March 21, 2005

Flint (Isa. 50:7)

Category: Bible - OT - Isaiah :: Permalink

In Isaiah 50:7, the Servant says that he set his face like flint. The word “flint” appears rarely in the Bible and in all but one case (besides this one) it is used to refer to the rock which Moses struck (Deut. 8:15; 32:13; Ps. 114:8; the exception is Job 28:9).

Does the reference to “flint” here, taken together with the Servant’s earlier statement about giving his back to the strikers (Isa. 50:6), hint that the Servant will be that rock which Moses struck, that, as a result of his being the flint which is struck, water will flow from Him to Israel and the world?

Certainly Paul tells us that the rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), and Isaiah 50 implies that it is by enduring this suffering faithfully and then being vindicated by God that the Servant will accomplish his mission. I wonder if both of those things aren’t implied here by a subtle allusion to the flint being struck in the wilderness to give water to Israel.

Posted by John Barach @ 9:07 pm | Discuss (0)

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