Isaiah 50:1-11: The Connection Between Jesus' Obedience And Ours

Isaiah 50:10-11 present two alternative ways to dealing with dark times.  In the difficult times God brings our way, we are tempted to not believe He can deliver us.  That's when we're most apt to place our trust in idols.  These two alternatives form the application to the section: either we trust the Lord in dark times and follow Him or we attempt a do-it-yourself approach.  Isaiah 50:10 asks a question that links fearing God with obeying Jesus.  Throughout Isaiah we've been learning about our tendency to disbelieve and disobey (Isaiah 50:1-3).  Isaiah presents God's Servant--our Lord Jesus Christ--as a contrast to that tendency (Isaiah 50:4-9).  One of the clearest ministry descriptions of our Savior is provided in Isaiah 50:4.  The Gospel is clearly presented in this section: the Servant suffers as He redeems us of our sin.  Upon saving faith, His perfect sacrifice opens our ears so that we can follow His example.  This section provides an excellent opportunity to remind God's people how He trains us in the dark times (cf. Hebrews 5:8 and Hebrews 12:1-7).