Isaiah 50
How God Grows Our Faith
Does God Care? vs. 1-3
Grow by Experience vs. 4-9
Walk in the Light vs. 10-11
Intro:
Todd Adams
Isaiah 50 continues the servant series
in this section we get such a rich description of Jesus Christ
There are four servant songs
They are called that because “The Servant” is singing them to God the Father
Last week we saw the second of four servant songs
In that song we saw his calling from the womb and that he would be a light to the nations
This week we see the third song
These songs sing the praises of who Christ will become and gives us amazing detail on his life
it contrasts all of the trivial data that we get bombarded with on a daily basis
Think about all then useless information that floats in your head
On Friday while taking my kids to school my son was relaying to information to me about snakes
He said; “Dad, did you know the King Cobra can grow to 50 feet long and that they are good swimmers?”
“No I didn’t thats good to know
“Did you know that the Mozambique Spitting Snake can spit venom up to 20 feet and if it gets in your eyes you can go blind?”
“I will definitely remember that next time I am in Mozambique”
For the next hour I was trying to get snakes out of my head
We can often treat the Bible as a lot of trivial information and miss some really special
Isaiah 50 is one of those chapters where it would be easy to read over and miss the significance
Read Isaiah 50:1-6
Transition:
There are two ways our faith is grown
First it is thru difficult trials
Second our faith is grown thru our day in day out devotions
In this song we see God reveal to us the source of Christ’s strength
Sure it comes from God, His Father, but Isaiah 50 shows us how he tapped into that
We see how Jesus walked by faith
We see his morning devotion time
How he got away with God and tuned his tongue and his ears to be in sync
We also see how he purposely took the abuse from others
This was all made possible through his daily time with the Lord
Vs. 4 tells us that Morning by Morning he awakens
Even though Christ was fully God he was also fully man and he needed to go to His father everyday to receive what he needed to get through the day
There are some great lessons for us to learn here
1. Does God Care? Vs. 1-3
The chapter starts our with God answering a very important question
Does God care about me?
I think all of us have asked that question multiple times
The Jews are asking that very same thing
They are in captivity and complaining that God has abandoned them
They are looking around and the options don’t look too good
So they are looking to God and asking where he went
Did he leave them or cast them off?
God answers in some very strong language
Vs. 1 Where is the certificate of divorce?
So God asks them “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce?”
When God uses the term mother he is referring to Israel
To divorce someone you had to issue a certificate of divorce
So God is asking where is the certificate that I issued you?
Basically he is telling them “I wasn’t the one who left you, you left me.”
He hits on the major theme of Israel forsaking God to worship other idols
Many times the reason God doesn't seem near is because we have rushed off to serve other idols
Then he switches the metaphor to debt: “Who did I sell you to for your debt?”
So God is bringing it around to the reason they are in captivity in the first place
It was because if Israel’s sin
For your transgressions your were sent away
There comes a time when you need to face up to your sin and deal with it
Many people aren’t living the life they want for Christ because of sin
God wants us to get right and get going
Vs. 2b Is my hand shortened?
Here is an interesting line
“Is my hand shortened?”
The Jews loved to use the picture of God stretching his hand out to help them
There is even a famous picture hanging in the sistine chapel with this image
In the creation of Adam by Michelangelo we see God reaching from Heaven to tough Adam’s hand
"You stretched forth Your hand from above and drew my soul from the dark abyss.” Augustine of Hippo
So God is using this to remind the Jews he hasn’t pulled back his hand from them
We would know if God withdrew his hand from us
He is with them continually, even in their current situation
What a comfort to know that no matter what situation we are in God doesn’t pull back
He can redeem us and has the power to deliver
2. Grows It by Experience Vs. 4-9
This next section starts the servant song
As I mentioned earlier God shows us what sustained Christ during his time on earth
Christ was very purposeful in how he spent his time on earth
He shows us that if we invest our time in these things the same benefits will be given to us
How we spend our time is so important
Youtube turned 10 years old on Thursday
Someone posted the question what could’ve been accomplished without it
So a person did a study just on the number of hours spent watching “Gangham Style”
What humanity could achieve if it weren’t galloping in front of computer screens
THE loony music video “Gangnam Style” surpassed two billion views on YouTube this week, making it the most watched clip of all time.
At 4:12 minutes, that equates to more than 140 million hours, or more than 16,000 years.
In that time you could’ve built 20 Empire State Buildings, 4 Pyramids in Egypt, and 3 Aircraft carriers
We see a pattern from Christ’s life
Remember the theme of being a servant
How do we grow our faith? By being a submissive servant
Vs. 4 The Submissive Servant
In verse 4 we see Jesus’ devotional life
It starts by saying that The Lord God has given me
Note that four times in this passage the Servant uses the name “Lord God.”
“Jehovah Adonai” can be translated “Sovereign Lord,” and you will find this title nowhere else in the “Servant Songs.”
The name “Jehovah Adonai” means that “God is the owner of each member of the human family, and that He consequently claims the unrestricted obedience of all”
So when Jesus says The Lord God he is talking about his unrestricted obedience to his Father
His mind was submitted to the Lord God so that He could learn His Word and His will (50:4).
Everything Jesus said and did was taught to Him by His Father
John 5:19 the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
He prayed to the Father for guidance and meditated on the Word.
Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
What God taught the Servant, He shared with those who needed encouragement and help.
The Servant sets a good example here for all who know the importance of a daily “quiet time” with the Lord.
Because Christ spent that time with Christ two things happened in him
First he was able to control his tongue
His father gave him the tongue of those who are taught
This means that in those quiet times God taught him self control
He also equipped his son with the ability to speak words that sustained those who are weary
How important that we spend that time in God’s word and in prayer
That we seek from God everything we will need for that day
That he will guide our tongue to speak words on encouragement and to prevent us from speaking words of gossip and criticism
On the flip side of that as we spend that time with the Lord he turns our ears to hear
We become educated listeners as we listen to the Lord
He heightens our discernment and grows our compassion
These were all evident in Christ as he both spoke words that encouraged and he listened to those who were hurting showing compassion to them
Vs. 5-6 The Sacrificing Servant
Jesus was also a sacrificing servant
Earlier in 49:4 the Servant “labored to no purpose … spent my strength in vain for nothing” and in 49:7 he was “despised and abhorred by the nations,”
Now in verse six we see that he sacrifices his physical body for us
The Servant’s will was also yielded to the Lord God.
An “opened ear” is one that hears and obeys the voice of the master.
The people to whom Isaiah ministered were neither “willing” nor “obedient” (Isa. 1:19), but the Servant did gladly the will of the Lord God.
This was not easy, for it meant yielding His body to wicked men who mocked Him, whipped Him, spat on Him, and then nailed Him to a cross
“I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out my beard; I hid not my face from the disgrace and spitting.”
Mark 14:65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.
Vs. 7 The Confident Servant
In spite of severe suffering the Servant expresses his confidence in God.
In contrast to the shaming and abuse of others, it is the “Sovereign God” who “will help me”, indicating the close trust relationship between God and the Servant.
Since God has given him this role and gives him instruction daily, he is confident that God will assist him in the midst of his present trials.
The nature of this help is not to be found in avoiding the persecution but in God’s future vindication of the Servant
The Servant will continue to carry out his work without a sense of shame or guilt;
The humiliation intended to break his spirit will not destroy his confidence in God.
Persecution will not lead to fear that intimidates or weakens the will to act;
Instead, abuse will result in an unbreakable commitment (as strong as flint) to continue trusting God.
This is a picture of absolute stubborn resistance to giving up his responsibilities
He absolutely knows for sure that the end results will not be “shame” but vindication.
God will uphold him and not deceive him; God will not bring on him the humiliation of trusting in a false hope.
This stubborn commitment to God’s way must be the perspective of all who truly trust and serve God, for in the end God never fails, even though persecution and tribulations may require a person to suffer severely for a while when they are innocent of any wrong.
Vs. 8-9 The Vindicated Servant
4. Walk in the Light Vs. 10-11
Vs. 10 Trust in the name of the Lord
Vs. 11 begins with a strongly worded warning to those in his audience who “light their own fires,”
A metaphorical picture of those who create their own hope.
They have rejected the light from God and have chosen to substitute their own hope (their light) for God’s salvation.
