Partakers Christmas Thought 4 December 2021 – Christmas 07

Partakers Christmas Thought

4 December 2021

Looking Ahead to Christmas – Part 7

4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant?
Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches,
go, walk in the light of your fires
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:
you will lie down in torment.

( Isaiah 50:4-11)

In this the third Servant song, we see now the obedience of the Servant. This coming Servant will exhibit obedience to God, of God and trust in God. This obedience is regardless of all manner of spite, evil, malice and bitterness which confronts the Servant. Part of obedience is that we the Servant is willing to learn. This willingness to learn is a lifelong learning as indicated in the phrase “morning by morning”.

What is His name? We find His name is Israel! Not the nation of Israel itself, but as a person who embodies all that Israel was meant to be and do. This Servant would glorify God in all His ways. This servant is a Prophet who is also a King. This Servant is a perfect incarnation of God’s light, covenant and salvation.

In the podcast today we continue looking ahead to Christmas and its consequences, by seeing what the prophet Isaiah had to say in Isaiah 50:4-11 about the obedience of the coming Messiah. How does this obedience give the Servant confidence, humility as well as determination? We discover how the obedience of the coming Servant relates to the man of history we know as Jesus Christ.

 

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