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Daily Devotions

40 Days and 40 Nights

40 Days and 40 Nights 
Day 
Day 28

"The tongue of the learned..."

Text: Isaiah 50:4

SIGNIFICANT PROPHECIES

There were quite a few prophecies concerning the Messiah. This particular prophecy gives us an insight as to how the LORD equipped the Messiah for ministry.

“The Lord GOD has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens my Ear
To hear as the learned”
Isaiah 50:4

1. “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned”

a) The Lord God does not only give a calling.
b) And He certainly gave a calling to His Servant (Isaiah 42:1).
c) He also equipped Him with “the tongue of the learned”.

2. What is the “tongue of the learned?”

a) It implies that the Messiah-Servant must first learn deeply.
b) Only when He has learned well can He be said to have “the tongue of the learned”.

3. A related text

We have an important related text that would help us understand the phrase, “the tongue of the learned”.

“And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword;
In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me a polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.”
Isaiah 49:2

a) The tongue of the learned was compared to “a sharp sword”.
b) The Messiah-Servant would be well-equipped for the task the Lord GOD had given Him.
c) “Hidden Me”
i) The Gospels do not reveal to us the earlier years of the Lord Jesus.
ii) When He came to the public eye He was already 30 years of age (Luke 3:23).
iii) The earlier years may indeed be called “the hidden year”.

4. The 40 Days and 40 Nights

a) That period of time was part of the work of equipping Jesus for ministry.
b) The Lord GOD would equip His Servant so that He would be able to speak a word in season.
c) His skill in speaking effectively to the multitude bears testimony of how God equipped Him.
d) Many were astonished as to His knowledge and skill in speaking (Luke 4:22).