Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 50

Verses 1-11

“The Lord God Has Opened My Ear” (50:1-11)

The unity of this chapter has often been challenged because its three main parts do not seem to hold together. Verses 4-9 constitute what has been called “the third servant poem”; in it, as in 49:1-6, the servant speaks in the first person. This section is preceded in verses 1-3 by a metaphorical reference to Israel’s past experience as a divorced wife. It is followed by a section (vss. 10-11) in which the words are clear enough, but how it is that they are to be interpreted is not at all clear. The three sections of this chapter, then, are somewhat cryptic in their relation to one another. While various theories have been posed, none can be said to be anything more than a guess as to the reason for this situation.

In the first verse there is a reference to Israel as a divorced wife of the Lord. It is God who is speaking to the children and asking where the bill of divorce is and to which creditor the children were sold. (For a similar use of this figure see Jeremiah 3:1 and Hosea 2:2-13.) The metaphor likens the Covenant between God and Israel to a marriage (see also ch. 54) and the punishment of Israel to a divorce. The “bill of divorce” is that document which a husband was required to give when he declared that the marriage was over (Deuteronomy 24:14). The prophet hears God ask why it is that when he has now come to save there is no one to reply (vs. 2). Is it because he has no power? (For the figure of speech about the shortened hand see also 59:1.) On the contrary, God alone has all power and can do what he wills. Therefore, the divorce and the selling of the children are not final or permanent. God is about to redeem them.

In verses 4-9 Servant Israel responds in the form of a confession. The servant confesses that it is God who has taught him and who has opened his ear, and he was not rebellious against the teaching. He did not hide himself from those who smote him and put him to shame. Instead, he put his whole trust in the God who helps him and who will vindicate him. The task which has been put before him (49:5-6) is here accepted by the servant in the faith that although he is weak he will trust God to give him the strength for what he must do.

In verse 10 the prophet now asks publicly who it is that walks in darkness and yet trusts in the name of the Lord. That is, who now in reverence obeys both the Lord and the voice of his servant who has been commissioned and has accepted the commission? Verse 11 could perhaps be interpreted as a response to that challenge. In any event, those who have no further illumination than the light of their own fire will find it a torment rather than a blessing. While the verse is not clear with regard to its original context, in its present setting it is possible to interpret it as a warning against those with little faith.