Imagine the day of his coming?
Isaiah gives many descriptions of the Messiah.
- A lone warrior, defeating his enemies single-handed
- A conquering king at the head of a vast, heavenly army
- An established ruler who’s domain and reach increase forever
- One with many grand names and lofty titles
- etc…
But sometimes, Isaiah’s descriptions defy imagination.
The first four verses of chapter 42 are an astounding foreshadowing of the Jesus we know well, but to those who lived so many centuries before its fulfilment, his description must have perplexed them beyond any wheels-within-wheels or angels covered in eyes.
Little wonder they longed to see The Day!
ChatGPT can imagine a Messiah…
( No idea what the wings are about :-/ )
But the Messiah presented in these four short verses must have left Isaiah’s readers and hearers speechless.
How could one that gentle bring justice to our selfish, brutish, bloodthirsty, rebel planet?
And then one day – the day of his coming – it came to pass…
Outrageous Paraphrase Poetry #1
For best results…
take a long, deep breath…
and read slowly…
out loud…
The Day Of His Coming
Isaiah 42:1-4
Behold!…
My servant!
I chose him
I uphold him
My soul delights in him
I blew on him
I breathed on him
My justice flows from him
My justice flows out far from him
My justice spreads and flows from him
As far as Gentile lands
Can you imagine it?
The day of His coming?
I tell you, you cannot
You pine to hear the cries of war
You hope to hear bones break
You long to see the light of life
Snuffed out
No, you can’t imagine Him!
For it’s not by might
And it’s not by power
I told you: I have breathed on him
But listen, if you will
And picture, if you can
The day
Of his coming
Will appear
Like this:
He won’t cry out in your marketplaces
He won’t shout aloud in your open spaces
He won’t need to raise his voice
A bruiséd reed he will not break
A fading wick he’ll not snuff out
But my justice he’ll still mete out
Won’t bend or break
Won’t be snuffed out
At least
Until justice
Has a foothold
On the earth
Already
Distant shores
Long for his coming
Hope in his justice
Pine for his word