Isaiah 41:8

King James Version (KJV)

But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

But thou, Israel, art my servant - This is an address directly to the Jews, and is designed to show them, in view of the truths which had just been urged, that God was their protector and friend. Those who relied on idols were trusting to that which could not aid them. But those who trusted in him were safe. For their protection he had raised up Cyrus, for this purpose he had subdued the nations before him. God now expresses to them the assurance that though the nations should be destroyed, yet that he had chosen them, and would remember them, and his promise made to Abraham, their illustrious ancestor. The word ‹servant‘ here is used in a mild and gentle sense, not to denote bondage or slavery, but to denote that they had been engaged in his service, and that he regarded them as subject to his laws, and as under his protection.

Jacob whom I have chosen - The descendants of Jacob, whom I have selected to be my people. Abraham my friend. Hebrew, ‹Loving me,‘ my lover. Abraham was regarded as the friend of God (see 2 Chronicles 20:7). ‹And he was called the Friend of God‘ James 2:23. This most honorable appellation he deserved by a life of devoted piety, and by habitually submitting himself to the will of God. The idea in this verse is, that as they were the descendants of his friend, God deemed himself bound to protect and deliver them according to his gracious promises; and this is one of the many instances where the divine favor is manifested to descendants in consequence of the piety and prayers of their ancestors.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Can any heathen god raise up one in righteousness, make what use of him he pleases, and make him victorious over the nations? The Lord did so with Abraham, or rather, he would do so with Cyrus. Sinners encourage one another in the ways of sin; shall not the servants of the living God stir up one another in his service? God's people are the seed of Abraham his friend. This is certainly the highest title ever given to a mortal. It means that Abraham, by Divine grace, was made like to God, and that he was admitted to communion with Him. Happy are the servants of the Lord, whom he has called to be his friends, and to walk with him in faith and holy obedience. Let not such as have thus been favoured yield to fear; for the contest may be sharp, but the victory shall be sure.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

8. But thou, Israel. To the nations of earth Cyrus came as a conqueror, but to Israel as a deliverer. In calling Cyrus to His service God had not rejected Israel. God reaffirms the call made to their fathers (Ex. 19:5, 6). For the relationship of the names Israel and Jacob, see on Gen. 32:28. The two are used interchangeably, both of Jacob and of his descendants.

My servant. The term “servant,” Heb. ‘ebed, is characteristic of this entire section of Isaiah (chs. 40-66), and, together with the idea of deliverance through the Great Deliverer, constitutes its theme (see on Ruth 2:20). ‘Ebed combines the idea of worship with that of service. An ‘ebed not only served his master, but also, presumably, honored him as well. The term thus stood for much more than mere service for wages, implying that the service rendered was the outward manifestation of an inner attitude. Such service was not forced, but rendered willingly (see Ex. 21:5, 6). Hand service and heart service went together. The helping hand gave evidence of a loving heart. Similarly, a “servant” of the Lord is one who loves and serves Himâ€”one who renders loving service.

In Hebrew the word ’adon means both “lord” and “master,” and is the complement of ‘ebed, “servant.” When the word “Lord,” written without small capitals, appears in the OT, it stands for the Hebrew word ’Adonai, as in Ps. 8:1 (see Vol. I, p. 172).

As used in this section of Isaiah, ‘ebed sometimes refers to Israel as the “servant” of the Lord, as here and in chs. 41:9; 42:19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3, 5; 54:17; 63:17; 65:8, 9, 13, 15; 66:14.

Used of Israel, ‘ebed implied the covenant relationship, by virtue of which Israel had become the “servant” of Jehovah (see Ex. 19:3-9; 24:3-8). Under this covenant relationship Israel was to worship, or serve, the Lord, obeying all His commands, and, as His representative, lead all other nations to serve and obey Him (see pp. 26-30). In the setting of the covenant relationship, as Isaiah here uses ‘ebed of Israel, the term is full of meaning that generally escapes the English reader.

Less often, ‘Ebed designates Messiah as the “Servant” of the Lord for the salvation of mankind (chs. 42:1; 49:6; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11). Thus, in ch. 53, the Messiah is represented as the “suffering Servant” of Jehovah (see chs. 52:13; 53:2, 11). Prior to the coming of Jesus, Jewish expositors consistently recognized the application of ch. 53 to Messiah, but since have generally denied its Messianic import and set forth the explanation that here, as elsewhere, the “servant” designates either a contemporary person or Israel as a people.

In ch. 56:6 ‘ebed designates Jewish proselytes, that is, Gentiles converted to the Jewish faith. In ch. 65:15 ‘ebed may be understood as referring particularly to Christians, inasmuch as the “servants” of the Lord here mentioned are to be called by “another name” (see 1 Peter 2:9, 10). Once, in Isa. 44:26, ‘ebed seems to apply to the prophet Isaiah himself.

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Ellen G. White
Conflict and Courage, 49.2

In God's sight, a man is just what he is in his family. The life of Abraham, the friend of God, was signalized by a strict regard for the word of the Lord. He cultivated home religion. The fear of God pervaded his household. He was the priest of his home. He looked upon his family as a sacred trust. His household numbered more than a thousand souls, and he directed them all, parents and children, to the divine Sovereign. He suffered no parental oppression on the one hand or filial disobedience on the other. By the combined influence of love and justice, he ruled his household in the fear of God, and the Lord bore witness to his faithfulness.^{26Letter 144, 1902.} CC 49.2

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Isaiah 41:8