‘He made my mouth like a sharpened sword…’ Isaiah 49:2

A servant’s job is to heed his master’s commands.  He must be faithful to the message he is given.  Not surprisingly, then, when the Servant here review His own life and ministry, He sees Himself above all as God’s mouthpiece:  ‘He made my mouth like a sharpened sword.’  This suggests that the Servant is fully aware of God’s plans.

The Servant’s sword is not a literal sword of war in His hand but the sword of truth in His mouth— the sword of God’s powerful prophetic Word.  He speaks words that are intended to cut to the heart and penetrate our sinful defenses.

When reading God’s Word have you been aware of it cutting through your layers of rationalization and denial?  Human consciousness, as we know, is an amazing instrument for self-deception.  That is why we need to expose ourselves regularly to God’s Word for His Word, and His Word alone, has the power to pierce our defenses and discern the intentions of our heart.  Your spiritual life will develop only to the extent that you are prepared to expose your heart to the Word that is alive.

Like a faithful servant, He spoke only what the Father told Him to say.

Ours is a visual age dominated by images.  There is among many a deep distrust of words.  We demand that God should bend to our ideas of evidence.  But God’s primary weapon was, and still is, the sword of His Spirit in the mouth of His servants.  When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet He told him, ‘I have put my words in your mouth’ (Jeremiah 1:9).