Grace Given
Isaiah 53:4-12
"He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed."
(Proverbs 3:34)
We read that the humble and oppressed receive God's favor; to them grace has been given. Opposite are the proud mockers. "The proud and arrogant person - 'Mocker' is his name - behaves with insolent fury" (Proverbs 21:24).
Jesus spoke of the "blessed" ones who receive God's grace: the poor in spirit, mourners, meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart and peacemakers.
When things go well, there is a danger that we will become like the Israelites of whom God said, "I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me..." (Hosea 13:5-6).
Let's mourn over our pride and rejoice at His grace which comes to us freely through the work of Jesus Christ, the One whose humility and oppression knew no equal. Proud mockers spit at Him all the way to Calvary. How sobering to think we may have found ourselves among them, yet He shed His blood for us anyway.
INSIGHT
If you have arrogantly taken God's grace for granted, repent quickly and take your place with the humble where grace abounds.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Jeremiah 19-20
Psalm 113
1 Corinthians 1-2
Isaiah 53:4-12
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Footnotes:
a. Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
b. Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
c. Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
d. Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
e. Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
f. Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
g. Isaiah 53:12 Or many
h. Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
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