Linked ideas throughout the Book of Isaiah demonstrate how God’s people respond to his end-time servant’s message. Those who acknowledge the servant do as he does. As the servant keeps the terms of God’s covenant, so do they. When they live God’s law for its own sake, not for the sake of reward, God blesses them as he blesses his servant. Because he keeps God’s law and word as far as humanly possible, the servant personifies righteousness and serves as an exemplar of righteousness. Those who do what the servant does, therefore, are called the “followers of righteousness,” those whom “righteousness”—God’s servant—leads in the new exodus out of Greater Babylon (Isaiah 41:2; 51:1, 7; 58:8).
As the servant declares good tidings to the nations of the earth and isles of the sea, so do they. As he releases God’s people from bondage and oppression, so do they. As he patiently endures shame and insult for God’s sake, so do they. As he calls on the name of Jehovah and fulfills all his will, so do they. As he trusts in his God in the face of perils and opposition, so do they. As he is not disgraced but vindicated by God in the end, so are they. As he refutes the wicked who wrongfully accuse him, so do they. As he restores ancient ruins and rebuilds God’s temple, so do they. As he gains grace and honor in the eyes of God, so do they. As he joyfully celebrates God’s salvation, so do they.
As God calls his servant from afar to the Promised Land, so he calls them. As God chooses him to be his servant, so he chooses them. As God anoints him and fills him with his Spirit, so he does them. As God appoints him as a witness to the nations to testify of him, so he does them. As God opens his ear and instructs him, so he does them. As God answers and guides him in all he does, so he does them. As God heals and consoles him in the hour of his distress, so he does them. As God helps him face hardships and validates his ministry, so he does them. As God grants him an everlasting inheritance as a reward for shame, so he does them. As God gloriously endows him, so he does them.
The wicked of God’s people, on the other hand, do the opposite of what the servant does (see Figure 61). He rejects evil and chooses good but they choose evil and reject good. He inquires of the living God for guidance but they conjure up the dead. His ear is open but theirs are closed. He possesses wisdom and understanding but they are wise in their own eyes. He judges justly but they acquit the guilty for bribes. He calls on God and relies on him but they rely on the arm of flesh. He relieves others’ oppression but they cause others’ oppression. He does God’s will but they go against God’s will. He has a learned tongue but they have a perverse tongue. He praises God but they vilify him.
The servant draws near to God but the wicked forsake him. He follows God’s counsel but they follow their own. He speaks God’s word but they rely on empty words. He teaches the law of God but they observe commandments of men. He is a “light” to God’s people but they choose darkness. He works justice but they work injustice. He is an example of righteousness but they refuse to learn righteousness. He increases people’s joy but they heap sorrows on themselves. He releases God’s people from bondage but they are taken captive. He puts his enemies to flight but their enemies put them to flight. He apportions God’s people’s inheritances in the Promised Land but they are dispossessed.
God hears his servant but he doesn’t hear them. God fulfills his servant’s predictions but he exposes theirs as false. God calls him by name but he deals with them namelessly. God vindicates him but he condemns them to die. God heals him of his wounds but he smites them with disease. God creates him anew but he makes chaos of them. God strengthens him against his enemies but he strengthens their enemies against them. God lends him his power but he strips them of strength. God enables him to turn nations into “dust” and “chaff” but he enables nations to turn them into “dust” and “chaff.” God exalts him but he abases them. God gives him a new name but he cuts their names off.
These and similar linking ideas show that as we ascend the ladder we may emulate persons higher than ourselves whom God imbues with power and appoints over his people. Also illustrated is the role a righteous leader plays in delivering God’s people: to get where the servant is, God’s people must do as he does. That follows a divine pattern and ultimately centers on God himself. To the degree that we keep the terms of God’s covenant we experience upward momentum. A downward slide, on the other hand, is the result of “disloyalty” and “rebellion” when we live contrary to God’s law. In short, God doesn’t push us up the ladder but he arranges things so that our optimum course is to ascend.
(Taken from Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven, pp 147–150)