Isaiah 50:4

The Bible says in Isaiah 50:4-5, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.” These verses tell us clearly the source of true wisdom and knowledge: God. Some people look in the wrong places to find the wisdom that they need. It says in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” One of the problems with the world today is a lack of wisdom. People too often are making the wrong decisions because of a lack of wisdom. We see this lack of wisdom in all sectors of society including government, business, and education. A person might earn a PhD, but it does not mean they have wisdom.

The life of Jesus Christ was certainly a fulfillment of what is stated in Isaiah 50:4, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned.” When Jesus was twelve years old, He visited the temple in Jerusalem, and it says in Luke 2:47, “And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.” Notice that Isaiah chapter 50 makes it clear that when we have wisdom from God, it will be manifested in what we say. Words are important. For a believer in Christ, words are a very important part of his or her testimony to a lost and dying world. It says in Proverbs 25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Where can we get the wisdom to say the words that we ought to say? It tells us in the book of Isaiah that when we have wisdom from the Lord, He gives us the words to say. It says in Isaiah 50:4, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.”

Notice that these good words from God are said “to him that is weary.” There are some in the world who will not hear your words, and who will not receive them. But there are others who need to hear your words, and who will be glad to hear them. One of the challenges of witnessing in this world is to find those who want to hear your words of testimony about Christ. If someone does not want to hear, then do no force the issue. Jesus said in Matthew 7:6, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” And Jesus also said in Mark 6:11, “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”

Isaiah 50:5 tells us the reason that some people do not have wisdom and instruction from God and from Jesus. It says, “The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.” God offers His light to each individual, but the Lord gives the choice to each person to either accept or to reject that Light. Concerning the fact that every person has an opportunity to believe and know the truth from Christ, the Bible says about Jesus in John 1:9-12, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

The next few verses tell us clearly that we are in a passage of scripture that is a prophecy about the Messiah. The Bible says in Isaiah 50:6-9, “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. For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.” Isaiah 50:6 was written over 500 years before Jesus came to the earth, and it tells what happened when Jesus was tortured before His death for the sins of the world. Concerning some of the things that were done to Christ before His crucifixion, the Bible says in Matthew 26:67, “Then they did spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands.”

There is one phrase in this passage of scripture in Isaiah chapter fifty that tells us a very important attitude that must be present for anyone to serve God and Christ in this world. It says in Isaiah 50:7, “I set my face like a flint.” This speaks of having a great determination. No one will serve God with only a small determination to serve Him, because the difficulties are too great and the opposition is too strong. Without a great determination, you will almost assuredly stop serving Him for one reason or another. It says in Hebrews 12:4, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” It also says in James 5:15, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” A small desire will have small results, and a great desire will have great results. Make an effort in your soul to turn towards Christ, and you will turn towards Him. It does take an effort sometimes to get your mind’s eye off of the affairs of daily life and to turn them to Christ. He is risen. He is alive. The question is this: have you determined again and again to look to Christ and trust in Him? Have you set your “face like a flint?”

Once you are determined to trust in Jesus Christ in this world, you will certainly have opposition as a result. Notice the specific type of opposition mentioned in Isaiah chapter fifty. It speaks of those who “contend” with you in Isaiah 50:8, and of those who “condemn” you in Isaiah 50:9. The word that is translated “contend” means “to strive,” and it can refer to physically opposing you or verbally opposing you. The word that is translated “condemn” means that they treat you as though you are guilty of something, when you are not. Of course, it can be a great suffering to have to endure being contended with or being condemned unjustly by the people of the world.

But Isaiah chapter fifty makes it clear that the Lord has an answer to this type of opposition. We are reminded of three things that will encourage us and strengthen us as we live by faith in Christ even in the midst of much human opposition: 1. God justifies us. 2. God will help us. 3. All human opposition is finite and temporary. Everyone who has truly trusted in Christ by faith has been justified by God. The Bible says in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And it says in Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Being justified by faith is very important. Justification speaks of a court proceeding whereby the accused is judged and pronounced innocent. No fault is found. No condemnation is given. Jesus Christ is the greatest of all judges. When He justifies someone, all other judgments are cancelled and nullified. His judgment supersedes all others. The point being made in Isaiah chapter 50 is this: when you are judged and condemned and accused by the people of the world, remember that their judgment does not matter. God’s judgment does matter, and it says in Isaiah 50:8, “He is near that justifieth me.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 50:7, “the Lord God will help me.” Of course, compared to God every human being is weak and puny and totally ineffective. If I know that “the Lord God will help me,” then I know that all human opposition is as nothing. Whatever people do against me will simply backfire on them, and will only result in my own good fortune. Jesus is so powerful that He even uses the deeds of the wicked to bring to pass that which is good for His children. For example, if an unspiritual person became your enemy at work, and lied about you, and opposed you, and succeeded in getting you fired, Jesus would only allow that to happen if He no longer wanted you to work in that place. Your human enemy would unknowingly be used of God to direct your life according to God’s will. The Bible says in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Concerning the people who condemn you and oppose you, the Bible says in Isaiah 50:9, “Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.” The weakness of these enemies is emphasized by the fact that they are extremely limited compared to God. They are limited by their own short life. They will die, and some of them will die much sooner than anyone imagines. Since we all have a soul and we are going to live someplace forever, what is really important has to do with the long-term and not the short-term. From a spiritual point of view, the short-term has to do with the things of this life. The long-term has to do with eternity. Jesus constantly referred to this truth. That is why He said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Who gains the earth in eternity is important, not who gains it for a few short years in this life. Jesus told us about a rich man and a poor man in Luke 16:19-26, “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” The point that Jesus is making is that what is really important is your eternal destiny. If you do not know that your destiny is in heaven, then today you need to bow before Jesus Christ and pray to Him to become your Savior.

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