Learn to Grow Your Spiritual Maturity Through Our Daily Devotions

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022

TEXT: Isaiah 50:1-11

1. The LORD declares this; “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

2. “Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servant?] Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; Their fish stink because there is no water And die of thirst.

3. “I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds] And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.”

4. The Lord GOD has given Me [His Servant] the tongue of disciples [as One who is taught], That I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple [as One who is taught].

5. The Lord GOD has opened My ear, And I have not been rebellious Nor have I turned back.

6. I turned My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.

7. For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I have not been ashamed or humiliated. Therefore, I have made My face like flint, And I know that I shall not be put to shame.

8. He who declares Me in the right is near; Who will [dare to] contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who is My adversary? Let him approach Me.

9. In fact, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me [as guilty]? Indeed, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them.

10. Who is among you who fears the LORD, Who obeys the voice of His Servant, Yet who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust and be confident in the name of the LORD and let him rely on his God.

11. Listen carefully, all you who kindle your own fire [devising your own man-made plan of salvation], Who surround yourselves with torches, Walk by the light of your [self-made] fire And among the torches that you have set ablaze. But this you will have from My hand: you will lie down in [a place of] torment.

(Amplified Version Holy Bible)

TOPIC: YOU SOLD YOURSELF OUT

Although the Israelites felt that God had forgotten them after He promised to fight for them, Israel sold herself out as a result of her sin. But instead of God forgetting the Israelites, it was the Israelites that forgot God and relied on other nations for help (vs. 1-2).

God will never sell Israel out but their sin did. The Israelites forgot God and became self-sufficient. In other words, they meant that they did not need God. They forgot that self-sufficiency attracts torment and rejection by God. That is why Prophet Isaiah warned them not to have confidence in their own intellect and accomplishments but trust in God.

Therefore, always remember that God will be faithful to those who are faithful to Him (vs. 10b; cf. Psalm 119:105).

QUESTION: Do you think that God has forgotten you because of the challenges you are facing?

PRAYER: Lord God, I pray that You take me back and forgive me for not trusting in You. Help me to depend on You at all times, in Christ’s name, Amen.