¹⁹ You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
²⁰ Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
²¹ They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

1) What are the reproach, shame and dishonor mentioned in these verses?
The only thing capable of bringing shame, reproach, and dishonor to the coming Messiah is the blackness of sin. These verses are considered to be Messianic Prophecies, meaning that though David wrote them as a reflection of his own life circumstances, God intended them for prophecy of the coming Savior. Just as David wrote in Psalm 51 as he worked through his sin of an affair and murder, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned”, these verses reflect that same ache of shame, reproach, and dishonor brought on by sin. The difference is that Jesus Himself was blameless and entirely perfect, yet He willingly bore our reproach, shame, and dishonor.

2) What is the significance of the personal pronoun “my” used here?
“My” is significant here because Jesus Christ entirely took on our sin as if it were His own. Though He had done nothing to deserve the punishment of death, our sin became His, without Him becoming sinful. He willingly “took possession” of all our sin, claiming it as His, though it rightly belonged to us.

3) What is meant by the phrase, “I looked for pity, but there was none”?
“Pity” here in this context means someone to save Him from the punishment of death.
“Comforters” would refer to someone having compassion, someone to walk with Him through the sorrow. But neither could be found because no one else was righteous like Christ. Look at Isaiah 59:16 “He (the Lord) saw that there was no man (to bring justice for sin), and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought him salvation, and His righteousness upheld Him.” Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone!

4) What is the poison food and sour wine?
The poison food and sour wine most definitely refer to the offering of drink recorded in each of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), but it also has heavy undertones of much more than physical food and drink. The “poison” can also be rendered as “bitter”, which is referenced in both Deuteronomy and Hebrews as a “turning away from the Lord” or “breaking unity.” The true poison wasn’t found in soured wine, it was found in a person’s heart that chooses to turn away from the life and salvation being offered in the sacrifice of Jesus!

1) What are the reproach, shame and dishonor mentioned in these verses?
Sin is a reproach. It dishonors our relationship with God, breaking it entirely save for the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Sin brings shame on our relationship, but there is a fine line here that we can’t miss. Conviction of sin from the Holy Spirit frees us from shame, opening our hearts and eyes to walk in newness of life. The Enemy, with all of his insidious lies, uses sin (and sometimes things that aren’t even sin) to bring shame and an endless pit of regret and hopelessness. God tenderly breaks our hearts, opening our eyes to sin, that He might heal and restore us. The Enemy uses our past to keep us from repentance, instead letting us dig our own pit of shame. Listen closely to those voices in your heart and mind and lean into the voice that brings LIFE!

2) What is the significance of the personal pronoun “my” used here?
I struggle with self-loathing and though I have worked significantly hard to maintain a proper, correct view of myself, I still find myself sinking into this loathing at times where I see everything as being my fault. I take on everyone else’s faults as being actually tied to me. If a child spills a drink on the carpet, it’s my fault. If my husband is having a bad day, I take that on and claim it’s my fault. While there are obviously significant emotional and relational issues related to this poor view of myself, this is not what Jesus did. He took on our sin, while still being firmly rooted in who He was as God the Son. He was not drowning in self-pity, despairing of life and hope as He carried our sin for us, because He never lost sight of His identity. As we walk through life, we are called to do the same. Be encouraged that as a Christ-follower, your identity begins and ends with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He isn’t holding your shame over you; He is calling us to live freely in the grace He pours out on us everyday!

3) What is meant by the phrase, “I looked for pity, but there was none”?
Reading farther in Isaiah 59:17, we see parallels to the armor of God in Ephesians 6:14-17. In Isaiah, it’s clear that Christ Himself is the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness because no one is found able to carry the weight of sin and death and live to tell about it except Jesus! We are called away to rest in His completed work on the cross!

4) What is the poison food and sour wine?
As you reflect on the deeper meaning of “poison” in this context, take time to evaluate yourself. What are your priorities driven by? In what areas are you “taking in poison” by “turning away from the Lord”? Ask the Spirit to bring refreshment to your soul, to bring your heart back to being fully focused on Him as the author of abundant life and freeing righteousness!

Don’t miss today’s other Journey Study, I Thirst!
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Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

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Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

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