Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The primary use of flint was as a source of ignition through friction. The property of flint that give it this usefulness was its extreme hardness and unyielding nature.

By saying that he had set his face like flint, the prophet was saying that, through God's help, and despite whatever adversities he might face, he would remain unconquerable, and retain a resolution and determination that could not be overcome.

Although the same exact figure of speech is not used in Luke 9:51, the idea that Christ "steadily set His face" to go to Jersualem, where He knew that opposition, suffering, and death awaited Him, expresses the same idea, and shows that Isaiah's words were in that sense a prophetic foreshadowing of those much later events in Jesus' life.

August 05 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Flint was a hard rock abundant in the Middle East. Its hardness made it useful in tools such as hammers, chisels, and knives. It also became a symbol of endurance as used here in Isaiah 50:7. QSB

For Jesus, doing God's will meant yielding His body to wicked men who mocked Him, whipped Him, spat on Him, and then nailed Him to a cross (Matt. 26:67; 27:26, 30).

The Servant did all of this by faith in the Lord God (Isa. 50:7-11). He was determined to do God’s will, even if it meant going to a cross (Luke 9:51; as per Tim Maas; John 18:1-11), for He knew that the Lord God would help Him. —Wiersbe

Wiersbe also says "flint" in 2 passages of the Bible, here in Isaiah 50:7 and in Ezekiel 3:9, meant, "Determination."

Staying on track in the Christian life requires setting our faces like flint. The apostle Paul teaches us to run the race with our eyes on the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Paul set his face like flint to finish his course: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

Nothing was more important to Paul than completing His God-given mission, no matter the cost: “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Acts 20:24 (NLT) --Houdmann

August 07 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report