Isa 42:23 | KingComments | STEP | With begins the last part of this chapter, in which a last series of penetrating questions is asked. These questions are related to what preceded and are directly related to the miserable state in which the people find themselves. The question here is why a people destined to be a servant of the LORD, to whom the law, the teaching of God, has been entrusted, is not able to fulfill this task, but on the contrary, needs salvation themselves. Who of them will take this lesson, this question, to heart? The suffering inflicted on them by the nations will become even greater. Only a remnant will listen in the future. “Hereafter” refers to the future. It is a call to be concerned with the future. The consequences for practical life will not fail. Only the remnant will recognize that the suffering that has come upon the people has been worked by the LORD ( ). They will recognize that the exile is the result of their own sins. The first exile is the one to Babylon. There they have been for seventy years because they did not keep the law and committed idolatry. The other exile is the one to every corner of the earth for a period that has lasted for about two thousand years now. Why is that? It is because of the rejection of the Lord Jesus (cf. ). Because the wicked mass of the people will not listen, even more intense plagues will strike them ( ). Even worse than the chastisement itself is the failure to recognize that the LORD brings this upon them. These things are written to teach us to recognize that the Lord’s chastening hand in our lives is governed by His gracious purpose, wisdom, and love.

‏ Isaiah 42:23

Penetrating Questions

With Isa 42:23 begins the last part of this chapter, in which a last series of penetrating questions is asked. These questions are related to what preceded and are directly related to the miserable state in which the people find themselves. The question here is why a people destined to be a servant of the LORD, to whom the law, the teaching of God, has been entrusted, is not able to fulfill this task, but on the contrary, needs salvation themselves. Who of them will take this lesson, this question, to heart?

The suffering inflicted on them by the nations will become even greater. Only a remnant will listen in the future. “Hereafter” refers to the future. It is a call to be concerned with the future. The consequences for practical life will not fail. Only the remnant will recognize that the suffering that has come upon the people has been worked by the LORD (Isa 42:24).

They will recognize that the exile is the result of their own sins. The first exile is the one to Babylon. There they have been for seventy years because they did not keep the law and committed idolatry. The other exile is the one to every corner of the earth for a period that has lasted for about two thousand years now. Why is that? It is because of the rejection of the Lord Jesus (cf. Gen 42:21).

Because the wicked mass of the people will not listen, even more intense plagues will strike them (Isa 42:25). Even worse than the chastisement itself is the failure to recognize that the LORD brings this upon them. These things are written to teach us to recognize that the Lord’s chastening hand in our lives is governed by His gracious purpose, wisdom, and love.