Isaiah 53:10
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:10-12
The third blessing for the Suffering Servant is that he would cause the will of the Lord to prosper. We often think of doing the Lord’s will in our own lives and when we do, we have the peace that comes from knowing that we are being obedient. At the same time, rarely do we move mountains through our obedience. We are privileged as Jesus-followers to play even a small part in advancing his kingdom. However, through the obedience of Jesus, he advanced the will of the Lord in magnificent ways:
- Restore Israel’s relationship with YHWH as promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
- Deliver all of mankind from the bondage of sin as first promised to Adam
- Salvation for both Jews and Gentiles bringing peace on earth to all nations.
Additionally, Jesus would reconcile all things to himself:
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col 1:19-20).
And give everyone who looks to Jesus and believes eternal life:
“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:37-40).
The Hebrew word for “will” is ḥēpeṣ which also means pleased or desire. It conveys the message that whatever God delights in reveals His purposes for His creation. Whatever God delights in He will accomplish. And we, as His people, are called to delight in Him.
“Blessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
“The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand” (Psalm 37:23-24).
“The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless” (Prov 11:20).
Life may not go the way we want it to go. But delighting in God’s will for us will always result in God delighting in us. And after all that is where we find true peace. To know that the God of all creation delights in me and that I am right with Him is true peace. Jesus said:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt 6:33-34).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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