EARS TO HEAR

EARS TO HEAR

“The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient, Nor did I turn back.” Isa. 50:5

 

Here we hear the voice of the Servant of Jehovah; and in these words we have His response to the call of Jehovah. As we saw in Isa. 49, He is represented from the beginning as conscious of the fact that His service means suffering. This consciousness is yet more definitely marked in this record of His response. It grows in intensity until it culminates in Isa. 53. Here, it is a consciousness of the sufferings which His enemies, these being the enemies of Jehovah, will inflict upon Him. The physical figures are arresting, the smiting, the plucking off of the hair, the shame, and the spitting. The call of Jehovah to His Servant was a call to these experiences, and in regard to this fact he said, "The Lord Jehovah hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward." This statement, "The Lord Jehovah hath opened Mine ear," is very significant. We must not confuse it with another great Messianic Word, "Mine ears hast Thou opened" (see Psa. 40:6), where the reference is to the willing surrender of the Servant to His Master's service. Here the thought is that of the communication of the secret of the Master to His Servant. To His Servant, Jehovah had made known His secrets; He had revealed to Him, not only the experiences awaiting Him, but the meaning and purpose of them. He was His friends knowing all things (John 15:15). Thus the following statement "I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward," means that between Jehovah and His Servant there was no conflict, but perfect agreement; they were One. Therefore this response to the call of Jehovah, involving consent to suffering was vibrant with confidence in the help of Jehovah.