ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 TUSITE NOVEMA 7, 2023

Mishpat

Misapati

ISAIAH 42:1

BEHOLD MY SERVANT, WHOM I UPHOLD, MY CHOSEN, IN WHOM MY SOUL DELIGHTS; I HAVE PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM; HE WILL BRING FORTH JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS.

‘AISEA 42:1

VAKAI ko ‘eku sevāniti ē,  ‘a ia ‘oku ou pukepuke; ‘a ‘eku pele, ‘a ia ‘oku hōifua ai ‘eku mo‘ui: te u ‘ai hoku laumālie kiate ia; te ne fakahoko ki he Senitaile ‘a e fai fakamaau.

We have encountered a few words, such as chesed, that encompass so much that they defy translation. It's like trying to compress a whole Hebrew essay into an English soundbite. Meet one more: mishpat. Usually translated "justice" or "judgment," it also means customs, divine laws, authority, and more. In Isaiah 42, the Servant, the Messiah, brings "forth mishpat to the nations." He doesn't trot all over the globe arguing legal cases. Nor is he the Messianic Supreme Court. Rather, he brings mishpat by speaking the Word of his Father into a fractured world that he might establish shalom. He is not a pushy loudmouth, for "he will not cry aloud or lift up his voice" (v. 2). He deals gently with the downtrodden and weak, for "a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench" (v. 3).

Nor will the Servant "grow faint or be discouraged till he has established mishpat in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law" (v. 4). When Matthew quotes these verses to describe Jesus' ministry, we find Christ healing, teaching, and casting out demons (12:18-21). The Messiah's mishpat is the restoration and salvation of sinners.

"I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music" (Ps. 101:1).