Isaiah 41-42: God Declares a New Thing

Repeatedly throughout Isaiah, the Lord tells Israel not to be afraid, when Israel had every reason to do so.  They had descended into godlessness, worshipping the gods of their neighbors in addition to the only true God.  Their kings had become corrupt and their enemies were surrounding them.  Most of them probably could not see the promised redemption that God spoke of through the prophet Isaiah.

"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."- Is. 41:1-9 NIV

Like many of us today, the Israelites were blind and captive and could not see the new thing that was springing into being.  But the announcement was made and we have seen the first fruit of this promise.  From our perspective in history we see more of the former things than the Israelites did in Isaiah's day. We have seen the chosen one, the light for those of us who were not descendants of Jacob.  Having seen Him, we should trust God that the rest of his promise will come about as well.