POLISHED SHAFT

When our attention was first drawn to the Servant of Jehovah in chapter 42, it was said of Him ‘he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles .. . and the isles shall wait for his law’, vv. 1, 4.

In chapters 42-55 the activity of the Servant is seen in fulfilling the work given to Him, both in respect of the nation of Israel and to ‘the ends of the earth’, 45. 22.

Throughout chapter 48 He is occupied with the nation, ‘Jacob .. . Israel.. . Judah’, v. 1. In spite of their obstinate hardness v. 4, still His heart goes out to them, vv. 9,17. Four times in this chapter He calls upon them to ‘hearken’ or ‘hear’, but sadly He has to say ‘thou heardest not’, v. 8, ‘O that thou hadst hearkened’, v. 18. As a result of their self-will they would pass through ‘the furnace of affliction’ v. 10. What a responsibility is placed upon those who hear His voice and know something of His grace, yet refuse to obey His word, v. 22.

In chapter 49, the call is made to the ‘isles ... and ...ye people from far’, v. 1. The Servant is now reaching out to Gentile nations who, in a future day, will ‘wait for His law’, 42. 4. It is in view of His true humanity v. 1, that He administers justice to the nations; cf. John 5. 27. The character in which He is seen to do this is that of one prepared for battle, v. 2, ‘a man of war’, 42. 13, having both sword and bow. The ‘mouth like a sharp sword’ reminds us of the vision of John, Rev. 1.16; 19.15. John also records the effect of that sword upon those who reject Him, ‘the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’, John 12. 48.

A sword, by its very nature, is a weapon for close quarter combat. On the other hand, the effect of a bow is felt at a distance. The archer would polish his arrow shafts, making them smooth, swift and accurate through the air. The justice and administration of Jehovah’s Servant will reach to the farthest shore ‘that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God’, 1 Kgs. 8. 60. We notice that both the sword and the arrow are hidden in verse 2, kept according to God’s perfect timing. But, when released, nothing will impede that Polished Shaft as, with unerring accuracy, the will of God is carried out.