We are reading from Isaiah 50 today. If you find it difficult to digest, consider Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary. I have summarized a few key points here before you get started:
Verses:
- 1-3: At times, God’s people have a tendency to complain if they feel they have been dealt with harshly. We should caution ourselves against viewing God as unfair. He is just and righteous. Instead, focus on our own sin which led to God’s correction. That is the root of the issue. In fact, often when God calls, His people do not answer. Prophets and Jesus Himself are examples where people rejected God as He came to reach out and help His people. We should keep our eyes open to any situation in which we may be resisting God’s call in our own lives.
- 4-9: We see the obedience of God’s servant highlighted through obedience even at the expense of pain and humiliation. This appears to point to Jesus, but in many ways others similarly suffer difficulty and humiliation at the expense of those who come against the LORD and His servants. God will help us to do what He calls us to do, even when it is hard. Trust in Him.
- 10-11: Fear the LORD, obey His servant, and trust in His name.
As you read, think about these key points and how the core message applies in your life.
God Helps His Servant
1Thus says the LORD,
“Where is the certificate of divorce
By which I have sent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?
Behold, you were sold for your iniquities,
And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2“Why was there no man when I came?
When I called, why was there none to answer?
Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke,
I make the rivers a wilderness;
Their fish stink for lack of water
And die of thirst.
3“I clothe the heavens with blackness
And make sackcloth their covering.”
4The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
5The Lord GOD has opened My ear;
And I was not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.
6I gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
7For the Lord GOD helps Me,
Therefore, I am not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
8He who vindicates Me is near;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us stand up to each other;
Who has a case against Me?
Let him draw near to Me.
9Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me;
Who is he who condemns Me?
Behold, they will all wear out like a garment;
The moth will eat them.
10Who is among you that fears the LORD,
That obeys the voice of His servant,
That walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
11Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
Who encircle yourselves with firebrands,
Walk in the light of your fire
And among the brands you have set ablaze.
This you will have from My hand:
You will lie down in torment.
Spend time in prayer. Ask God to reveal to you how this applies in your life today. Reread the summary points at the beginning. Do not move on too quickly or you may miss what God has to say to you through this scripture.
Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ
Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.