Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 50:6-11 I Gave my Back to the Smiters

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Isa 50:6-11 I Gave my Back to the Smiters

[Study Aired December 1, 2019]

Isa 50:6  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.
Isa 50:7  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.
Isa 50:8  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.
Isa 50:9  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.
Isa 50:10  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.
Isa 50:11  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.

Nothing is as exciting and appealing to our self-righteous old man than to exact justice upon a bully or a gang of bullies. It is especially appealing to our self-righteous flesh when the odds are heavily in favor of the bullies and yet the ‘good guy’ is somehow quick enough, strong enough, and resourceful enough to overcome all odds to deliver immediate karma upon the bullies or the bad guys.

On the other hand, there is nothing less appealing to our flesh than to see a man who is healthy and is completely capable of defending himself and yet he lets the bullies slap him around and abuse him. It is simply unjust and anyone who fails to stand up to such overt bullying or overt corruption and open aggression against himself and others is just naturally looked down upon by any natural man as a despicable coward and a weakling. Why would anyone “Give [His] back to the smiters, [His] cheeks to them that plucked off the hair [and] hide not [His] face from shame and spitting”???

Isa 50:6  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.

This is the Creator of the universe speaking of what He required of Himself and of His body, His Christ. This is what the Lord Himself tells us He expects of us:

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

These commandments are a humanly impossible expectation, and yet we are told:

Isa 50:7  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.

“I… shall not be confounded… I shall not be ashamed” refers to our standing with our Lord. It certainly is not saying that we will not be shamed and confounded before men if we “give [our] backs to the [same] smiters” who stripped our Lord of His garments and hung Him on a cross. We, too, are stripped naked before a self-righteous, accusing world, and we are condemned because we simply dare to point out the things Christ told us we must do. By doing so, we are given a “face like flint” to remain faithful to the Lord and His words, and thereby we are condemning all those who claim Christ’s name, but refuse to wear His garments and eat the food He supplies:

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

In the New Testament, Christ confronts this weak spirit in which we all first walk before we are dragged kicking and screaming to appreciate the ‘bread’ He supplies and the ‘apparel’ He gives us to wear.  He confronts and rebukes this weak yet rebellious, carnal spirit with these words:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

It is always easier for our flesh, and the carnal mind of our old man, to follow the pulls of our flesh and the vengeful, rebellious ways of this world instead of the seemingly foolish and weak commandments of Christ. However, it has never proven to be best for the new man, because the Lord does not take weakness and rebellion lightly. This is what we are told about letting Him do His work instead of attempting to do His work for Him:

Rom 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 
Rom 12:17  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Rom 12:18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Rom 12:19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 
Rom 12:20  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Rom 12:21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

This what is best for us:

Isa 50:8  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.

“Who will contend with me… [and] who is mine adversary?” in this verse are both rhetorical questions, and both answers are the same. It is the Lord who is always near to justify and to deliver us. We, too, are always “heard in that [we] fear” [the Lord] more than we fear men or what they think of us or what they can do to us.

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 
Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

“As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”, but it is still true that salvation is not given to just anyone. Salvation is given only “unto all them that obey Him”. Lest I be misunderstood, what I am saying is that “each in his own order” will “learn obedience by the things [we] suffer [and then] salvation [will be given] unto… them… all.”

The point being made is that obedience must precede salvation, and without obedience there is no salvation:

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

In the sixth chapter of Luke, the Lord gives us the outline of His new covenant, His New Testament. It is in this chapter we are told what is required of all who will have part in His kingdom, all who will have part in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” (Rev 20:1-6). It is here in this 6th chapter of Luke that the Lord tells us:

Luk 6:26  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Next, He outlines all the requirements of being in His kingdom, and every single requirement for being in His kingdom guarantees that if you do these things no man is going to speak well of you:

Luk 6:27  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luk 6:28  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 
Luk 6:29  And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 
Luk 6:30  Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Luk 6:31  And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Luk 6:32  For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
Luk 6:33  And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
Luk 6:34  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
Luk 6:35  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Luk 6:36  Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Christ knew fully well that these are all super-human expectations, and yet He goes on to say “unto you which hear”:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Luk 7:23  And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Christ is our perfect example. He could easily have exacted immediate justice upon those who offended Him. The wind and the sea were subject to Him (Mar 4:41). When He told Peter, “Put up again your sword into his place”, He also told Peter that He could call for “more than 12 legions of angels” to destroy His destroyers (Mat 26:53). Instead of taking things into His own hands, He “gave His back to the smiters”, and He even rebuked His own disciples who wanted to use the power they knew He had to avenge Him when a Samaritan village refused to provide housing for Him and His disciples for one evening:

Luk 9:51  And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
Luk 9:52  And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
Luk 9:53  And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 
Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Of what spirit were Christ’s disciples? They were of the same spirit we all have by nature. They were still of the spirit of Elijah, who was of the spirit of Moses, who taught us “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. This experience with this “village of the Samaritans” was “when the time was come that He should be received up” to His Father. That tells us the disciples had been hearing words like “resist not evil… love thine enemies… turn the other cheek”, etc. for over three years. However, the holy spirit had not yet been given, and all the Lord’s disciples could remember or receive at this time was the power they had seen and had witnessed when He controlled the wind and the seas and when evil spirits obeyed His commandments, and when He healed all manners of sicknesses and diseases, and how He had given sight to a man who was born blind (John 9), and had raised a widow’s son (Luk 7:11-15) and a 12 year old girl from the dead (Luk 8:54)! They knew Christ had given all of them “power over all the power of the enemy” (Luk 10:19), but they had no idea by what mechanism that power was given to the Lord. That ‘mechanism’ is the mechanism of “strength in… weakness”, and that concept was yet “foolishness unto [them]”, as it is to our own carnal mind:

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Therefore, it should be painfully clear to all of us that witnessing miracles in the New Testament in no way whatever of itself serves to change the vengeful carnal minds and hearts of anyone. Israel of the old Testament was no more converted by witnessing miracles than “the Israel of God” is in the New Testament (Gal 6:15-16).

It is only if we are strengthened to ‘give our backs to the smiters’ that we will also be given the faith to truly believe that:

Pro 16:32  He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

Joh 7:17  If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

When “the Lord God… helps [us]” to trust in Him for our protection, this is what we are told is true:

Php 4:11  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content
Php 4:12  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

It is not humanly possible to “be content” when we are being abused and persecuted for His name’s sake. It is not humanly possible to “be content when we are in extreme pain, but if we are granted to ‘give our backs to the smiters, and our cheeks to those who pluck out our beard’ and if we are given to be willing to be ‘mocked and spat upon’ then we, like our Lord, will be “hated of all men for [His name’s sake”, and we will be qualified to be in the Lord’s kingdom:

Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Mat 10:19  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
Mat 10:20  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 
Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Like our Lord, we will also be strengthened to remain faithful to Him, even while it appears to this world that they have overcome us and have shamed us before men and made us to look foolish before the people of this world.

Mat 27:39  And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 
Mat 27:40  And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Mat 27:41  Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
Mat 27:42  He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 
Mat 27:43  He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

“Save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” is the taunt of our carnal mind. A much better plan is to “suffer with Christ” and be ‘resurrected from the dead with Him’:

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

It is of utmost importance that we notice we must “endure to the end” in order to be saved. We cannot ‘obey the Lord’ as we see fit and expect Him to just go along with our own interpretation of His commandments and our own definition of being obedient to His Word as King Saul did when the Lord sent him to annihilate the Amalekites and destroy all their possessions:

1Sa 15:3  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

This is our self-righteous old man’s way of obeying those commandments from the Lord:

1Sa 15:8  And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1Sa 15:9  But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

If we act like King Saul, the Old Testament type of the spirit of Babylon within us, it will be a work of the Lord which He will and does work in all of us. The Lord does not play mind games. He is not manipulated by us. To the contrary, it is we who are manipulated by Him who “works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

We reason that our way is better than His way, and that the Lord will be grateful for our disobedient generosity.

The Lord has made all things for Himself, and that includes His own adversary, and it even includes those whom He sends to oppose us:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

As we have seen repeatedly, the Lord knows those who are His and He will help and preserve us:

Isa 41:9  Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Isa 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isa 41:11  Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 

Isa 49:15  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Our study today will end with that same promise to those who are given to hear the voice of the True Shepherd, and who are granted the strength to “endure to the end” all the shame and persecution and pain of this present time:

Isa 50:9  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.
Isa 50:10  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.
Isa 50:11  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.

“The Lord will help me” is the doctrine of Christ. We do not help Him. When we attempt to help him, and when we exact vengeance upon those who oppress or attack or in any way offend us and fail to show us respect, we are robbing the Lord of His glory, and we are telling Him how we will obey Him just as King Saul told the prophet Samuel:

1Sa 15:12  And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
1Sa 15:13  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 
1Sa 15:14  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

Like King Saul, we just naturally disobey the Lord, all the while telling ourselves we are doing the right thing. The Truth remains that we have demonstrated we despise the commandment of the Lord, and we have demonstrated that we are incapable of fearing the Lord and being obedient to Him. We demonstrate before ourselves and the whole world that we fear the people more than we fear God. We rob the Lord of His glory, and we think we can produce spiritual fruit without being obedient to him. That is the homosexual spirit which has ruled all of us in our own time and which is being revealed to be in all men who think that vengeance belongs to us instead of the Lord.

Deu 32:35  To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

Deu 32:41  If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

Deu 32:43  Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

We have no business calling ourselves ‘Christian’ when we fear men more than to tremble at His Word:

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

This is what the Lord told King Saul when King Saul decided that his way of obeying the Lord was better than the Lord’s commandments:

1Sa 15:17  And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
1Sa 15:18  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
1Sa 15:19  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
1Sa 15:20  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

King Saul is the Old Testament type of us while we are in Babylon where we think like King Saul that we can “kindle [our own] fire and compass ourselves about with sparks.” Look closely at what the Lord tells us about such a homosexual spirit, which thinks it can produce fruit without having Christ as our head:

Isa 50:11  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.

Here is “the light of [our] fire”:

Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

‘Our light’ is really nothing more than the lies of Babylon and can produce only what the Lord has decreed:  “This ye shall have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow”. A we were told in the preceding chapter, as the Lord’s chosen special people, He does not leave us in that sad state:

Isa 49:14  But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isa 49:15  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 
Isa 49:16  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

That is our study for today. Here are our verses for our next study in Isaiah 51:

Isa 51:1  Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
Isa 51:2  Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
Isa 51:3  For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isa 51:4  Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
Isa 51:5  My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

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