Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. What questions does the Lord ask Israel in verse 1a (printed below?)
This is what Jehovah says, Where is the certificate of divorce by which I sent your mother away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? (Isaiah 50:1a)
In verse 1 the Lord asks His people Israel, “Where is the certificate of divorce by which I sent your mother away?” According to Old Testament law, a husband could divorce his wife and give her a certificate of divorce if he found just cause (note Deuteronomy 24:1)—but the Lord has not done so to Israel. The Lord further inquires, “To which of my creditors did I sell you?” Again, under Old Testament law, a father had the authority to sell his son into servitude if he deemed it necessary to do so (note 2 Kings 4:1)—but the Lord has not dealt so with Israel.
2. By means of these questions the Lord is responding to Israel’s unexpressed accusation that the Lord has abandoned His people. But in the latter part of verse 1 (printed below) the Lord confronts Israel with the truth. What does He tell Israel?
You were sold because of your iniquities, and because of your transgressions your mother was sent away. (Isaiah 50:1b)
In the latter part of verse 1 the Lord confronts Israel with the truth: “You were sold because of your iniquities, and because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.” That is to say, the people of Israel themselves are responsible for their present plight. It is not a matter that the Lord has capriciously abandoned them; on the contrary, Israel’s present state of banishment is not due to the Lord’s unfaithfulness, it is due to their own unfaithfulness.
3. In verse 6 the servant of the Lord—our Lord Jesus Christ—describes Himself as willingly submitting to the suffering divinely appointed for Him. What enabled Him to undergo such suffering and endure such trials? See verse 7 (printed below)
Because the Lord Jehovah will help me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like a flint; I know that I will not be put to shame. (Isaiah 50:7)
In verse 7 our Lord reveals to us what enabled Him to undergo such suffering and what enabled Him to endure such trials: “Because the Lord Jehovah will help me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like a flint; I know that I will not be put to shame.” Christ put His confidence in God His Father as His Source of help. Consequently, He would not be disgraced nor put to shame. That is to say, He would not experience ultimate defeat and despair; on the contrary, He would be raised to glory and honor upon the faithful completion of His ministry. Being assured of this, He would set His face like a flint; with the enabling power and blessing of the Holy Spirit, He would resolutely determine to fulfill the ministry He received from His Father (note Luke 9:51).
4. What counsel is offered to us in verse 10 (printed below?)
Who among you fears Jehovah? Who among you obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness, without a ray of light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah and rely upon his God. (Isaiah 50:10)
Verse 10 offers us this counsel: “He who walks in darkness, without a ray of light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah and rely upon his God.” The Lord our God is the One who supplies us with wisdom and understanding: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3); “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)
5. Conversely, what warning are we given in verse 11 (printed below?)
Listen, all of you who kindle fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches: walk by the light of your fires and with the torches you have set ablaze! But this is what you shall receive from my hand: you shall lie down in torment. (Isaiah 50:11)
Verse 11 confronts us with the warning: “Listen, all of you who kindle fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches: walk by the light of your fires and with the torches you have set ablaze! But this is what you shall receive from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.” The picture here is of men rejecting the Lord as their source of wisdom and light in favor of pursuing their own wisdom—they will not walk in the light the Lord provides, rather they will provide for themselves their own ‘flaming torches’ to light their way. The Lord exhorts such people to go their own way, if that is what they insist upon doing; but He warns them of what their final end will be: “this is what you shall receive from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.”
