Isaiah 50:4-9

b.

OBEDIENT CHRIST

TEXT: Isaiah 50:4-9

4

The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught.

5

The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward.

6

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

7

For the Lord Jehovah will help me; therefore have I not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

8

He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand up together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

9

Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? behold, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

QUERIES

a.

What is the tongue of them that are taught?

b.

What is significant about plucking hair from the cheek?

c.

How did he set his face like a flint?

PARAPHRASE

The Servant of Israel who comes to redeem Zion speaks. The Lord Jehovah gives Me words of divine wisdom so that I may sustain the weary and despairing. I am in constant communion with the will of Jehovah just like an obedient disciple to His Master. The Lord Jehovah speaks His commandments to Me and I keep themI do not rebel and turn away from them. I willingly conform to Jehovah's plan and will offer my back to those who will smite me. I will suffer the humiliation of having the hairs of my beard plucked out by my tormentors. I will not be resentful or rebel when my enemies try to shame me by spitting in my face. I will trust completely in the Lord Jehovah for He will come to My aid. My intention to do His will cannot be thwarted by such actions and I will not be distracted from His will by them. I have set my will as hard as diamond to do His will and I know that ultimately I will be glorified in doing so. He is always present and He will vindicate My trust in Him. He will show to the world once and for all that I am sinless and righteous. If there is someone in all creation who can prove any unrighteousness against Me, let him stand up and present his case! There is no one! The enemies of the Servant may falsely accuse Him, but they will all be put to shame as easily as a moth devours old, worn-out clothes.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 50:4-7 DISCIPLINED: The Hebrew word limmudiym (them that are taught; could be translated disciples for it is the same word as is used in Isaiah 8:16. It is the root word from which the later Hebrew word Talmud (instruction) was derived. Jehovah will equip the Servant with divine wisdom and instruction. The obedient character of the Servant is being emphasized. He will hear the commandment of Jehovah and do it (cf. Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5; John 8:29; John 14:31; John 15:10; Romans 5:19; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 5:8; Hebrews 10:9), as compared with Israel who had the commandment of God taught to them by the prophets and did not hear and obey. The Servant, experiencing obedience, will become the pathfinder (Gr. archegon, in Hebrews 2:10) of our salvation. He will be able to succor those who must also experience obedience (Hebrews 2:18). Why did the Servant (Jesus) need to learn obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8-9)? Was He disobedient? Was He less than perfect? Were there things He did not know and could only know by chastening and instruction? Perhaps we shall never know fully the profound, divine mystery of the kenosis (humiliation) of the Son of God. Perhaps, in His willing choice to suffer the humiliation of incarnation (becoming flesh), He must, in some way experience discipline in order to fulfill the whole experience of incarnation. He was subject to His earthly parents as well as to His Heavenly Father. He did grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man (cf. Luke 2:40; Luke 2:51-52). Perhaps He did not need to experience obedience for His own sake but for ours. If we are to really believe He knows and cares about our chasteningsif we are to have realistic (not superficial) commitment and discipleship to Himthen the Servant must experience suffering and obedience. He must obey the Father's commandments at the cost of selfnot for Himself but for us. So the Servant, God-incarnate, is given the tongue of them that are taught, that He may know how to sustain with words him that is weary.

The phrase he wakeneth morning by morning emphasizes the continuous, unreserved obedience of the Servant. He always obeys. He never takes a day off from obeying the Father. It was His mission to obey the Father! (John 12:27; Hebrews 10:5 f). It was His mission to teach mankind what obedience to the Father involved and produced. There was not the slightest rebellion in the Servant. He was tempted; He was testedsupremelybut He did not yield. Moses, Jeremiah, Jonah, and a host of other servants objected and some even tried to resist the Lord's call (cf. Exodus 4:10 ff; Jeremiah 20:7 ff; Jeremiah 17:16; Jonah 1:3). The Servant did not turn back from serving Jehovah for one moment (cf. Matthew 4:1-11; John 4:34; John 9:4; Hebrews 10:5-10, etc.).

The Servant's experience of obedience involved giving His back to the smiters. He was to be delivered up for such humiliation and suffering according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (cf. Acts 2:23). Yet it was not without His willing surrender to God's plan for He had the power to lay down His life and the power to take it up. No one took His life from Him (cf. John 10:17-18). Whatever He did or whatever was done to Him, He allowed it to be (cf. John 19:10-11) in obedience to the plan of His Father. He allowed His tormentors to pluck off the hair which refers no doubt to His beard. Many passages in the Bible seem to show that the Jews let their beards grow. Psalms 132 directly states that Aaron, Moses-' brother, had a beard; and balm flowed down it to the very skirts of his robe. The Oriental regarded the beard as a sign of freedom and respect, and to pluck out the hair of the beard is to show utter contempt. The most heinous and degrading insult is to spit in the face of another. It is nothing short of impossible to willingly subject oneself to such humiliation without resentment, rebellion and perhaps revenge. But the Servant did it! (cf. Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:26; John 19:1 ff). And He did it for us!

Isaiah 50:7-9 DEFENDED: The power of the Servant to render such unreserved obedience is in His unreserved trust in Jehovah to vindicate Him. Whatever the Servant has to suffer, Jehovah will ultimately make right. Furthermore, Jehovah will give the Servant divine assistance. The Servant's secret is godly faith and dependence (cf. Hebrews 5:7) that Jehovah will, in His own good time, turn the Servant's humiliation into everlasting exaltation. So the Servant sets His face like a flint to do Jehovah's will (cf. Luke 9:51-53). The Hebrew word hallamiys is translated flint but Young says it is comparable to the Akkaddian word elmesu which means diamond. The point to be illustrated is that the Servant will not be deterred by anything from doing the will of Jehovah because the servant has complete confidence in Jehovah's justification. The reason the Servant has such confidence is His constant companionship and communion with Jehovah (cf. John 14:10-11; John 15:9-10; John 16:25-28; John 17:1-26, etc.). Jesus knew, mentally, emotionally and experientially the constant presence of Jehovah and He lived, not by bread alone, but by God's abiding presence (Matthew 4:4; John 4:34)that is how near God was to Jesus. When God justifies, who is there to condemn (cf. Romans 8:31-39)?! The enemies of the Servant abused Him, slandered Him, perjured themselves bearing false witness against Him, tormented Him, accused Him and crucified Him as a criminal, but God raised Him from the dead showing the Servant was right and not His accusers! The cause of the Servant's enemies was as full of holes as a garment eaten by moths. They went the way of all flesh, but the Servant lives forever! The same exaltation given the Servant is offered to all who faithfully serve the Servant. If we belong to the Servant, God is for us. If God is for us, who can be against us! We are justified because our faith is in the justified Servant.

QUIZ

1.

What characteristic of the Servant is being stressed in this text?

2.

Why did the Servant need to experience obedience?

3.

What is the meaning of morning by morning?

4.

Why say the Servant gave his back to the smiters?

5.

How did the Servant have the ability to render such unreserved obedience?

6.

How did Jehovah justify the Servant?