OPENS WITH THE MESSIAH'S STEADFAST OBEDIENCE

Verses 1-2a tells us God does care, and will lovingly confront those in Zion who doubted His care for them.

"Thus says the LORD: "Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, and for your transgressions your mother has been put away. Why, when I came, was there no man? Why, when I called, was there none to answer?"


Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce?


WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Essentially, God speaks to a doubting Zion, "You say I don't care about you anymore. You say I have divorced you. Very well then, produce the document. But there is none, because I have NOT divorced you. You will see that for your iniquities you have sold yourselves. It is your own fault, and no one else's."


REDPATH says it well..."The people of Israel in exile are likening themselves to a divorced wife, forgotten and forsaken of God. The Lord interrupts this kind of thinking, and breaks into it with a challenge to His people, saying: 'Where is the bill of divorcement? Produce it. Produce the bill and show me where I divorced you.' But Israel cannot do it. Of course she cannot find it, because He has never given it to her. God cannot divorce those whom He has taken into covenant relationship with Himself."


Why, when I came, was there no man?


Seeing that Zion's troubles come from THEIR OWN disobedience, where is the man who will stand up for Israel? Who will contend their case before God?


BULTEMA says it well, "Or, there may be another sense: "Here the Lord compares Himself to a man and father of a household who is treated shamefully by his own wife and children. When he came home, there was no one to welcome him and when he called, no one answered him. Hence, He who had the right to all their respect was treated as one without any rights."


Verses 2b-3 tells us God DOES care, and reminds Zion of His power.

"Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish stink because there is no water, and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering."


The LORD now answers His own question. Is My hand shortened at all that it can not redeem?


The answer to this rhetorical question is a definite, "No." Despite the doubts of Zion, the LORD's power and authority is beyond question.


I clothe heavens with blackness...


WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Heaven is in mourning, because of the sin and unbelief of God's people. "Oh, the sorrow in the heart of God - the pang, the pain, the agony, the suffering - when His children sin! … Sin in the lives of God's people clothes heaven with blackness and sackcloth.


Spurgeon relates this to the crucifixion: "The last miracle recorded here, namely, that of covering the heavens with sackcloth, was performed by our Lord even when he was in his death agony. We read that, at high noon, the sun was veiled, and there was darkness over all the land for three black hours. Wonder of wonders, he who hung bleeding there had wrought that mighty marvel! The sun had looked upon him hanging on the cross, and, as if in horror, had covered its face, and traveled on in tenfold night. The tears of Jesus quenched the light of the sun. Had he been wrathful, he might have put out its light for ever; but his love not only restored that light, but it has given to us a light a thousand times more precious, even the light of everlasting life and joy."


Verses 4-5 tells us of the care of God is dramatically shown in the Messiah's submission unto the LORD.

"The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away."


The Lord GOD has given ME the tongue of the learned...

ONCE AGAIN JESUS CHRIST now prophetically speaks again, explaining that the LORD God has given HIM the ability to speak wisely. But for what purpose? To speak a word in season to him who is weary. What a glorious use of the tongue of the learned!


He awakens Me morning by morning...

JESUS CHRIST prophetically speaks of His daily, wonderful, deep fellowship with God the Father. It is in these times that Jesus heard from His Father, that He could say He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Messiah could speak with the tongue of the learned because in daily time with God He learned to hear as the learned.


The Lord GOD has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious...

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

JESUS speaks prophetically, & looks back to a custom described in Exodus 21:5-6, where a servant became a willing bond slave to his master. The sign of this willing servant was the ear opened by the piercing of an awl, done against the entry doorway of the master. This speaks of the total submission of the Messiah to the Lord GOD.


AND DID YOU KNOW...

If, after the six years of servitude, a servant wished to make a life-long commitment to his master - in light of the master's goodness and his blessings for the servant - he could, through this ceremony, make a life-long commitment to his master. This was a commitment not motivated by debt or obligation, only love for the master.


In the ceremony, the servant's ear would be pierced - opened - with an awl, in the presence of witnesses - then, he shall serve him for ever told to us in Exodus 21:5-6.


Psalm 40:6 also speaks of this ceremony taking place between the Father and the Son, where the Psalmist speaks prophetically for the Messiah: Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears You have opened.


Philippians 2:7 tells us Jesus was a perfect bond-slave to the Father.


Verses 6-9 tells us the care of the LORD is shown in the courageous greatness of the Messiah's submission unto the LORD.

"I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed. He is near who justifies Me; who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. Surely the Lord GOD will help Me; who is he who will condemn Me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; the moth will eat them up."


I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting...


TAKE A MINUTE....THINK BACK OVER THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS OF ISAIAH.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HIS AWE, JOY, HONOR, OVERWHELMING REVERENCE...ISAIAH HEARS AND SPEAKS TO AND IS SPOKEN TO BY NOT ONLY ALMIGHTY GOD THE FATHER, BUT JESUS CHRIST, THE MESSIAH TO COME, & THE HOLY SPIRIT.


CAN YOU IMAGINE, ONCE AGAIN, AS I HAVE, HOW IT MUST HAVE FELT FOR ISAIAH TO SEE AND HEAR THE FUTURE...TO KNOW....FROM THE TRIUNE GOD'S VOICES THAT THE MESSIAH IS COMING...TO TOUCH, SAVE, MINISTER, LOVE AND CARE FOR NOT ONLY THE NATION OF ISRAEL BUT SHOCKINGLY AND AMAZING HIS HAND WILL BE OUT-STRETCHED TO THE GENTILE NATIONS OF THE WORLD AS WELL.


CAN YOU IMAGINE...ISAIAH'S TEARS OF JOY...TURNING TO TEARS OF HORROR, HEART CRIES OF ANGUISH, AND A SHAME TOO DEEP FOR TEARS, TO HAVE JESUS LOOK HIM IN THE FACE AND TELL ISAIAH WHAT THE NATION OF ISRAEL WILL DO TO HIM....WHAT THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS WILL DO TO HIM...AND HE SHOWS ISAIAH THE NAIL SCARRED WRISTS...AND ISAIAH INSTANTLY KNOWS THAT THEY WILL CRUCIFIX JESUS...AND IF THAT IS NOT HORROR BEYOND BELIEF....JESUS NOW TELLS HIM WHAT ELSE THEY WILL DO...NO ONE WILL STAND AND DEFEND HIM...THEY WHOM HE HAS TOUCHED, HEALED, LOVED, FED, DEFENDED, TAUGHT AND CARED FOR....THE TREASURE OF HEAVEN...ALMIGHTY GOD'S PRECIOUS SON WILL BE BEATEN ALMOST TO DEATH, HE WILL BE SPAT ON, SLAPPED IN THE FACE, AND EVEN SUFFER HAVING HIS BEARD PLUCKED FROM HIS FACE...AS WELL.


CAN YOU IMAGINE THE HEARTBREAK ISAIAH FELT TO KNOW AND TO SEE THE TRUTH IN JESUS HANDS, TO SEE THE TRUTH, THE SORROW, YET THE RESOLVE & PATIENT, LONG-SUFFERING DETERMINATION IN THOSE PRECIOUS EYES...


AND IT CONTINUES...ONCE AGAIN...RIGHT HERE JESUS IS SPEAKING TO ISAIAH AND TELLS HIM IN CHILLING DETAIL OF WHAT MORE WILL BE DONE TO HIM.


I WATCHED THE PASSION OF CHRIST, AND I COULD NOT BEAR THE BEATING, THE TORTURE, AND THE CRUCIFIXION AND THAT WAS ONLY 45 MINUTES GLIMPSE...BUT JESUS ENDURED THAT AND SO MUCH MORE THAT COULD NOT BE DISPLAYED WITHOUT IT RECEIVING AN R OR X RATING FOR THE TRUTHFUL HORRIFICS JESUS SUFFERED FOR 24 HOURS.


AND JESUS TOLD ISAIAH THIS, AND THE BOOK OF ISAIAH WAS WRITTEN OVER 700 YEARS BEFORE JESUS WOULD BE BORN IN A HUMBLE MANGER IN BETHLEHEM...


AND THE NEW TESTAMENT CONFIRMS ALL THAT HE TOLD ISAIAH WOULD HAPPEN TOO!


We know that Jesus was beaten on the back (Mark 15:15).

We know Jesus was beaten on the face (Luke 22:63-65).

We know that Jesus was mocked and spat upon (Mark 15:19-20).


SPURGEON says of this scripture..."There is no specific mention in the gospels of those who plucked out the beard of Jesus as part of His pre-crucifixion suffering, but from this passage in Isaiah we know it happened. What terrible agony Jesus endured! It is even more than what the gospel writers explain to us! "We have before us the language of prophecy, but it is as accurate as though it had been written at the moment of the event. Isaiah might have been one of the Evangelists, so exactly does he describe what our Savior endured."


BULTEMA tells us something else of the times..."He suffered the deepest humiliation, for to pluck out the hair (of the beard) and to cover someone's face with spit was, according to Near-Eastern concepts, the most humiliating suffering that could be inflicted upon a man."


AGAIN SPURGEON says it well..."Many of us could give to Christ all our health and strength, and all the money we have, very heartily and cheerfully; but when it comes to a point of reputation we feel the pinch. To be slandered, to have some filthy thing said of you; this is too much for flesh and blood. You seem to say, 'I cannot be made a fool of, I cannot bear to be regarded as a mere impostor;' but a true servant of Christ must make himself of no reputation when he takes upon himself the work of his Lord. Our blessed Master was willing to be scoffed at by the lewdest and the lowest of men."


NOTICE JESUS WORDING CAREFULLY...I GAVE MY BACK.. means that Jesus did it voluntarily.


HOW CAN WE OR ANYONE think that God does not care for us? HOW CAN WE THINK THAT OUR PRECIOUS JESUS CHRIST DOES NOT LOVE US?


AND HOW WOULD JESUS BE ABLE TO BEAR WHAT WAS TO COME...


For the Lord GOD will help Me...


In the midst of all this suffering, humiliation, and pain, the Messiah has an unshakable confidence in the help of the Lord GOD.


Therefore, I have set My face like a flint...


Despite knowing the agony awaiting Him, JESUS CHRIST will have a steadfast determination to obey the Lord GOD and follow His way. His face will be set as hard as a flint, and nothing will turn Him aside.


YOU AND I MATTERED MORE TO JESUS THAN HIS OWN SHAME, SUFFERING, PAIN, AND INJUSTICE.


I ASK AGAIN...HOW CAN ANY OF US ALLOW SATAN AND THIS LOST WORLD TO MAKE US DOUBT OUR JESUS LOVE?


AND WE KNOW, LUKE 9:51 tells us this is EXACTLY FULFILLED in the life of Jesus, who was determined to go to Jerusalem, even knowing what waited for Him there. "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."


YOU KNOW THE BIBLE TEACHES US THAT THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF COURAGE...

The courage of moment, which requires no previous thought.

The "planned" courage, which sees the difficulty ahead and steadfastly marches towards it.


Jesus had this kind of courage; He could see the cross in the horizon, but still set His face like a flint. And remember too, each time, Jesus as a young boy, was learning the carpentry trade from Joseph, every time Jesus picked up a nail and hammer, he was REMINDED OF WHAT AWAITED HIM IN HIS FUTURE. Every time he entered the main road to JERUSALEM...Jesus passed the cross bars rising up on GOLGOTHA...and He WAS reminded of His Future!


Spurgeon has a wonderful sermon on this text titled, The Redeemer's Face Set like a Flint. These are his headings and points:

How the steadfast resolve of Jesus was tested.

- By offers from the world.
- By the persuasions of His friends.
- By the unworthiness of His clients.
- By the bitterness of the first few drops of suffering in Gethsemane.
- By the ease at which He could have backed out if He had wished to.
- By the taunts of those who mocked Him.
- By the full stress and agony of the cross.


How the steadfast resolve of Jesus was sustained.

- By His divine schooling.
- By His conscious innocence.
- By His unshakable confidence in the help of God.
- By the joy that was set before Him.

How to imitate the steadfast resolve of Jesus.

- When there is something right, stand for it.
- When you have a right purpose that glorifies God, carry it out.


And I know that I will not be ashamed...

The courage of the Messiah isn't a bland resignation to fate. It is a confident assurance in the Lord GOD. He can set His face like a flint because He can say, "I know that I will not be ashamed."


He is near who justifies Me; who will contend with Me?


This is JESUS CHRIST, OUR MESSIAH'S way of quoting Romans 8:31: If God is for us, who can be against us? If it isn't clear enough, He says it again: Surely the Lord GOD will help Me; who is he who will condemn Me?


In fact, the reason why Romans 8:31 applies to us is that it first applies to Jesus, and we are in Christ. If Jesus stands in this place of victory, then all those who are in Christ stand there also.


Verses 10-11 tells us The Servant of the LORD challenges all to submit to the LORD as He does.


"Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God. Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled; this you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment."


Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant?


Now right here, THE LORD GOD speaks to His people, and challenges them to fear the LORD and obey His Servant - the Messiah Himself.


Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God...


The Messiah guides His people into the path of light. Simply, trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon your God. It isn't necessarily easy, but it certainly is simple!


Look, all you who kindle a fire...


We might think that this fire is a positive thing, but in light of the entire verse, IT IS NOT positive.


It is more like the profane fire of Nadab and Abihu described in Numbers 10:1. If we walk in the light of that fire and in the sparks you have kindled, then we shall have torment from the hand of the LORD.


This follows along the line of the Messiah's exhortation to trust in the name of the LORD, and not in our own efforts before God, which are like a profane fire.


WOLF says it well, "Those who 'light fires' refers to men who had their own schemes and their own gods. Because they had rejected the light of God's Word, they would face terrible punishment."


THERE ARE THOSE WHO SAY THE SALVATION MESSAGE WAS ONLY PRESENTED AND GIVEN BY THE DISCIPLES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT...


THERE ARE THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THE NEW TESTAMENT TO BE INSPIRED, COMMANDED, AND PRESENTED BY JESUS CHRIST, AND HIS FATHER ALMIGHTY GOD PERSONALLY AND THROUGH THE DISCIPLES.


THERE ARE THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THE MESSIAH HAS COME YET...THAT HE HAS SPOKEN YET.


THEY SAY THEY TRUST AND BELIEVE ONLY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AS COMING FROM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB.


WHEN YOU FACE THOSE WHO SAY THESE THINGS...TAKE THEM TO ISAIAH....48-51...LET THEM READ...LET THEM SEE...GIVE THEM THE TRUTH...


BUT OUR PRECIOUS MESSIAH SPOKE TO ISAIAH, AND ORDERED ISAIAH TO WRITE HIS WORDS DOWN, TO TELL HIS PEOPLE, THE NATION OF ISRAEL OF HIM...AND WHO HE IS...WHAT HE WOULD DO...AND HOW THEY WOULD REJECT AND CONDEMN HIM, AND TORTURE HIM, AND CRUCIFY HIM RIGHT HERE IN ISAIAH 700 YEARS BEFORE HIS COMING.


AND EVEN HAVING THE MESSIAH'S WORDS, PROMISES, AND TRUTHS, AND PROPHESIES RIGHT HERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT...THEY STILL DISMISSED...THEY STILL REJECTED HIM...THEY STILL CONDEMNED HIM TO DIE THE DEATH OF A CRIMINAL..


BUT THEN SO DID THOSE JEWS AND GENTILES ALIKE, WHO TOUCHED HIM, ATE WITH HIM, LISTENED TO HIM, FOLLOWED HIM, SOUGHT HEALING FROM HIM...WHEN OUR JESUS CHRIST WALKED THIS EARTH.