Scripture Reading: Isa. 41:2, 41:8-16, 25; 1, 45:13; 48:14, 48:16; 46:11, 46:13; 44:1-5, 21, 44:28; 42:1; 43:10; 49:1-4, 49:3; 50:4-9
In this message we want to see Christ as the Servant of Jehovah typified by three persons — first, by a Gentile king, Cyrus the king of Persia; second, by God's selected corporate people, Israel; and third, by a typical, bonafide, top prophet of Jehovah, Isaiah. All three were God's servants in the sense of a type. Because Christ is so great, many types are needed to describe Him. The Old Testament is full of types of Christ. In the New Testament, the four Gospels portray Christ in four aspects, but He has many, many aspects. In the book of Isaiah we can see many aspects of the all-inclusive Christ.
Isaiah was a wonderful, poetic writer. His writing is long. We have pointed out previously that the sections of Isaiah are very significant. The first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah symbolize all the significances in the contents of the Old Testament, which is composed of thirty-nine books. The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament may be considered as the element, and the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah are the essence extracted from this element. The last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah are the second section of this book, and they correspond to the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. This section of twenty-seven chapters can be considered as the essence of the New Testament, the extract of the real significance of the New Testament. This extract is concerning one person. Today we call Him the Lord Jesus Christ, which equals the Lord Jehovah in the Old Testament. The Lord Jehovah is the Old Testament Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the New Testament Lord Jehovah.
The first chapter of the second section of Isaiah is chapter forty, where Christ is revealed as Jehovah the Savior. In this chapter what is covered is the revealing of the Lord Jehovah. Revealing means manifesting. When a person is hidden, concealed, and covered, we cannot see him. When his covering is removed, he is revealed to us. This means He is manifested. The revealing is the manifestation. Chapter forty covers the revealing of the Lord Jehovah, which is the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this chapter Isaiah declares, "Here is your God!" (v. 9). The revealing of the Lord Jehovah is the appearing of the very God, and this Lord Jehovah, the very God, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jehovah, the Lord God, appears as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior.
From chapters forty-one through sixty-six, Christ is revealed as the Servant of Jehovah. These twenty-six chapters cover this one person. In this message we want to cover the revelation of Christ as the Servant of Jehovah in chapters forty-one through fifty. In these ten chapters there are four servants of God — Cyrus, the Gentile king; Israel, God's chosen corporate people; Isaiah, God's wonderful prophet; and Christ. They are four, but eventually they are one, so they are four-in-one.
Now we need to consider what these servants as types of Christ did and what Christ as the Servant of Jehovah is doing today. They surely were one with God to carry out His commission to build the temple as the center and reality of God's interest on the earth. Today's temple in the New Testament is the church (1 Cor. 3:16-17). The church is not a physical building with a tower and a bell. Paul tells us that the church is God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:15-16).
Both the Old and New Testaments talk about the church. However, in the New Testament, Paul tells us that the church was hidden in the Old Testament. It was a mystery (Eph. 3:4-5, 9). Although the church was hidden in appearance in the Old Testament, in type it was not hidden. Eve, for example, was the wife of Adam to be the type of the church as Christ's counterpart. If we want to know the church, we need to know the type of Eve. Eve as the counterpart of Adam has a number of very significant points. Eve was built with Adam's rib (Gen. 2:22). God used this rib to build a woman. Eve was out of Adam. This signifies that the church is something out of Christ. Thus, the church was not created. The church was built up with something that has come out of Christ. Without the type of Eve, we could not understand the church that well. Eve was out of Adam and eventually went back to Adam to be one flesh with Adam. This is a good picture of the church in a type. The Old Testament is full of types of the church.
The New Testament speaks of the church as the kingdom of God (Rom. 14:17) and the house of God, the household of God (Eph. 2:19). The house, the dwelling place, is also the household, those who dwell in the house. The church as the household is composed of the sons of God (Gal. 3:26), the members of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). The church is also the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23) and the new man (2:15). Thus, the church is the kingdom of God, the house of God, the household of God, the sons of God, the members of Christ, the Body of Christ, and the new man. Eventually, the church will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2). The new man is enlarged to be the New Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem is the holy city, the tabernacle of God and the temple of God. All of these aspects of the church can be seen in typology in the Old Testament. Paul said the church was hidden as a mystery, but the church is not hidden in the types in the Old Testament.
We need to see the revelation of the all-inclusive Christ from the types in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah, God has four servants: Cyrus, Israel, Isaiah, and Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah. What did they do? They built up a city, that is, the kingdom of God. The city is a symbol of the kingdom. They also built up the temple, and the temple is a symbol of God's house with God's people as God's household. Israel was God's people, and Isaiah and Christ were both a part of Israel. They were both Jewish. In Hosea 11:1 Israel refers to Christ (Matt. 2:15).
Cyrus was raised up by Jehovah (Isa. 41:2a, 25a; 45:13a; Acts 3:26a), anointed by Jehovah (Isa. 45:1a; Luke 4:18a), and loved by Jehovah (48:14b; Matt. 3:17). He did God's pleasure on Babylon, symbolizing the Roman Catholic Church in Revelation 17. He was God's counselor (Isa. 46:11b; Heb. 10:7) to subdue the nations and have dominion over the kings (Isa. 41:2b, 25c; 45:1b; Ezra 1:2a; Acts 5:31a; Rev. 1:5a). He was also Jehovah's shepherd for the fulfilling of His desire in building up the city (symbolizing the kingdom) and the temple of God and in releasing God's captives (Isa. 44:28; 45:13b; Ezra 1:2-3; John 10:11; 5:30b; 2:19; Luke 4:18b). In all of the above aspects, Cyrus was a type of Christ as the Servant of Jehovah.
Isaiah tells us that Cyrus was the one whom God chose, whom God raised up, whom God called, whom God anointed, whom God loved, and the one who would do God's pleasure to make God happy all the time. He was loved by God and worked to please God, to do God's good pleasure. God's good pleasure is His people, Israel. Israel was God's counterpart. Jeremiah 2 speaks of the bridal love, the honeymoon love, between Jehovah and Israel. Verse 2 says, "Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown" (ASV). In the Bible the honeymoon love is called the bridal love. Jehovah was married to Israel and had a honeymoon with them. At that time they both enjoyed the bridal love. It is amazing that these romantic terms came out of the mouth of Jehovah God. He fell in love with Israel. God is the Husband, and His redeemed people are His wife. In Jeremiah 3:14 God said that He was Israel's Husband.
God loves Israel, loves His kingdom signified by the city, and loves His house signified by the temple. Cyrus took care of these three things. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, did something ugly to God. First, he captured God's people. Second, he burned the temple. Third, he destroyed the city. These three treasures which are in God's heart, His desire, were devastated by Nebuchadnezzar. Thus, throughout the entire Bible, God hates Babylon.
Cyrus came in to release the captives of Israel. He did not want any compensation from them for this release (Isa. 45:13). He supported them and provided a way for them to go back to their fathers' land (Ezra 1). That was God's first desire. Then he charged them to go back to build up the temple of their God. That was God's second desire. He also charged them to build the city, which was God's third desire. God loved Cyrus because he did the things on His heart. What he did touched God's heart.
Jehovah stirred up this man, Cyrus, from the east (Isa. 41:2a) and from the north (v. 25a). This man was a bird of prey (46:11). He would get everything from the Lord for the purpose of releasing the Lord's people so that they could rebuild His temple and raise up His city. Cyrus was used by God to release God's captured elect, to build His house, His household, and to establish His kingdom on this earth.
What are we doing today? We need to be those who are going out to get sinners. This is what it means to release God's chosen people. In eternity past God chose millions of people, but they all were captured by Satan, typified by that evil Nebuchadnezzar. In Isaiah 14, Isaiah combines Satan with Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (vv. 12-23). All the sinners are Satan's captives. Every time we bring a sinner to salvation, he gets released from Satan's captivity. If we gain one hundred sinners for Christ, that means we reach one hundred captives for God.
All the angels rejoice when just one sinner is saved, when one captive is released (7, Luke 15:10). The first verse of hymn #1068 says:
This verse tells us that when a sinner is saved, the angels' singing fills the courts of heaven. The angels in heaven rejoice every time a sinner is saved.
Our gospel preaching is to release the captives. Then we build up the church, God's house and household, with the released sinners saved through our preaching. We also establish the kingdom of God. All the sinners saved through our preaching will be members of the house of God and of the kingdom of God. Furthermore, they will become the members of Christ's Body and the constituents of the new man. Eventually, they will consummate in the coming New Jerusalem. Day by day and week by week we should be working in this way for God's good pleasure to touch God's heart.
Each one of us needs to be today's Cyrus. Like Cyrus, we need to be birds of prey who go out to gain sinners for God's kingdom. The saved sinners are our prey. All of these saved ones are the released captives who have been made sons of God and members of Christ. How good it is! Such a pleasant work should never tire us out. We should only know how to make our God happy. God's charge to us should be sweet and pleasant. If we realize what we are doing for God's good pleasure, we will be happy.
Cyrus did not ask for any recompense for releasing Israel. Nebuchadnezzar captured them, and Cyrus wanted to send them back home. This was his pleasure, and it was also the pleasure of God. God in heaven could have applauded Cyrus as a good servant. God could have said to Cyrus, "You are doing something according to My good pleasure in My heart. I'm happy to see you release My people for them to build up the temple and erect the holy city again."
Israel as a type of Christ is more subjective. As the ones chosen by God, they are God's kingdom, God's house, and God's household. Israel as a type of Christ, the Servant of Jehovah, was chosen by Jehovah and upheld with the right hand of His righteousness. Like Christ, Israel overcame the enemies by Jehovah and rejoiced and gloried in Him, the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 41:8-16; 42:1a; Rom. 8:37; 1 Thes. 2:19-20). Israel also typifies Christ as the Witness of Jehovah (Isa. 43:10; Rev. 1:5a; 3:14). Just as the Spirit was poured out upon Christ, the Spirit of Jehovah was poured out upon Israel for the blessing of his offspring (Isa. 44:1-5, 21; Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:18-19). Also in Israel, Jehovah was glorified, just as God was glorified in Christ (Isa. 49:3; 46:13b; John 17:1; 12:28). Cyrus the king of Persia was working for Israel as Israel's servant. He was not only serving God but also serving them. His pleasant service sent them back to their fathers' land and provided for them on the way. In the ancient days, it was a long journey from Babylon, today's Iraq, to Jerusalem. The returned captives needed a lot of protection on the way. Otherwise, people could rob them and kill them. Cyrus did everything for them, and they went back to their forefathers' land, the Holy Land, safely. That was Cyrus's service. Today, on the one hand, we are Cyrus, and on the other hand, we are Israel.
Isaiah also worked as a type of Christ, the Servant of Jehovah, to accomplish God's heart's desire. His prophecy helped in the release of Israel and the rebuilding of the temple and the city. Cyrus, the Gentile king, Israel, God's chosen people, and Isaiah, the prophet set up by God, all did the same thing to please God. They served to release God's people, to build up God's house, and to build up God's kingdom signified by the city. When Jesus came, He did the same thing. Luke 4:18 says that Christ was anointed by God to release the captives. He also built up the church as the temple of God and established the church as the kingdom of God. By this we can see that Cyrus, Israel, Isaiah, and Jesus Christ were all servants of God doing the same thing. They are four-in-one, and the first three — Cyrus, Israel, and Isaiah — are wrapped up with the last One, Christ. In all the three you can see Christ. In Cyrus you can see Christ; in Israel you can see Christ; and in Isaiah you can see Christ.
Today we are the servants of God. We need a vision to see Cyrus, Israel, and Isaiah typifying Christ as the Servant of Jehovah. We need to have the realization that we are today's Cyrus, Israel, and Isaiah because we are one with our Lord Jesus Christ. We all are God's servants doing the same thing in the universe — to release God's people, to build up His temple, the house, and to build up His kingdom, the city. Whenever I consider what I have been doing, am still doing, and will be doing to carry out God's good pleasure in this way, I become happy. If we give ourselves to accomplish the desire of God's heart, we are the wisest men on this earth. We have the best job with the best destiny. We need to realize that our job as God's sent ones is the highest job.
Isaiah told us that he was sent with the Spirit of Jehovah by Jehovah (Isa. 48:16b). God did not send Isaiah alone. He was sent by God with God the Spirit. The New Testament tells us that when the Lord Jesus was sent by the Father, the Father sent Him with the Spirit of God (Luke 4:14). The Spirit was always with Jesus. Furthermore, the Father who sent the Son also came with the Son. Jesus also said that He was not alone, but the Father was with Him (John 8:29). When Jesus came, the three in the Godhead all came. We must have the assurance that when we go to people, the Spirit and Christ go with us. Moreover, Christ is the embodiment of the Father, so the Father goes with us. When we go out to preach the gospel, the Triune God goes with us. We need to experience this just as Isaiah did.
Isaiah typifies Christ as one made by Jehovah to be His mouthpiece to speak forth His word (Isa. 49:1-2; John 3:34a). I am happy because I am a mouthpiece to speak forth God's word. All of us should be happy in the same way. All of us are mouthpieces to speak God's word. If we are not mouthpieces, we are not servants of God. Every servant of God speaks for God. We must learn to speak Christ for God in many ways and in many aspects.
Isaiah as a type of Christ considered himself as Jehovah's servant, a part of Israel, for His glory (Isa. 49:3; Hosea 11:1; Matt. 2:15). We also need to realize that we are a part of today's Israel. Galatians 6:16 says that the church is the real Israel of God. We are releasing sinners for the building up of the church, and we are the church. When we are building up the church as the Body of Christ, we are building up ourselves for God's glory.
In Isaiah 49:4, Isaiah told us that he considered himself as laboring in vain, using up his strength for nothing and vanity; yet he was assured that the justice due to him was with Jehovah and his recompense with his God. I had this kind of feeling and experience in the past. Quite often I felt that I was living in vain and that I had used up all my strength for nothing, for vanity. After serving the Lord for a while, we may feel that we are laboring in vain. We may feel exhausted and that we have used up our strength for nothing in vanity. All the servants of the Lord have the same kind of feeling. On the one hand, in the morning we may be happy, praising the Lord that we are carrying out the top job. Later in the day, however, we may feel that we are laboring in vain for nothing. Despite this, Isaiah said that he was assured that the justice due to him was with Jehovah. I can testify that although people have condemned me and defamed me, deep within I have the assurance that the justice due to me is with Christ. He knows whether I labor for vanity or for reality. The justice due to me is with Jehovah, and the recompense due to me is with my God.
Isaiah 50:4 and 5 speak of the instruction received by Isaiah as the servant of Jehovah — "The Lord Jehovah has given me / The tongue of the instructed, / That I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. / He awakens me morning by morning; / He awakens my ear / To hear as an instructed one. / The Lord Jehovah has opened my ear; / And I was not rebellious, / Nor did I turn back." We should not go to speak to others as professors. We should go to speak as learners, as trainees, as instructed and taught ones. To speak a word to sustain the weary, we must have the tongue of an instructed one. Sometimes I am a little concerned for myself and for the trainers in the full-time training. We may speak like teachers who know something. This actually means that we know nothing. We need to speak with the tongue of an instructed one, a learner. Even though I am teaching, I should teach in humility, considering and confessing that I myself do not know much.
As the instructed ones, we need to be awakened by the Lord morning by morning. This is the real morning revival. He awakens our ear to hear as an instructed one. When the Lord Jehovah opens our ear and speaks to us, we should not be rebellious or turn back. We should take His word and obey. This was Isaiah's attitude as a learner serving Jehovah. This also typifies Christ. The four Gospels show that the Lord Jesus held such an attitude.
Isaiah 50:6-9 shows the life lived by Isaiah as the servant of Jehovah. In these verses Isaiah, as the servant of Jehovah typifying Christ, said, "I gave my back to those who strike me / And my cheeks to those who pluck out the hair; / I did not hide my face / From humiliation and spitting. / The Lord Jehovah helps me; / Therefore I have not been dishonored; / Therefore I have set my face like a flint, / And I know that I will not be put to shame. / The One who justifies me is near; who will contend with me? / Let us stand up together! / Who is my adversary in judgment? / Let him come near to me. / Behold, the Lord Jehovah helps me, / Who is the one who condemns me? / Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; / The moth will consume them." These verses also describe the life lived by Jesus on earth (Matt. 26:67; 1 Pet. 2:23). This was not only Isaiah's word but also the word of the Lord Jesus. Isaiah typified Christ in his receiving of instructions from God. In the life he lived, Isaiah was a real type of Christ.
In Isaiah 41 through 50 we can see three servants typifying one Servant. These three servants — Cyrus, Israel, and Isaiah, are wrapped up with the fourth Servant, the all-inclusive Christ. They all are one, serving Jehovah God for His good pleasure to make Him happy in releasing and raising up God's elect to build God's temple and God's city and to set up God's kingdom, which will be enlarged to consummate in the New Jerusalem. This is exactly what we are doing today.
