The Servant brings justice quietly, tenderly, and faithfully.
✔ He is a covenant for the people and a light to the Gentiles.
✔ God calls His people out of spiritual blindness.
✔ A new song is sung to the Lord across the whole earth.
✔ Israel is rebuked for seeing but not observing, hearing but not listening.
📖 Isaiah 42:6–7 – “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness… to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison.”
🔎 This prophecy is echoed in Christ’s own ministry, as He brings both physical and spiritual healing to those in bondage.
Isaiah Chapter 42 - Overview
Isaiah 42:1–9 – Behold My Servant
📖 Isaiah 42:1 – “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”
🔎 This Servant is Christ—not only chosen but delighted in by the Father. This verse mirrors the voice heard at Christ’s baptism: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Christ is both the fulfillment of this prophecy and its deepest revelation—God’s justice carried in humility and love.
📖 Isaiah 42:2–3 – “He shall not cry, nor lift up… A bruised reed shall he not break…”
🔎 The manner of the Servant is radically different from earthly power. He does not shout to gain attention. He heals the weak rather than discard them. This was fulfilled in Jesus’ gentle dealings with the sick, outcasts, and sinners.
📖 Isaiah 42:4 – “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth…”
🔎 His mission is unstoppable. Though opposed, He remains faithful—unshaken in resolve. This speaks to Christ’s unwavering endurance, even unto the cross.
📖 Isaiah 42:6–7 – “I… will give thee… for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles…”
🔎 This explicitly reveals Christ’s global mission. The Servant is both covenant and light. His work is not limited to Israel—it expands to all nations. Jesus Himself declared, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
📖 Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another…”
🔎 This verse guards against idolatry—declaring the uniqueness of YHWH. It further confirms the deity of the Servant: Christ must be one with God if He receives the Father’s Spirit, mission, and glory.
📖 Isaiah 42:9 – “Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare…”
🔎 The coming of Christ is the dawn of newness. Prophecies fulfilled in Him open the door to a new covenant, a new people, and a new world.
➡️ Christ is the gentle answer to a violent world. He does not crush, but restores. He brings justice that heals, not condemns. He lifts the bruised, opens blind eyes, and redeems every willing soul.
Isaiah 42:10–17 – A New Song and a Coming Reckoning
📖 Isaiah 42:10 – “Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth…”
🔎 The appearance of the Servant initiates a new era—one worthy of a new song. This isn’t just poetic. In Scripture, a new song always follows deliverance (see Psalm 96:1, Revelation 5:9). Now, the entire earth—coasts, deserts, mountaintops—is called to worship the Lord who redeems.
📖 Isaiah 42:13 – “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war…”
🔎 The same Servant who heals will also battle. There is no contradiction. The gentle Savior is also the Commander of Heaven’s armies. He fights for justice, not domination. This verse marks a shift from comfort to confrontation—God will not remain silent forever.
📖 Isaiah 42:14 – “I have long time holden my peace… now will I cry like a travailing woman…”
🔎 God has delayed judgment in mercy—but now it erupts with intensity. Like birth pains, this release brings pain before promise. What was withheld now breaks forth.
📖 Isaiah 42:16 – “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not…”
🔎 The faithful remnant—those willing to walk by faith—are led in unknown paths. God doesn’t promise familiarity; He promises His presence. Spiritual blindness is healed not by sight, but by trusting His leading.
📖 Isaiah 42:17 – “They shall be turned back… that trust in graven images…”
🔎 Here’s the reckoning: idols will fail, and those who follow them will fall with them. The contrast is sharp—those who trust in the Lord sing; those who trust in idols are silenced.
➡️ Every soul must choose: sing the new song of redemption, or be silenced by judgment. The Servant comes in grace—but also in power. He brings mercy for the humble and justice for the rebellious.
Isaiah 42:18–25 – The Deafness of God’s People
📖 Isaiah 42:18 – “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.”
🔎 After the beauty and promise of the Servant’s mission, this section hits hard. God is now speaking directly to His own people—those who should have known, seen, and heard, but remained spiritually numb. This isn’t about physical blindness or deafness—it’s about willful resistance to God’s truth.
📖 Isaiah 42:20 – “Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.”
🔎 They had all the spiritual advantages—God’s Word, His prophets, His miracles—but ignored the message. This verse reflects the danger of familiarity without faith. You can hear the truth repeatedly and still remain unchanged.
📖 Isaiah 42:21 – “The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.”
🔎 Even amid rebuke, God’s character shines. He’s not discarding His people—He is upholding righteousness and truth. His Law isn’t the problem—their rejection of it is. Christ Himself would later come to magnify the Law, showing its full spiritual meaning (Matthew 5:17–20).
📖 Isaiah 42:24–25 – “Who gave Jacob for a spoil…? did not the Lord…? Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger…”
🔎 Their suffering was not due to God’s abandonment—but their own rebellion. God allowed hardship as discipline, not destruction. Yet they still failed to recognize the correction and repent. The fire burned, but they didn’t awaken.
➡️ This passage is a call to spiritual awakening. Blindness isn’t just ignorance—it’s the refusal to see. Deafness isn’t just silence—it’s the rejection of the voice of God. His people must not only rejoice in the Servant—they must respond.
Isaiah Chapter 42 - Deeper Study
Overview: From Servanthood to Sight
🔹 Timeframe: During Judah’s decline; prophetic toward Christ’s first coming.
🔹 Setting: Judah and the nations; courtroom and covenant themes.
🔹 Theme: The Servant’s mission, justice for the nations, rebuke for the blind.
🔹 Connection to Christ: Christ is the gentle Servant, the light to the Gentiles, the opener of blind eyes.
Light for the Nations, Wake-Up Call for the Church
Isaiah 42 is a chapter of contrast—gentle hope for the humble and sharp correction for the complacent. It introduces the Servant who brings healing, justice, and light to the world. But it also exposes the danger of spiritual apathy among God’s own people. This message is just as critical today.
🔹 God’s Servant is chosen, upheld, and delighted in.
🔹 Justice is His mission, and healing is His method.
🔹 The nations rejoice—but the church must stay alert.
🔹 Blindness isn’t cured by more light—but by open eyes.
🔹 This is a global awakening. Will we sing or sleep?
➡️ The Servant has come. His light now shines across the earth. But the question remains: will His people see, respond, and follow—or remain blind while the world awakens?
Key Takeaways
🔑 Christ is God’s chosen and beloved Servant.
🔑 His mission brings justice, not through force, but faithfulness.
🔑 The light of the gospel is for all nations.
🔑 God’s people are warned not to remain spiritually blind.
🔑 A new song begins where truth is received.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Isaiah 42:1–4 is directly quoted in Matthew 12:18–20, revealing Christ as the Servant.
🔮 The mission to open blind eyes and set captives free is fulfilled in Luke 4:18–21.
🔮 The new song is echoed in Revelation 5:9–10, praising the Lamb from every nation.
🔮 Israel’s spiritual blindness mirrors end-time Laodicea (Revelation 3:17).
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Servants were often low-status, yet God elevates His Servant above all kings.
📜 Blindness and deafness symbolize spiritual dullness, especially when truth is present but ignored.
📜 Idol worship was rampant in surrounding nations; Israel was called to be different.
📜 Songs marked victory, covenant, and renewal—”a new song” signals a new era.
Present-Day Reflection: Will You Sing the New Song?
The message of Isaiah 42 is not confined to history—it’s a living call. The Servant has come. The light has dawned. But many still dwell in shadows, unmoved by His gentle invitation. God is not asking for empty religion—He’s inviting hearts into a new reality.
🔹 Don’t just hear—obey.
🔹 Don’t just see—follow.
🔹 Don’t settle for religion—receive the Servant.
🔹 Don’t remain in darkness—walk in the light.
🔹 Don’t stay silent—sing the new song.
➡️ The Servant still walks softly among us, bringing sight, freedom, and purpose. The question is: will you recognize Him—and join the song?
💡 Final Reflection: The Light Has Come
The silence of centuries was broken when the Servant stepped into time. He didn’t come with fanfare—but with faithfulness. He didn’t force His way in—but offered Himself freely. Isaiah 42 calls every soul to stop stumbling in the dark and walk into the light of Christ.
📌 Are you embracing the Servant or resisting Him?
📌 Do you sing the new song—or still repeat old patterns?
📌 Are your eyes open to the truth—or dulled by distraction?
📖 Isaiah 42:6–7 – “I… will give thee… for a light of the Gentiles… to bring out the prisoners from the prison.”
🔥 The world may stay blind—but you don’t have to. Let the Servant lead you to light.
The Lord’s Chosen Servant
Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Isa 42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
Isa 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Isa 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Isa 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Isa 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Sing to the Lord a New Song
Isa 42:10 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
Isa 42:11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Isa 42:12 Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.
Isa 42:13 The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
Isa 42:14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.
Isa 42:15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
Isa 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
Israel’s Failure to Hear and See
Isa 42:18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
Isa 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?
Isa 42:20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
Isa 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
Isa 42:22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
Isa 42:23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
Isa 42:24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
Isa 42:25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
Date Written
740–700 BC
Written By
The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz
Language
Hebrew
Verses
25