The Humble Exalted – Isaiah 52:13-15

Can you imagine someone who doesn’t yearn to be President of the United States winning that office?  That’s the story of the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield.  As Wikipedia says, “At the 1880 Republican National Convention, delegates chose Garfield – who had not sought the White House – as a compromise presidential candidate on the 36th ballot. In the 1880 presidential election, Garfield conducted a low-key front porch campaign and narrowly defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock.”  His humility made him one of the better presidents.  It makes the Servant of Yahweh worthy of exaltation.

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.  As many were astonished at you—

his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. (Isaiah 52:13-15, ESV)

Isaiah has been given several prophecies of the servant of Yahweh.  In some of the messages the servant seems to be identified with Israel (Isaiah 49:3) but then is obviously distinguished from Israel (49:5).  This indicates that the servant is in some sense the embodiment of who Israel should be and will be, that he represents the nation as her perfect representative.

This passage begins Isaiah’s last servant “song,” and this one is the most startling of all.  Isaiah begins with Yahweh saying to His servant that he will succeed at what he has been appointed to do and be exalted.  He uses the phrase “high and lifted up.”  This is the phrase Isaiah used of the vision he had of Yahweh in chapter 6 when he saw Yahweh high and lifted up in the temple of heaven.  Using the phrase here could suggest that Yahweh will exalt the servant to the same level of exaltation He merits.

But the path to this exaltation first involves suffering.  When he is first noticed his appearance is marred.  But it is this marring that enables the Servant of Yahweh to sprinkle many nations.  Sprinkling was an act of the high priest who sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the altar to atone for the sins of the people, or the act of sprinkling water on garments or other objects to purify them.  The leaders of the nations will be awed by the sprinkling that this servant does when they come to understand its significance.

As with the Servant of Yahweh, Jesus Messiah, we too, as heirs of God and fellow heirs with Messiah, will be glorified with him provided we suffer with him (Romans 8:17).  Suffering always precedes glory.  Humility always precedes exaltation.  Jesus said, “Whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).

In the next part of the song we’ll see what God is doing to accomplish this through His servant.

Discussion Questions

1. What is your favorite fairy tale?
2. The actions of the Servant of Yahweh are the stuff of fairy tales.  Is it a good fairy tale or a bad one or both?
3. Servants are not normally exalted, but Jesus’ sprinkling of many nations leads to exaltation.  How have you seen servants, those who humble themselves, exalted?
4. What has been your own experience of humbling and exaltation?