Isaiah 50:1-11

Trust is what the Lord requires of His children.  Sin has brought down havoc upon this world and then we further complicate our lives by our own sinfulness.  Sin always has consequences, many of which are far beyond anything we could imagine.  The only way to be free from sin and to face the consequences of sin is through trusting God.  Israel was about to find herself being taken into captivity by a cruel and barbaric nation.  This was the consequence of sin.  These circumstances would cause her to question the trustworthiness of God.  Isaiah warns her not to fall into this trap by reminding her of God’s power as well as by prophesying of the pain Jesus would bare in order to set her free from sin.  We must never allow the consequences of our sin tempt us to stop trusting God.  Rather, we must recognize it was our failure to trust God that brought these circumstances upon us in the first place.

WE SHOULD TRUST THE LORD BECAUSE OF HIS SOVEREIGNTY: Israel was about to be taken into captivity.  This would make her feel like she had been divorced or sold into slavery by God.  They would feel as if God had abandoned them and try to convince themselves that God was to blame for their circumstances.  They would sink even further into sin by believing that their circumstances were due to God’s lack of power to protect or deliver them.  This demonstrates a diabolical thought process that is all too common in our own hearts.  First of all, we can never blame God for the consequences of sin in our lives.  He has never sinned so whatever difficult circumstances we face, they are brought on by our sin and not His.  Second, God is always faithful even when we are not and we can never accuse Him of selling His children into slavery.  Their captivity was due to their own choosing, not God’s unfaithfulness.  Third, it is ludicrous to think God is powerless to save.  The earth was created by the words of His mouth and He still has the power to control the rivers, oceans and nations of this world.  When we face difficult circumstances, we must not blame God but trust Him.


WE SHOULD TRUST THE LORD BECAUSE OF HIS SUFFERING: We will certainly suffer because of our sin, but that suffering is very well deserved.  The Lord deserves our trust because He has chosen to take the suffering that we deserve and take it upon Himself.  The scorn and humiliation of sin that belongs to all of us was placed upon Him.  He gave His back to be whipped in our place.  He allowed His beard to be ripped out of its place because of His love for us.  He was humiliated by godless men spitting in His face before the crucified Him in our place.  Jesus was determined to suffer in our place according the will and by the power of God.  There is no love like His love and there has been no suffering like His suffering.  We can trust Him completely as He is our only hope to set us free from our sin.  Those who strive by their own strength to free themselves from sin and its consequences will stumble in the darkness and find themselves in eternal torment.  He has suffered for us so we could be free if only we will trust Him.  

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