5th Monday of Lent (March 18). The Lord GOD has given me…

Prepare to Listen.  Morning by morning he wakens my ear to listen.
 
Prayerfully Read Isaiah 50:4-7
4The Lord GOD has given me
   the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
   the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens--
   wakens my ear
   to listen as those who are taught.
5The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
   and I was not rebellious,
   I did not turn backwards.
6I gave my back to those who struck me,
   and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
   from insult and spitting.
7The Lord GOD helps me;
   therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
   and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
What connected with you in these verses?
 
The chorus in Handel’s Messiah from v. 6, “He gave his back to the smiters,” makes us think this is about Jesus, period.  And yes, Jesus was mocked and beaten with a whip of cords.  But the prophet isn’t so narrowly focused.  He writes of “the servant,” without identifying him or her. We can, therefore, apply these verses to ourselves, servants of the Lord.
 
Three times he says, “The Lord GOD…”, followed by an active verb of what God does for the servant.  The decisive action is all God’s.  The servant is merely an obedient and trustworthy recipient.  First, the Lord GOD gives him the tongue of the teacher so that he can sustain the weary.  This is more than a pastoral word of comfort in need.  It’s a word of truth to those in danger of accepting words from false teachers that contradict God’s power or confuse God’s power with political power and authority.  The servant’s word energizes the weary, so they remain faithful to God despite any risks.
 
Second, the Lord GOD awakens her ear to hear as one taught, that is, she has learned to listen to God’s instruction and therefore remains unflinching in her obedience even in the face of abusive opposition.  She will submit to “the smiters”, even when they are her own people.
 
Third, “the Lord GOD helps me,” therefore the servant doesn’t cave under pressure.  He remains resolved in his loyalty to God and God’s ways.  “The servant is fully confident of Yahweh as a sufficient support to do what Yahweh has mandated.”[1] 
 
What do you think the Lord GOD has given you to help you do the work to which you’ve been called?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord God you have given me much so I know that you will support me as I seek to do the work to which you have called me.  Amen
 
Live obediently.  Live in humble response to what God has given you.
[1] Brueggemann, Walter.  Isaiah 40-66.  Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. 1998, p. 122.