Isaiah 55 Study: Christ Our Covenant Fulfilled
Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. - Isaiah 55:4
We’re continuing our Isaiah 55 study, and now we’re to verse 4. The covenant God made with David wasn’t fulfilled through words alone, but was realized through a person – the Messiah, the Servant, Jesus Christ.
Throughout Isaiah, the recurring story of Christ’s invitation for reconciliation to Himself and away from what will ultimately destroy us. That invitation stems from a covenant that began with David – and is now extended to all people through Jesus.
King David’s Backstory
Before we dive in, let’s sit with David’s backstory for a minute. Here’s a short synopsis:
He was the youngest of 8 sons and dubbed ‘least likely to succeed’ (1 Samuel 16:10-11).
Despite his position, the prophet Samuel anoints David as the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:12-13).
He had more courage than all of Israel when he stepped out in obedience to God and faced Goliath – killing him with just one, small stone (1 Samuel 17:45-50).
His fame placed a target on his back with the current King Saul and David spent years of his life running away from him (1 Samuel 18-24).
Throughout betrayal and being in constant danger, David leaned into the Lord closely, pouring his soul into words which were later used in over half of the Psalms (2 Samuel 22; Psalm 3-41).
He becomes obsessed with power and greed, he commits adultery with Bathsheba, and ensures her husband Uriah’s death once she becomes pregnant with David’s child (2 Samuel 11).
He’s confronted by the prophet Nathan and repents of his sin (2 Samuel 12:1-13).
Despite all this, God makes a covenant with Him that He will raise up one of David’s descendants to reign forever and bring salvation to all nations (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
David’s life was full of high highs and low lows. He was selfish, greedy, power-hungry, a rapist, and a murderer, to name a few. And yet, God used Him powerfully.
We so often believe that it’s our goodness which enables us to earn God’s love or approval. But He uses us despite our weaknesses. He emboldens us when we’re our weakest. We are loved no differently when we walk closely with Him than when we’re running away entrenched in our sin.
Through King David, God grew up a leader who would come save us. He made a covenant with us embodied through His Son Jesus Christ, who was a “witness…leader and commander.”
Christ as Our Witness
Jesus is the living testimony of God’s heart. He says in John 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” He didn’t just bring the truth – He embodied it.
Christ bears witness that God is who He says He is. He came down to earth, “born of a woman, born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4) so that we might see “His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
He wasn’t just an example of moral goodness – He was the fulfillment of God’s covenant to us.
Christ as Our Leader
Peppered all throughout the Bible and themed in Isaiah, God speaks of raising up a Servant to lead the people to Himself. We see this Servant leader perfected in Jesus.
He doesn’t force Himself on us, rather He gently and humbly leads us to rest (Matthew 11:29). Although He endured every human emotion and weakness, He extended patience and compassion towards those around Him over and over again.
Christ leads us by example, walking before us. He doesn’t ask us to do anything He’s not done Himself. He walked further than we ever could, bearing the weight of the consequences of our sin so that we might never know abandonment from God.
Christ as Our Commander
The Hebrew word for ‘commander’ here is tsavah, which means to charge or command. Yes, He’s our gentle leader. But He’s also our mighty warrior. He’s not a weak leader who’s easily overcome, He has ultimate authority. He demonstrates some of that through His many miracles on earth.
Through His covenant to us, God promises a renewed and everlasting kingdom. God will one day have the final say over all the evil that seems to prevail today. He will make all things right.
How Should We Respond?
Despite who we are or what we’ve done, God can redeem our story and weave us into His much larger redemption of the world. He’s already set motion to His plan to reconcile the world back to Himself through His Son Jesus.
God not only loved us enough to allow His Son Jesus to be collateral damage for our rescue. He’s demonstrated through Him the unconditional love God has for us. He gently leads us to Himself while holding the ultimate authority over all things.
No matter what mankind does, God’s plans won’t change or be less good. And He allows us to be a part of that plan, if we’re willing to choose Him over our sin.
