Songs of the Servant: Isaiah's good news

by Henri Blocher

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." As part of the last of four great poems known as the "Servant Songs," these familiar words were first uttered by a lonely prophet to Jewish exiles in mighty Babylon: to folk who were convinced that their tiny, storm-tossed nation had been forgotten by its God. To them Isaiah brings a message of hope, telling of a mysterious "Servant of the Lord" who suffers beyond human endurance for sins which he did not commit, yet who lives again to witness the deliverance of those for whom he died. What were these people to make of this strange figure? Who was Isaiah speaking about? And, centuries later, who gave the New Testament writers the idea that these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ? Henri Blocher is Knoedler Professor of Systematic Theology at Wheaton College, Illinois, and Professor of Systematic Theology at the Faculte Libre de Theologie Evangelique in Vaux-sur-Seine, France. His other books include In the Beginning, Songs of the Servant and Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle.

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Henri A. G. Blocher is a French Baptist evangelical theologian.

Reviews

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is why I love Blocher. Theological interpretation at its finest, before it was the cool thing to do. Blocher does exegesis and theology the way I aspire to doing it: deeply rooted in the text, even to the point of discussing textual variants as they pertain to the meaning of the passage; an evangelical (in the best sense of the word, read, “believing”) approach to Holy Scripture; bringing careful theological thinking into the interpretive process, and informing that theology richly from the text; systematic theology, reading Scripture in light of the Triune God; biblical theology, reading the Old Testament in the light of the promised Messiah, yet not in a ham-fisted manner, also allowing the OT speak with its own distinct voice. This short little book is stimulating and edifying, and highly commended.

[Ryan Linkous · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding example by an elder senior scholar (while he was young!) of theological exposition of the Bible. Even when I might disagree with Blocher exegetically at a few points, this makes the reader love Christ!

Might be hard for a popular audience, but the informed Bible student will be able to read for much edification. Good for preachers to read to see a master at work.

[Sylvain Coquerel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great help in working through the four suffering servant songs in Isaiah.
Blocher starts by clearly defining his approach to the songs. Then he takes a chapter to look at each song and takes the time to carefully exegete it and even give very practical applications from each.
It's a very short book, yet somehow Blocher is able to helpfully unpack important passages in Isaiah. Worth a read.

[Mark Loughridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a rich little book