Daily Devotions
40 Days and 40 Nights
"The Lord GOD has opened My ear..."
Text: Isaiah 50:5
THE LORD’S WORK
There is a vital role that only God Himself can fulfil. There is another part that the individual must attempt to fulfil. We see this classic combination in the following text.
“The Lord GOD has opened My ear;
And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away.”
Isaiah 50:5
1. “The Lord GOD has opened My ear”
a) God’s role is acknowledged.
b) The work of opening the ear is uniquely God’s work.
2. “And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away”
a) This is the response of the individual (in this case, the Messiah).
b) Two related responses were recorded.
c) First response: “I was not rebellious”:-
i) This is an important response to note.
ii) To maintain the discipline of learning is not easy.
iii) To get up early each morning to learn from the Lord God is even harder.
iv) However the Messiah-Servant was not rebellious.
v) He maintained this discipline consistently.
d) The second response: “I did not turn away”:-
i) The Messiah-Servant sought to fulfil His part.
ii) He welcomed the discipline of getting up early to spend time with the Lord God.
iii) Hence, there was such a high learning value.
NOT ALL HAD THIS WHOLESOME RESPONSE
Not everyone was able to effect this response. Two examples may be cited. Both of them were significant personages in Scriptures.
1. Moses struggled when God wanted to send him to speak to Pharaoh.
He responded negatively initially (Exodus 3). He could not see himself as one who had the ear or the tongue of the learned. It took some convincing from the Lord before he could fulfil the work that God had given to him.
2. Jeremiah also struggled when God said that He had ordained him as a prophet
He also struggled to believe that he could have the tongue of the learned. His objection was that he was too young to be sent out to speak on behalf of the Lord (Jeremiah 1). Jeremiah had to struggle with many misgivings till he learned to trust that God had indeed set him apart as a prophet who spoke for Him.