The Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, was to be wise above all men,
able to speak the word of comfort to every heart;
He was to have the ear of the learned to receive instruction in all things from His Father.
In spite of this, He was to be smitten and insulted by men, yet unshaken in constancy and resolution,
suffering all patiently and voluntarily for the salvation of the world.
Let all who fear God, build their hopes upon Christ who has proven Himself the Savior of mankind.
Isaiah 1
1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? 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? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
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: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
5 ¶ The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
6 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.
7 ¶ 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.
8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
9 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.
10 ¶ Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
Isaiah 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Isaiah 50 – Help for Those Who Trust in Him
It is impossible for God to put away the soul that clings to Him in penitence and faith. Heaven and earth may be searched, but no bill of divorce can be found. See Deuteronomy 24:1. And He sends His great servant, our Lord, of whom this chapter is full, to deliver and assure our trembling faith.
Notice Isaiah 50:4. This quality of teachableness was primarily true of Jesus. It was the habit of His human life to listen to the secret teaching of the Father, breathed into His heart. See John 8:28, 40. So also must we allow ourselves to be wakened by Him, each morning, that we also may know how to help men more efficiently and tenderly.
From the first, Jesus knew that He must die. See Mark 10:34. But He did not turn back. See Hebrews 10:5, etc. Was not His choice abundantly vindicated? The Father who justified Him was always near, John 8:29. See John 16:22. Let us who may be walking in darkness learn from our King to stay ourselves on God. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Isaiah 50:4—The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned.
This is a beautiful image. Morning by morning the Lord God draws near his chosen servant and awakens him, calling him by name, giving him some sweet message, and preparing him for the day’s errands, duties, and sufferings.
The tongue of the learner.—We must be disciples before we can be apostles, and be taught before we teach. We shall never do our best work for God until we accustom ourselves to receive and take his messages; and there is no such time as the early morning for the lowly posture of sitting at the Master’s feet to hear his word.
To him that is weary.—Notice that God’s messengers are sent to the weary. There are so many of these in the world that special provision must be made for their sustaining and comfort. God needs a great company of Barnabas’s sons of consolation, who having been comforted shall know how to comfort others. No kind of ministry needs such careful preparation as that exercised towards the weary and heavy-laden. To learn how to do this involves some months of lonely suffering.
Wakened to hear.—In softest whispers God draws nigh, uncovering the ear, putting back the locks that might intercept his gentlest accent. Only let us see to it that we are not rebellious, or turn away back. Let not the lowliness of the work, the weary mind, the worry about tiny questions, put us off from this sacred enterprise. And let us not be dissuaded by those who would smite, and pluck out the hair. Neither pride nor fear may deter from this sacred work. —Our Daily Homily