Daily Devotion: Isaiah 50:6-7

Isaiah 50:6-7      "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.  (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 gave." Aren't those two precious and beautiful words? Especially when you think of who is doing the talking.  The Father gave. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...."  The Son gave. "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair..."  He did not try to hide at the time appointed for Him to die.  "I have set my face like a flint." There was no turning back. Some might ask, "But what about His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane?" Didn't He ask for the cup to be removed? Yes, He did, but we must understand what cup was of concern to Him. Was He afraid to die? Absolutely not. He saw it as the medium for returning back to the Father's house. He was filled with love, joy, and peace concerning that fact. So then, what was the cup? He knew that in order to secure our eternal redemption, there would be a space of time when the Father would turn His face away from His blessed Son. For Jesus, those three hours on the cross were an eternity. He had always been in fellowship with the Father, but for a time He would endure a separation. That was the cup. Could there be any other way than having to be separated for that time? If so, let it pass... "NEVERTHELESS, not my will but thine be done."  His time had come and He was willing. He did not hide.

What was His strength in those hours? "The Lord GOD will help me..." He told His disciples, "All of you will be scattered and leave me alone. But I won't be alone because the Father is with me." He will help me. I shall not be confounded. I will not be ashamed during this time because I am doing the will of the Father. "Therefore I have set my face like a flint." Nothing will deter or detract me from accomplishing the purpose for coming to the earth. "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) He came to redeem. "I shall not be ashamed." When all the prophecies concerning His death had been accomplished, "...he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." (John 19:30) "I know that I shall not be ashamed." 

 How can you and I know that happened? If anything that had been said about Him was left unfulfilled, then there would be shame. But we know there was no shame in His work.  The angel spoke to the women at the tomb, "...Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, AS HE SAID. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead... "(Matthew 28:5-7) He's alive! He's alive! Just like He said, He's alive! Peter tells us that our promise is found in Christ, "... he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." (1 Peter 2:6) There is no shame or confusion when our lives are also "set like flint" to follow the Lord.