Coming as I do from a management background, I think of the following four passages as the Mission of the Messiah, the job He came to accomplish.  Theologians call them the Servant Songs of the Messiah, and they’re all from Isaiah, making them a terrific Old Testament witness to prophecy fulfilled in the Life of Jesus.

Four is considered to be the number of Earth, because by the end of the fourth day, the Earth’s creation was complete. Days five and six were devoted to populating the Earth, first with fish, fowl, and animals, and finally with God’s crowning achievement, man. When Biblical things come in fours, it means the whole Earth is in focus.

Song One, Justice For The Nations … Isaiah 42:1-9

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”

This is what God the LORD says— he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

Right away Isaiah made it clear that the Messiah would be a gentle man, the personification of God’s love. A bruised reed has no strength and a smoldering wick puts off an acrid odor so they represent those who society has deemed worthless and offensive, but even they would be the recipients of His love.

He would not minister to Jews alone, but to the Gentiles as well. Fulfilling the Everlasting Covenant, He would satisfy God’s need for justice by paying the penalty for all of mankind’s sin, thereby reconciling God to His creation (Colossians 1:19-20) . Nothing would deter Him from accomplishing His mission.  As proof that He would send His servant to accomplish these things, God said, “Look at my track record. Hasn’t everything I’ve told you in the past come true? You can count on this new thing happening too.”

Song Two, Israel and The Messiah … Isaiah 49:1-7

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

But I said, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”

Initially, Israel was given the task of being God’s emissary to the Gentiles, and that’s who is speaking here.  In another series of four, also from Isaiah, Israel was appointed to accomplish four tasks, too. They were to transmit God’s scriptures (Isa. 42:9), be His witnesses on Earth (Isa. 43:10), showcase His blessings (Isa. 49:3), and be a channel for the Messiah (Isa. 49:5). God knew from the beginning that Israel was preparing the Earth for its most distinguished visitor.

And now the LORD says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength- he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

But Israel was not sufficient to the task.  They became prideful and exclusive, and because of this were drawn off the path God had set them on.  Therefore Messiah’s first priority would be to restore Israel, but much more than that would be required of Him.  Again we learn that He would be a light to the Gentiles as well, bringing the message of salvation to the whole world. I should note here that the Hebrew word translated “my salvation” in this passage is the Messiah’s Hebrew name, Yeshua, which literally means God brings salvation. (When translated into English, Yeshua becomes Jesus.)

This is what the LORD says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Ironically God’s own people, though given the first option on Messiah’s offer of redemption, would refuse it. Instead, the Gentile nations would be the first fruits of His mission. Even their rulers would bow before the Messiah. But God did not reject Israel, and at the End of the Age will pour out His Spirit upon them again, and this time they’ll respond (Zechariah 12:10).

Song Three, Resistance … Isaiah 50:4-9

The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

The Messiah was a voluntary servant of God (Phil. 2:5-8) and nothing in the world  could prevent Him from accomplishing His mission. Even the beatings and the humiliation of being mocked and spat upon and having His beard ripped from His face would not cause Him to falter. Since God was for Him, who could stand against him?

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

His enemies thought they had beaten him. They didn’t realize until after it was too late that the only power they had over Him had been granted by His Father to suit His purpose.  Cautioning Peter to put away his sword, Jesus said,

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matt. 26:53-44) On another occasion He told them:

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:17-18)

And at His last trial He told Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:11).

Song Four, Victory … Isaiah 52:13-53:12

See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness— so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

By the time they finished punishing Him, He wouldn’t even look human anymore. The phrase “lifted up” would come to symbolize crucifixion, but that most humiliating form of execution would become the means of His exaltation.  While our initial faith comes through hearing about what He has done for us, the abiding faith that sustains us is not the product of words, but of the indwelling Holy Spirit who leads us into all understanding.  While it’s often true that seeing is believing, it’s even more true that believing is seeing.

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Even though He had created the universe, there was nothing about Him that would distinguish Him from us. He would look like the commonest of men. And when He spoke, He would contradict what the religious leaders of the day were teaching, and therefore would be rejected by the establishment. His friends would be mostly common folk, many of them outcasts themselves.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

The leaders of the day would consider Him to be demon possessed (John 8:48), but by giving His life He would purchase our healing from the devil’s diseases, and our freedom from the devil’s enslavement. The Hebrew word translated infirmities means sickness or disease, and the one translated sorrows also means pain.  Transgressions and iniquities refer to sin.  Because of His suffering and death we can receive both physical and spiritual healing.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Though innocent of all the charges brought against Him, He would offer no defense because He would really be standing in our place, to be punished for our crimes. And we have no defense.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

His death would make vicarious atonement for our crimes against God and though it was common practice to throw  a crucified  body into the garbage dump, He would actually be buried in a rich man’s tomb.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

But that wouldn’t be the end of Him. After suffering death to bring us life, He Himself would take up life again (John 10:17-18) and witness first hand the enormous fruits of His labors.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

In return for His selfless act of sacrifice, God would give Him the nations as His inheritance (Psalm 2:8) and make His name the name above all names (Phil. 2:9-11). In keeping with His generous nature, He would agree to share His inheritance with all who would accept His death as payment in full for their sins. (Galatians 4:4-7)

From 750 years before the fact, the Lord had Isaiah record this series of promises.  They were explicitly and conspicuously fulfilled in the Life of Jesus of Nazareth, supposed son of a Jewish carpenter, who has become the (still unaccepted) King of the Jews and will soon be acknowledged as the Lord of the whole Earth (Zechariah 14:9).

The unique testimony of Jesus is not just that He was a great teacher Who performed many miracles, but that every detail of His life was foretold by the prophets. Most of the promises of the four servant songs were fulfilled in the Lord’s first coming. As the world rushes toward its final chapter of history, it’s becoming clear that those few remaining will come true very soon.

The weather is in the news again and I’ve received a number of questions about it.  With another 500 year flood along the Mississippi and the worst tornado season since the 50s people are once again wondering if God is judging us for our sins.  So we can better understand what’s going on here’s some perspective on the issue.

Based on my study of the nature and power of God, I’m convinced the world was perfect when He finished  creating it.  After all He pronounced His work of creation good 7 times during the week in which He performed it and when He was finished He declared the whole project very good. I don’t believe there was a single thing wrong with the way it worked.  I think there was a world wide sub-tropical climate and every day was perfect. There were twelve thirty day months and a year was 360 days long. I think the leap years, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters we’re all too familiar with were unknown to Earth’s earliest residents.

But when sin was introduced into the world things began to work differently, the way a computer program works differently after a virus has been introduced into it. And life on Earth really changed when that sin had to be judged. The world has literally never been the same since.

Paul confirmed this when he wrote that we humans are not the only ones in bondage due to sin. He said the creation itself eagerly awaits to be liberated from its bondage and has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth ever since it was subjected to frustration. (Romans 8:18-22)

We need to understand that when sin entered the world it knocked the finely tuned creation out of balance, and when God judged the world in the Great Flood it caused both short and long term consequences. As subterranean water broke through the Earth’s surface, God collapsed the giant water canopy He had placed above the sky (Genesis 1:6-8) providing enough water to completely cover the earth’s surface (Genesis 7:11-12, 18-19).

How Old Are You?
One of the earliest consequences of the flood was the reduction in life spans.  A quick comparison of pre and post flood life spans in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11:10-32 is all that’s necessary to confirm this.  Some believe it happened because the water canopy had prevented harmful rays from outer space from entering earth’s atmosphere and damaging the regeneration process of human cells.  They claim the loss of this protection caused the aging process to accelerate rapidly.

So while Adam lived 930 years and  9 generations later Noah lived to age 950, his son Shem, who was 98 years old when the flood came, lived only a total of 600 years.  But even so he outlived 8 of the first 9 generations of his post flood descendants.   Although Abraham wasn’t born until 291 years after the flood came, he was already 59 years old when Noah finally died. Abraham died at the age of 175 years, 35 years before Shem.  And Moses died at 120.  ( Source:http://gracethrufaith.com/ikvot-hamashiach/from-adam-to-abraham/)

The collapse of the water canopy along with the increased size of the oceans also meant that weather would no longer be perfect and mankind would be subject to periodic storms. The first mention of wind blowing on earth is in Genesis 8:1 just after the flood, and storms are first noted in Exodus 9:24, but Job, who probably wrote about the time of Joseph, also spoke of storms several times.

The next change in the creation was when  the single land mass was divided into the continents of today.  In Genesis 1:9 we see that God caused the land to be separated from the water on the third day of creation.  Scientists speculate that there was originally only one large land mass. (In the early 1900’s the German scientist Alfred Wegener named this super continent Pangea, meaning all land, in connection with his theory on continental drift.)  But Genesis 10:25 says that after the flood, the land was divided, eventually resulting in seven continents. This division may have caused the earth’s outer crust to be fractured into giant pieces, called plates, on which the continents and oceans rest.  It’s the movement of these plates that causes earthquakes.

Baby It’s Cold Outside
Then came the Ice Age.  The huge increase in the surface area of Earth’s water caused by the flood  caused increased evaporation which led to the world becoming almost completely enclosed in dense cloud cover.  The cloud cover brought lower temperatures which caused the supersaturated clouds to condense into precipitation.  Outside the equatorial zones the precipitation fell as sleet and snow instead of just rain and as more of the earth’s surface became covered in snow the temperatures fell even lower.  When the clouds finally cleared the sun melted much of the snow and ice but the polar regions have never recovered from this and are still frozen even though undigested tropical vegetation has been found in frozen animal carcasses chipped out of the polar ice.  The increased precipitation combined with snow melt caused ocean levels to rise submerging numerous coastal settlements.  Remnants of these settlements can still be seen 100-300 feet below the surface at many points around the world. The land bridge that once connected the British Isles and Europe disappeared.  (Source: Ice Age Civilizations, James Neinhuis)

About 701 BC what was apparently a close flyby between Earth and Mars knocked both planets off their orbits.  Having taken 360 days for Earth to circumnavigate the Sun ever since the creation it  thereafter began requiring 365.25 days.  All the calendars of the world had to be changed. Somewhere along the way the Earth’s axis began to tilt, a process that continues to this day.  This has the effect of making summers hotter and winters colder in much of the world than they were before.  And lately we’ve learned that the Earth’s magnetic poles are adrift and are probably going to be reversing within the next year or so.

So, as soon as sin was introduced Earth’s days were numbered and things were destined to get progressively worse.  Natural disasters have been part of man’s existence ever since the Flood and at many times have been much worse than they are today.  In fact one could logically wonder how the earth has managed to survive this long.  The answer is in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Speaking of Jesus he said:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)

Because of all this, when people ask if the Lord is judging us for our sins, my response is not yet.  We’re still experiencing the consequences of the last judgment. Besides the Church has already been judged and the penalty paid for our sins.  It happened at the cross.  Unbelievers won’t be judged until the Church is gone and when they are it will make what’s happening now seem like small potatoes.

Therefore it’s my opinion that for the most part the extreme weather the world is currently experiencing  is part of the ongoing effect of the judgment the Lord visited upon Earth at the time of the Great Flood.

Times Of The Signs
But I think there are also two things happening that may be unique to our time and both are signs from the Lord.  One is for the Church and the other is for America’s leaders.

Both Jesus and Paul indicated that we would see signs in the creation that would alert us to the nearness of the End times.  These signs would appear before the end times scenario actually unfolds, in other words before the 70th Week begins, but would hint at its closeness.  He called them the beginning of birth pangs (Matt. 24:8)   Paul used the same phrase in Romans 8:22referring to the creation.  Birth pangs begin mildly and are far apart, but as the time for the birth approaches they become more frequent and more intense.   Jesus specifically mentioned earthquakes, so let’s see if the trend in earthquakes meets the pattern of birth pangs.  In the 1930s and 40s earthquakes measuring 5.0 or larger averaged around 17 per year.  In the 1990s the average was just under 30 but for the last 4 years we’ve averaging about 50. (Source: National Geophysical Data Center) I believe this is the Lord alerting the Church to get ready for the rapture.

The other one is a warning to America’s leaders to take their hands off His land.  By selectively relaxing His hold on the now flawed creation to coincide with American led demands that Israel trade some of His land for the false hope of peace, He’s trying to get their attention. While the disasters His relaxation permits are no where near the record setters of world history, some have been bigger than anything this generation of Americans is used to.  (You can easily Google up a list of the 20th Century’s worst disasters  to verify this.)  As you can see from the list below, these warnings have conspicuously followed on the heels of American decisions to pressure Israelinto forfeiting part of the Promised Land  for peace.

1. October 30, 1991: The Perfect Storm – As President George H. W. Bush is opening the Madrid (Spain) Conference to consider “land for peace” and Israel’s Middle East role, the “perfect storm” develops in the North Atlantic, creating the largest waves ever recorded in that region. The storm travels 1000 miles from “east to west” instead of the normal “west to east” pattern and crashes into the New England Coast. Thirty-five foot waves pound Kennebunkport,Maine,  the summer home of the Bush family.

2. August 23, 1992: Hurricane Andrew – When the Madrid Conference moves to Washington DC and the peace talks resume, Hurricane Andrew, the worst natural disaster ever to hit America, comes ashore and produces an estimated $30 billion in damage and leaving 180,000 homeless in Florida.

3. January 16, 1994: Northridge Earthquake—President Bill Clinton meets with Syria’s President Hafez el-Assad in Geneva. They talk about a peace agreement with Israel that includes giving up the Golan Heights. Within 24 hours, a powerful 6.9 earthquake rocks Southern California, This quake, centered in Northridge, becomes the second most destructive natural disaster to hit the United States, behind Hurricane Andrew.

4. January 21, 1998: Lewinsky Scandal – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Clinton at the White House and is coldly received. Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright refuse to have lunch with him. Shortly afterwards on that day, the Monica Lewinsky scandal breaks into the mass media and begins to occupy a major portion of Clinton’s time.

5. September 28, 1998: Hurricane George – As Secretary of State Albright works on the final details of an agreement in which Israel would give up 13 percent of the West Bank, Hurricane George slams into the United States Gulf Coast with 110 mph winds and gusts up to 175 mph. The hurricane hits the coast and is stalled there. On September 28, Clinton meets with Yasser Arafat and Netanyahu at the White House to finalize this land deal. Later, Arafat addresses the United Nations about declaring an independent Palestinian state by May 1999, as Hurricane George pounds the Gulf Coast, causing $1 billion in damage. At the exact time that Arafat departs the country, the storm begins to dissipate.

6. October 15-22, 1998: Texas Flooded – On October 15, 1998, Arafat and Netanyahu meet at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland. The talks are scheduled to last five days with the focus on Israel giving up the aforementioned 13 percent of the West Bank. The talks are extended and conclude on October 23. On October 17, awesome rains and tornadoes hit southern Texas. The San Antonio area is deluged with rain. The rain and flooding in Texas continue until October 22 and then subside. The floods ravage 25 percent of Texas and leave over one billion dollars in damage. On October 21, Clinton declares this section of Texas a major disaster area.

7. November 30, 1998: Market Capitalization Evaporates – Arafat comes to Washington again to meet with President Clinton to raise money for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capitol. A total of 42 other nations were represented in Washington. All the nations agreed to give Arafat $3 billion in aid. Clinton promised $400 million, and the European nations $1.7 billion. On the same day, the Dow Jones average drops 216 points, and on December 1, the European Market had its third worst day in history. Hundreds of billions of market capitalization were wiped out in the U.S. and Europe.

8. December 12, 1998: Clinton is Impeached – As Clinton lands in the Palestinian-controlled section of Israel to discuss the “land for peace” process, the House of Representatives votes four articles of impeachment against him.

9. May 3, 1999: The Powerful Super Tornado – On the day that Yasser Arafat is scheduled to declare a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital, the most powerful tornado storm system ever to hit the United States sweeps across Oklahoma and Kansas. The winds are clocked at 316 mph the fastest wind speed ever recorded. The declaration is postponed to December 1999 at the request of President Clinton, whose letter to Arafat encourages him in his “aspirations for his own land.” He also writes that the Palestinians have a right to “determine their own future on their own land” and that they deserve to “live free, today, tomorrow and forever.”

10. Week of October 11, 1999: Hurricane, Earthquake and Dow Collapse – As Jewish settlers in 15 West Bank settlements are evicted from covenant land, the Dow-Jones financial averages lose 5.7 percent in the worst week since October 1989. On October 15 the Dow lost 266 points, and a hurricane slams into North Carolina. On the next morning, October 16, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocks the southwest in the fifth most powerful earthquake in 20th Century. The earthquake was centered in the California desert and did little damage but was felt in three states. (source: www.truthorfiction.com)

11. August 29, 2005.  Hurricane Katrina. One week before Katrina made landfall, Israel carried out the evacuation of 9,500 residents from Gush Katif and four Samaria communities. Residents were forced from their homes by Israeli troops, some dragged away kicking and screaming and placed on buses that took them from the area. The Gaza evacuation had been supported and even urged upon Israel by the US.  Estimated to have caused damages in excess of $100 billion Katrina was one of the most expensive natural disasters in US history (Source: www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46178)

12.  Sept. 1, 2010  US Pres. Obama welcomed PM Netanyahu (Israel) Pres. Abbas (Palestinians) Pres. Mubarak (Egypt) and King Abdullah (Jordan) to the White House, having invited them all to dinner on the eve of the first direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two years.  As the talks began, Hurricane Earl (a category 3 storm)  was headed for North Carolina where  mandatory evacuation orders were issued in some coastal areas.  Hurricane warnings were established all the way up the East coast to Cape Cod. Although many experts felt the timing was wrong, and in fact no tangible results came from the talks, over $40 million in damages were attributed to hurricane Earl.

The Law of Cause and Effect is clearly established in the incidents I’ve described above. Even those who  deny the existence of God have seen the trend. More than one observer has commented that it takes a lot of effort to miss the point of these warnings.  And that is, of all the places on Earth, God has claimed that land for Himself. There’s no nation powerful enough to give even one inch of it to anyone else at any time for any reason without suffering the consequences.

So back to the original question.  Is God judging us for our sins?  Not yet.  But is He warning us that His judgment is coming soon?  You bet.