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Isaiah 50 Commentary

The Unanswered Call

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KEY THOUGHT: Why, when I called, was there none to answer? [Isaiah 50:2b NKJV]

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Isaiah 50 NKJV

The Servant, Israel’s Hope

50 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.
²Why, when I came, was there no man?
Why, when I called, was there none to answer?
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.
³I clothe the heavens with blackness,
And I make sackcloth their covering.”

⁴“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.
⁵The Lord God has opened My ear;
And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away.
⁶I 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.

⁷“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.
⁸He is near who justifies Me;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us stand together.
Who is ^[a]My adversary?
Let him come near Me.
⁹Surely 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.

¹⁰“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.
¹¹Look, 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.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 50:8 Lit. master of My judgment

New King James Version (NKJV)

Isaiah 50 Commentary

Verses 1 to 3: The LORD God is speaking. The ‘I’ in these verses refers to the LORD God. This is simple: the LORD introduces Himself in verse 1 as the speaker. He is the one whose call Israel has ignored. If only Israel had listened!

Verse 4 and downwards: The ‘I’ may refer to the servant. He is the one who has received instructions from the LORD and is obedient. The LORD God helps him.

Clearly, this servant isn’t Israel. Could it be the prophet? Probably yes. But there is more. Clearly, this Servant is different from Israel.

Israel is scattered because of her many sins. The servant has learned from the word of the LORD. Israel didn’t listen when the LORD called, but the Servant is enabled to listen and obey. The LORD has given Him understanding; He hasn’t rebelled.

Interestingly, Israel suffered exile because of her wickedness. And here, the obedient servant also suffers. He offered his back to those who beat him; his cheeks to those who pulled out his beard; he didn’t hide his face from mocking and spitting. And all of this is in the past!

But now the tenses change in verse 7. The servant claims he will not be disgraced because the LORD helps him.

Verse 10 downwards: The speaker changes, and it seems the prophet is now speaking. He asks: “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of His servant?” It looks like we have a tag team here. But who is this servant whose word must be obeyed just like the word of the LORD? Probably the word is ‘Servant’ and not ‘servant’.

Isaiah’s message is written in plain language but coded. Check for changes in tense and speakers. At times, we have the past, the present, and the future all combined without any loss in meaning.

The past can be the prophet’s past as well as today’s past. His future can be our future, but importantly, it can actually be our past. In between Isaiah’s present and today’s present, is Calvary.

But with God, time is a “construct”, a mechanism that sorts and orders what has already been done. A waiting list for mortals!

Regardless, and importantly, the LORD Jesus Christ is still calling: “When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer?”

The second partition of Isaiah is one huge call to humanity. It’s all about the Servant. “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” It’s about how the LORD goes about the restoration of His people by His Servant. But humanity must answer when the Servant calls.

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25 thoughts on “Home”

It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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Quite thought provoking. Thank you for the passage of scripture.