Translation and Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 18 Nov 2007
1. Thus says Jehovah,
“Where is this document of divorce from your mother by which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?
Look, by your iniquities you were sold,
and by your sins your mother was sent away.
2. Why was there not a man when I came? I called but there was not one answering.
Does my hand come up so very short from the redemption,
and is there not strength in me to deliver?
Look, by my rebuke I dry up the sea;
I replace rivers (with) desert;
their fish stink from there not being water, and they die in their thirst.
3. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I place sackcloth as their covering.”
4. The Lord Jehovah gave to me a tongue of learned ones
to know a word to sustain the exhausted one.
He causes to arouse in the morning,
in the morning He causes to arouse for me an ear to hear like the learned ones.
5. The Lord Jehovah has opened for me an ear,
and I myself was not rebellious; I did not turn away backwards.
6. My back I gave to strikers,
and my cheeks to razors.
My face I did not hide from the humiliation and the spitting.
7. But the Lord Jehovah will help for me,
therefore I will not be humiliated,
therefore I have set my face like the flint and I will know that I will not be shamed.
8. My justifier is near.
Who will contend with me? Let us take to the stand together!
9. Look, the Lord Jehovah will help for me.
Who is he that will make me out to be evil?
Look, all of them will wear out like a garment; a moth will eat them!
10. Who among you fears Jehovah, listening to the voice of His Servant?
Whoever walked dark places and there was no brightness for him,
let him trust in the name of Jehovah and lean into his God.
11. Look, all you kindlers of fire who are clasping firebrands,
walk in the light of your fire and with the firebrands you burned.
This happened to you from my hand: you will lie down for anguish.
Last week in Isaiah 49, we saw God drive home the fact that He does not forget His people, He loves them more than even a mother can love her own children. Chapter 49 helps us deal with one of the lies of the devil that we are so prone to believe; the lie that God doesn’t love us and doesn’t care about us.
There is another lie, however, that is related. It goes like this: “I’m doing the best I can, and I’m a decent person. If it doesn’t feel like God is close to me, it must be His fault, not mine.” Some people take this even further and reach the insane conclusion that if following God is this hard, then why bother with believing Him at all, let’s just enjoy life while we have it!
Chapter 50 explains to God’s people the reason why they have been feeling like God has abandoned them.
1. Was it because God had distanced Himself from them?
o Had He drawn up divorce papers and abandoned Zion?
o The phrase here in v. 1 is copied from Deuteronomy 24, where God gave laws through Moses to regulate divorce. Divorce had to be formally written up between the parties to destroy a solemn covenant that had been made - none of this applying for a divorce over the internet without having to leave your house foolishness. Jesus later taught that divorce is not God’s best, it was only given as a provision because of the hardness of people’s hearts.
o Whatever the case, God had NOT drawn up such a document. He had not left Israel. Israel left God by breaking the laws established in their covenant relationship!
2. Was it because God had some kind of need and could trade off His people to meet His need?
o Nicholas of Myra died on December 5 about 1,700 years ago. We remember him at Christmastime as Santa Claus. Once he found out that a poor woman was going to have to sell her daughters into slavery in order to pay her debts. Nicholas decided to help. He went by the woman’s house one night and threw some money into their window. Legend has it that the money landed in the girls’ stockings which had been hung up in front of the fireplace to dry for the night, and thus our tradition of Christmas stockings was born.
o
Is God like that poor woman who would have to sell her daughters
into slavery in order to pay the bills?
This is another absurd question. God doesn’t have creditors! He doesn’t owe
anybody anything; He owns everything!
o The reason God sent Israel into exile was because of Israel’s sin. It was not God who was unfaithful, it was the people!
Isaiah 59:7-16 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made crooked paths for themselves; whoever goes therein does not know peace. 9 Therefore is justice far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity… 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them: 13 transgressing and denying Jehovah, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 And justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands afar off… Jehovah saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. 16 And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His own arm brought salvation unto Him, and His righteousness upheld Him.
God came to His people in theophanies, through His prophets, and in the person of Jesus Himself. Time after time, God’s overtures were rebuffed.
If you feel abandoned by God, don’t accuse Him of leaving you, rather repent of the sins you’ve done and “lean into” Him! Recognize the fact that you are NOT o.k.; you need a powerful Redeemer!
If our sin separates us from God and we need help to be reconciled to Him, then Is God powerful enough to provide that help for us? This question is posed in two ways in verse 2:
Now that’s real, ultimate power! In the following verses, God is also called the “Lord Jehovah/GOD,” emphasizing the fact that the one true God is a “Lord,” a master, a king with power at His disposal.
Yes, God has what it takes to redeem us! So how does God redeem us?
His redemption comes in a rather unexpected way. The Redeemer comes in the form of a servant.
1. In verse 4, the Redeemer is a “learner/disciple,” listening “morning by morning” to God’s instruction.
a. Unlike Cyrus who was “aroused” by God (as Isaiah wrote in chapters 13, 41, and 45) and who did not know God, Jesus was aroused by His Father and He knew God intimately.
b. Unlike Israel which Isaiah described in chapters 35 and 48 as having closed ears, Jesus had open ears to listen to His Father and obey perfectly.
c. Instead of arriving on the scene and demanding everyone’s rapt attention and bellowing commands in a loud voice, Jesus was a learner and a discipler.
d. He was the perfect servant of God.
2. Instead of swooping down from heaven and hobnobbing with the rich and powerful people of His day, Jesus focused His servant ministry upon the poor and needy.
a. He touched lepers and prostitutes and fishermen. He brought healing to the sick by simply speaking.
b. His
ministry was one of “word,” as Isaiah says here in v. 4, and He spoke appropriately
(KJV/Targum/Septuagint/Luther) and sustained (Vulgate/all modern English
versions) the weary, the exhausted, the meek, the poor in heart.
Isaiah 40:28-29 Have you not known? Have
you not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the
earth, does not faint, neither is He weary; there is no searching of His
understanding. 29 He gives power to the faint; and to him that has no
might He increases strength.
Matthew 11:28-29 Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.
c. In the New Testament, Not only was Jesus the perfect servant of God, Jesus was also the perfect servant to God’s people.
3. Verse 5 tells us that this perfect servant never shrank back from doing God’s will.
a. Israel had failed in the mission of serving God. They had “rebelled,” as Isaiah outlined early on in chapters 1-3.
b. Previous prophets like Moses and Jonah had balked at the missions God had given them. Not Jesus.
c. Obedience
characterized His whole mission.
John 5:19 “Truly,
Truly, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees
the Father doing: for what ever things He does, these the Son also does in
like manner.
d. As
Isaiah prophecies in v.7, Jesus set His face like flint to do the will
of God without compromise and go to Jerusalem, knowing full well it
meant He would be crucified there.
Luke 9:51 And it came to pass,
when the days were well-nigh come that He should be received up, He steadfastly
set His face to go to Jerusalem,
Matthew 20:17-19 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the
twelve disciples apart, and on the way He said unto them, 18 “Look we are
going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered unto the chief
priests and scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and will deliver Him
unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify…”
e. In the Garden of Gethsamane, before He was captured and crucified, He prayed, “Not my will but Yours be done.”
f. As undesirable as God’s will was, Jesus accepted it and obeyed perfectly.
4. The redemption of God’s people came through Jesus’ perfect and righteous obedience. That obedience took him to the humiliation of the Roman garrison and death by hanging on a cross.
a. v.6
describes the mocking of the Roman soldiers which Jesus endured, and
which Daniel read about earlier in this service from Mark 15. The gospels of Matthew
and John also describe what happened:
John 18:12-13 So the band and the
chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound him, 13
and led him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was high
priest that year…19 The high priest therefore asked Jesus about His
disciples, and about His teaching… One of the officers standing by struck
Jesus with his hand, saying, “How dare you answer the high priest so!” 23
Jesus answered Him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if
well, why did you strike me?” 24 Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas
the high priest.
Matthew 26:65 Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, “He has
spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of witnesses? Look, now you have
heard the blasphemy: 66 what do you think?” They answered and said, “He is
worthy of death.” 67 Then they spit in His face and buffeted Him: and
some slapped Him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, “Prophesy unto us,
Christ: who is it that struck you?”
John 18:28 They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium… 19:1
Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.
Matthew 27:27-31 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the
Praetorium, and gathered unto Him the whole band. 28 And they stripped Him
and put on Him a scarlet robe. 29 And they platted a crown of thorns and put
it upon His head, and a stick in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him
and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spat
upon Him, and took the stick and hit Him on the head. 31 And when they
had mocked Him, they took the robe off of Him and put His clothes back on Him,
and led Him away to crucify Him.
b. In other places in Isaiah, it says that God was hiding His face (8:17, 45:15, 54:8, 57:17, 59:2, 64:7) but here in v.6 Isaiah speaks of a time when God did not hide His face (DSS & LXX read “turn away” – only one letter different). Who would have thought when God revealed His face that it would look like this Jesus who “had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him.” (Isa. 53:2)
c. Jesus willingly gave His back; He willingly gave His cheeks and His face, He gave His life on the cross to receive God’s wrath in punishment for our sin in order to redeem us from the punishment and bondage of sin. “Halleluiah, what a saviour!”
5. In verses 7-9, we see the confidence that the Redemeer-Servant and His redeemed people have in the effectiveness of that redemption.
a. “The Lord Jehovah will help me” v.7a &9a
b.
“I will not be shamed”
(v.7b)
Isaiah 49:23b “…you will know that I am Jehovah; and they that wait for
me will not be put to shame.”
c. Verses 8-9 describe a courtroom setting (cf. 41:1) with a very confident defendant.
i. On one side of the courtroom is what verse 8 literally terms the “Master of my judgement,” which finds parallels in the Cuneiform bel dini and the Latin dominus litis as a term for the prosecutor. In verse 9, he is literally “the one who would make me out to be evil.” Can he bring a conviction?
ii. On the other side of the courtroom is the defense attorney, Jesus, the Lord Jehovah Himself who helps us and is so certain to be able to justify us of all our wrongdoing that the writer here can, without any fear, challenge anyone to take to the witness stand and try to make the charges stick!
d. Jesus’ suffering paid the price for our sin, “and there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Rom. 8:1)
e. The sin that we have committed against God and which
separates us from God can be removed by Jesus, the servant of God, even
as Paul wrote:
Romans
8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is
against us? 32 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us
all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies;
34 who is He that condemns? It is Christ Jesus that died, yes
even who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also
makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword?... 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
So there you have it, the Gospel in the Old Testament:
ILLUSTRATION of the Valley of the
Shadow of Death in Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan:
I saw then in my dream, so far as this
valley reached, there was on the right hand a very deep ditch; that ditch is it
into which the blind have led the blind in all ages, and have both there
miserably perished. Again, behold on the left hand, there was a very dangerous
quag[mire], into which, if even a good man falls, he can find no bottom for his
foot to stand on. Into that quag King David once did fall, and had no doubt
therein been smothered, had not He that is able plucked him out.
The pathway was here also exceeding narrow, and therefore good Christian
was the more put to it; for when he sought in the dark to shun the ditch on the
one hand, he was ready to tip over into the mire on the other; also when he
sought to escape the mire, without great carefulness he would be ready to fall
into the ditch. Thus he went on, and I heard him here sigh bitterly; for,
besides the dangers mentioned above, the pathway was here so dark, that
ofttimes when he lift up his foot to set forward, he knew not where, or upon
what he should set it next.
About the midst of this valley, I perceived the mouth of hell to be, and
it stood also hard by the wayside. Now thought Christian, “What shall I do?”
And ever and anon the flame and smoke would come out in such abundance, with
sparks and hideous noises… that he… cried in my hearing, “O Lord, I beseech
thee, deliver my soul!”
Thus he went on a great while, yet still the flames would be reaching
towards him: also he heard doleful voices, and rushings to and fro, so that
sometimes he thought he should be torn in pieces, or trodden down like mire in
the streets. This frightful sight was seen, and these dreadful noises were
heard by him for several miles together…
And by and by the day broke…Now morning being come, he looked back, not
out of desire to return, but to see, by the light of the day, what hazards he
had gone through in the dark. So he saw more perfectly the ditch that was on
the one hand, and the quag that was on the other; also how narrow the way was
which led betwixt them both: also now he saw the hobgoblins, and satyrs, and
dragons of the pit, but all afar off; for after break of day they came not
nigh; yet they were discovered to him, according to that which is written, “He uncovers
deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.”
Now was Christian much affected with his deliverance from all the dangers
of his solitary way; which dangers, though he feared them more before, yet he
saw them more clearly now, because the light of the day made them conspicuous
to him. And about this time the sun was rising, and this was another mercy to
Christian; for you must note, that though the first part of the Valley of the
Shadow of Death was dangerous, yet the second part which he was yet to go, was,
if possible, far more dangerous: for from the place where he now stood, even to
the end of the valley, the way was all along set so full of snares, traps,
gins, and nets here, and so full of pits, pitfalls, deep holes, and shelvings
down there, that had it now been dark, as it was when he came the first part of
the way, had he had a thousand souls, they had in reason been cast away; but as
I said, just now the sun was rising. Then said he, “His candle shines on my
head, and by His light I go!”
In this light therefore, he came to the end of the valley. Now I saw in my
dream, that at the end of this valley lay blood, bones, ashes, and mangled
bodies of men, even of pilgrims that had gone this way formerly: And while I
was musing what should be the reason, I espied a little before me a cave, where
two giants, Pope and Pagan, dwelt in old time, by whose power and tyranny the
men whose bones, blood, ashes, etc., lay there, were cruelly put to death…
I saw that Christian went on his way, yet at the sight of the old man that sat
in the mouth of the cave, he could not tell what to think, specially because he
spoke to him, though he could not go after him, saying, "You will never
mend, till more of you be burned:” but he held his peace, and set a good face
on't; and so went by and caught no hurt. Then sang Christian:
O world of wonders! (I can say no less)
That I should be preserved in that distress
That I have met with here ! O blessed be
That hand that from it hath deliver'd me !
Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin
Did compass me, while I this vale was in:
Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets did lie
My path about, that worthless silly I
Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down:
But since I live, let JESUS wear the crown.
i. Frank Barker points out in his exposition of Isaiah 50. “Jesus the Servant grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. Just like you had to learn, He had to learn as a true man... He had to be instructed. He was also God, but He was true man. “Though he was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)”
ii. Do you have a heart that is open to learning more from God or do you think you pretty much know the ropes and don’t need to learn anymore? Follow Jesus’ example and wake up morning by morning to read the Bible and learn from Him! Perk up your ears when a mature believer talks so you can learn from them!
i. 1 Peter 2:21-23 specifically says that Jesus provides for us an example in the context of suffering, “…Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps: 22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: 23 who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered threatened not…”
ii.
Dr. Barker continued in his exposition that when the soldiers came to
capture Jesus in the Garden and Peter started fighting back, Jesus said, “…the
cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11).
And when the men blindfolded Jesus and started hitting Him, and said, “Who
struck you?” “Jesus could have said, ‘My Father. This is part of what My Father
is putting me through . This is the cup He has given me, Shall I not drink it?’
…Jesus is our example in trusting the Father through the valley of the shadow
of death. Even on the cross He committed His spirit to God His Father... He is
our example in how to respond to the tough things which we go through. We must
not rebel against our Father’s humbling of us. We must not retaliate against
the instruments He uses in the process. We need to give ourselves to such
training.”
i. What was going through Jesus’ mind when He suffered? Isaiah lets us in on Jesus’ train of thought, “The Lord Jehovah will help me so that I am not disgraced… I know that I will not be put to shame.”
ii. I Peter also says that when Jesus suffered, “He committed Himself to Him that judges righteously” He trusted His Father in heaven.
iii.
Jesus endured hardship, trusting that God would help Him and not
put Him to shame. While Jesus endured shame for a short time, God helped Him, raising
His body from the dead and placing Him above everything in honor. Now millions
and millions of people adore Jesus and follow Him! No shame for Him now!
Will you trust that God will help you also through the challenges
He has placed in your life to refine you in Christlikeness?
i. ILLUSTRATION: hold up an item of clothing that is worn out
ii. Who is it talking about? The plural word “them” kinda comes out of nowhere here. The only plural antecedents I see it could refer to would be the “strikers” and “razers” in v.6, or perhaps the plural “you who kindle your own fire” in v.11. Delitzsch suggests that “them” is the accuser in court, the prosecutor of God’s righteous, which, although singular, is the immediate context.
iii. Whatever the case, the antagonists to God and His people have a big problem. They are finite. Their strength will fade and they will die. Meanwhile those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength and take wing like the eagle! A choice to rely on human reason, human strength, and material wealth instead of relying on God’s unlimited resources is a choice from the beginning to lose!
i. In case you haven’t gotten the warning the first 4 times, God says explicitly, “If you walk by your own light instead of by My light, you will lie down for torment/anguish/sorrow.”
ii. The verb “lie down” has been used three times previously in Isaiah, and each time, it referred to someone dying (14:18, 43:17). E.J. Young wrote in his excellent commentary that this is speaking of people going to hell. Subsequent uses of the verb “lie down” in Isaiah appear to be speaking of resting instead of dying, so it could mean that you will be in so much anguish that it will put you in bed. But I don’t want anguish in the world to come OR in this life!
iii. If you believe that lie of the devil that you’re basically good and that you can take care of yourself without God’s help, then you are headed for a place of torment.
Let us therefore respond the right way by trusting in Christ to be our redeemer and following the example of Christ who
· learned obedience,
· endured hardship,
· and trusted in God even when things were dark.
He will help us and we will not be ashamed.
Nate Wilson’s website – Isaiah Sermon Expositions
Christ the Redeemer Church website - Sermons