Verse 19
It is the servant of the Lord, and of all people-Israel (cf. Isaiah 41:8-16)-that was blind and deaf. How ironic it was that God’s messenger to the world, the one that He had brought into covenant relationship with Himself, was blind and deaf, blinder and deafer than any other. Israel, above all others, needed to be able to see and hear what her Lord told her so she could tell it to the world (cf. ch. 22). The nations were blind (cf. Isaiah 42:6-7), but Israel was both blind and deaf (cf. Isaiah 6:9-10; Isaiah 30:9-11; Amos 2:4).
"As Isaiah was the messenger of God to Israel, so Israel was called to be the messenger of God to the world. But the still unanswered question was: What kind of coal from the altar would it take to bring the nation to its senses and cleanse its lips for service?" [Note: Oswalt, The Book . . . 40-66, p. 131. Cf. 6:6-7.]
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