Christ in the Old Testament

Isaiah 48:16

And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me,
    endowed with his Spirit. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 48:12-22

In Isaiah 48, God is going to free Israel from the Babylonians. He continues to tell Israel that He is giving them this foreknowledge so that they will know that He alone is God. It’s not their “wooden images” or “metal gods” that brought about these events. It was God Almighty.

There is a hidden nugget in this chapter that is a reference to Jesus coming as the Messiah. In order to see it, we need to establish the speaker of Isaiah 48. Whoever is speaking is identified as:

• The One who called Israel (vs. 12),
• I am he (vs 12),
• The first and the last (vs. 12),
• The One who laid the foundations of the earth (vs. 13),
• The One who spread out the heavens (vs. 13),
• The Redeemer of Israel (vs. 17),
• The Holy One of Israel (vs. 17),
• The Lord your God (vs 17).

It is clearly God who is speaking here. There is no doubt that this is the LORD God of Israel – the great I AM. He not only clearly identifies Himself in these verses but He also points them to His character:

• He is Divine – “I am he” (vs 12),
• He is Eternal – “I am the first and I am the last” (vs. 12),
• He is Creator – “My own hand laid the foundations of the earth” (vs 13),
• He is Sovereign – “When I summon them, they all stand up together” (vs 13),
• He has Authority – “Come together, all of you, and listen” (vs 14).

Then we come to verse 16 where is says, “And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.” This doesn’t make sense for God to say this. It would be “And now God sent God with his Spirit.” We clearly have another speaker here. This person is the Divine Servant. God is sending this Divine Servant and He is also sending him with “His Spirit.”

So if we know the One who is doing the sending is God the Father, then the One who is being sent with the Spirit is God the Son. Thus, in verse 16, we see the fullness of the Trinity all in one verse. God sends both the Son and the Spirit.

“Then John [the Baptist] gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One’” (John 1:32-34).

Today’s Prayer: I praise you Lord for you are worthy! You are Creator God who sent Jesus to us so that we could be Redeemed. Thank you for revealing Yourself to me.