Isaiah 50

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Coming Messiah as the Perfect Obedient Servant

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Israel, the disobedient servant of the Lord, deserved a certificate of divorce.

  2. Christ, the obedient Servant of the Lord, was faithful unto death.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Let the Lord be your Light!

QUESTIONS

  1. How does the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel overlap with the ministry of Isaiah?

  2. In Isaiah 50, what was Israel’s claim against the Lord? What was God’s response?

  3. How was the Messiah contrasted to the nation of Israel in this third Servant Song?

  4. Where can we find the scourging and humiliation of verse 6 literally fulfilled in the New Testament?

  5. Explain Isaiah 50:11.

ANSWERS

  1. Samaria and the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC, during the years that Isaiah was active in ministry in Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah.

  2. In this chapter Isaiah is prophetically looking forward to the time when Israel will be in their Babylonian captivity, trying to claim that God had forsaken and forgotten them. The Lord’s response is that He had not forsaken them. They were suffering the consequences of their disobedience to the Lord.

  3. The nation of Israel is called a disobedient servant. In contrast there would arise a true and obedient Servant of the Lord, the Messiah Himself.

  4. We see these prophecies fulfilled in Mark 15:15-20 as the Lord went to the cross.

  5. Those who do not fear the Lord and will not obey His perfect Servant insist on walking in the light of their own self-made fires. Sorrow and ultimate torment await them.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Review the argument that Isaiah 50:1 is saying the Lord did not give the captives in Babylon a certificate of divorce. They may have deserved it, but God did not send them away permanently. Discuss a time when God has mercifully not given you what you deserve.

  2. Isaiah 50:8-9 tells us that God will vindicate the obedient Servant and defend Him against all adversaries. Discuss how the vindication of our Lord began with His resurrection. Can you think of any New Testament passages that support this principle?

CHALLENGE

  1. Don’t try to live by your own self-made fire. Let the Lord be your Light!

KEY VERSES

  • “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.” Isaiah 50:6

  • “Surely the Lord GOD will help Me; who is he who will condemn Me?” Isaiah 50:9



Isaiah, Old Testament, TalksDeb HarmsIsaiah 50