KJV Isaiah 50:4,9 “… that I might know how to speak a word in season … behold the Lord God will help Me…”
NASB Isaiah 50:4,9 “…That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word… Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me…”
Isaiah 50, the third of the four so-called “Servant Songs” of Isaiah, is rich in its presentation of the Perfect Servant of Jehovah. To begin, just consider the descriptions of His ear, His back, His face, and His cheeks. His perfect and utter consecration to the will of God is highlighted in these mentions, showing the cost of His obedience.
With such a wealth of material to stir devotional thoughts of the Lord, I will confine my remarks to just a few of the moral beauties seen in the Lord.
Communion and Capability
As a Servant to His Master, He sought communion with Him. Morning by morning, His ear was opened to hear what would be poured into it. Communion was a priority, and it was consistent. Not only the first thing in the morning, but each morning. “Rising a great while before day, He departed ..” (Mark 1:35). The beams of the rising sun fell upon a figure kneeling in communion with His Master.
The mysteries of the dependent Servant are far beyond my grasp. He was still the omniscient and omnipotent God, yet He chose to be a dependent Servant. He towers above the many and able servants of God who had gone before in His flawless and faultless service.
As a result of His ear being opened to hear as an instructed one, He was able to speak a word in season to those who were weary. Please take note of all that this statement implies. He had the right message for the right man, delivered in the right manner at the right moment. Add to that, it was always with the purest and best of motives, and we gaze upon and listen to words that were as gold in a barren world.
He knew that Martha needed truth (John 11:20-27), but Mary needed tears (John 11:35). He knew the words that Nicodemus needed to hear and those to which the woman at the well would respond. Never a wasted word or a word that needed to be recalled or refined.
Consecration and Confidence
What His ear heard, He obeyed. He was not “rebellious neither turned away back.” He gave His body to all the cruel deeds of men, suffering physically, emotionally, and personally from their malice. But amidst the shame and humiliation, the physical suffering inflicted and the immense cost to Him to go to the cross, He did not turn back but moved forward with absolute confidence in the control of all by His Master. Because he knew He would not be confounded, He set His “face as a flint.” Neither the suggestions of family and friends (John 7), nor the contempt of men could hinder His consecrated obedience.
He moved by faith to Calvary. Hebrews 12 tells us that He is the Author (Perfecter) and Finisher of Faith. He eclipsed all the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 in His total dependence on His Master. Faith is not a blind belief but a calm confidence in the promises of God. The Old Testament prophesied of His resurrection; and as He breathed out His last, “Father into Thy hands …” He did so with total confidence in His resurrection. Calvary was the greatest display of faith the world has ever seen.
Consider
Look at Isaiah 50 and note His courage, the cost He paid, and His contentment, and the consciousness of His Master’s presence.