III, Character and Condition of Those to Whom the Prophet Appealed.  From the allusions in the prophecies themselves it is possible to determine the classes that the prophet had in mind.  In 49:2 his address is to the coast lands and the distant peoples who lived at the extremities of Israel’s horizon.  It is not probable, however, that he anticipated that his message in its present form would go out as it has to all races and nations; rather his attention was fixed on the scattered members of his own race, those who lived in the north and the west and in the distant city of Syene, far up the Nile (49:12).  In 49:3 he clearly identifies the nation Israel as Jehovah’s servant, whom he makes declare: 

Jehovah said to me, Thou art my servant,
Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.

It is evident, however, that the prophet has especially in mind the Judean community amidst which he lived and for which he worked.  In 54, as elsewhere, he calls upon this group of discouraged Jews to enlarge their tent, for their period of punishment is over and their foundation and walls are about to be rebuilt.  At last they shall cease to tremble at the fury of the oppressor.  In 51:18-20 he addresses Jerusalem directly and gives a vivid picture of its condition before the appearance of Nehemiah: 

Rouse thee!  Rouse thee! stand up, O Jerusalem,
Who hast drunk at Jehovah’s hand the cup of his wrath! 
The bowl of reeling thou hast drunken, hast drained! 
There is none to guide thee of all the sons whom thou hast borne,
And none to take thee by the hand of all the sons whom thou hast reared. 
These two things have befallen thee—­who can condole with thee? 
Desolation and destruction, famine and the sword—­who can comfort thee?

IV.  The Task and Training of Jehovah’s Servant.  The term servant means literally slave, not in the Western sense, but in that of the ancient East, where a slave was often a privileged member of society.  In many a Hebrew household the slaves, next to the children, enjoyed the protection and consideration of the master of the household.  He was under obligation to guard their welfare and interests.  On the other hand, slaves, like Eleazar in the story of Abraham (Gen. 26) faithfully cared for the interests of their master and spared no effort to carry out his commands.  Semitic usage had also given the term slave a significant meaning.  The faithful officials of all Oriental kings called themselves his servants or slaves.  It was the common term expressing, on the one hand, confidence and protection, and on the other, devotion, loyalty, and service.  Most of Israel’s patriarchs, kings, and prophets are spoken of as the servants or slaves of Jehovah.  Haggai, in his address to Zerubbabel, called him Jehovah’s servant.  In Deuteronomy 32:36 the people of Israel are called the servants of Jehovah, and, as has been noted, in the prophecies of the ii Isaiah they are frequently referred to as the servant of Jehovah.  The term, therefore, was well chosen to express that complete devotion And loyalty to Jehovah which the prophet aimed to evoke from his fellow-countrymen.  It was also free from the kingly associations and material interpretation that were connected with the word Messiah.