#1002 Isaiah 40 Southern Comfort

 

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the Lord's hand

double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Word of God Stands Forever

6 A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

All flesh is grass,

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

The Greatness of God

9 Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand

and marked off the heavens with a span,

enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure

and weighed the mountains in scales

and the hills in a balance?

13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,

or what man shows him his counsel?

14 Whom did he consult,

and who made him understand?

Who taught him the path of justice,

and taught him knowledge,

and showed him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

and are accounted as the dust on the scales;

behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,

nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

17 All the nations are as nothing before him,

they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18 To whom then will you liken God,

or what likeness compare with him?

19 An idol! A craftsman casts it,

and a goldsmith overlays it with gold

and casts for it silver chains.

20 He who is too impoverished for an offering

chooses wood that will not rot;

he seeks out a skillful craftsman

to set up an idol that will not move.

21 Do you not know? Do you not hear?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

23 who brings princes to nothing,

and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,

scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

when he blows on them, and they wither,

and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25 To whom then will you compare me,

that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:

who created these?

He who brings out their host by number,

calling them all by name;

by the greatness of his might

and because he is strong in power,

not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,

and speak, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

and my right is disregarded by my God”?

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the faint,

and to him who has no might he increases strength.

30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,

and young men shall fall exhausted;

31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40 ESV

Isaiah 40 Prepare the Way

1-2. Comfort my people - Isaiah is still prophesying to Israel, and we see from the transition of 39, where he tells of the Babylonian captivity, that he is now speaking to those captives in a time after his ministry. No matter how far away they are removed from Jerusalem, God has not forgotten His covenant with them. They are still His remnant even in Babylon. They needed to hear a word of comfort, it is a lot to hear of future judgment, and it is a poor place for the heart of the redeemed to stay, for we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. The warnings were actually a mercy, for they show the sovereignty of God even in tribulation, but take comfort for He has overcome the world. 

1I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel: 3“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?… Romans 11: 1-3

That her iniquity is pardoned - Isaiah has confronted Israel of her sin, this is the first part of the gospel, the indictment against sin, and the fear of the Lord as a righteous judge against all sin. What sick preachers today who only speak of comfort, and to a people that do not mourn over sin, they only want to be made comfortable in it. Pardon is only and ever so beautiful to those that need it, the guilty, the sinners.

But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”… Luke 5: 30-32

That she has received from the Lord's hand - The blood of bulls and goats did not suffice, for the Lord would have obedience, which is always the greater than ritual sacrifice. Those things were a picture, that sin leads to death, and that God will always punish sin, so He has chastened them with captivity, but also provided a sacrifice sufficient to redeem them from the power of sin and death. It reminds me of the years they did not let the land rest as directed. An eye for an eye, I will repay says the Lord, and so the land of Israel rested for 70 years, all the years Israel neglected to keep God's law, and denied Him His right as the owner of the land.

Does it seem unfair that God would have a double payment for sin? “Double means ‘to fold over, fold in half’ (Exodus 26:9)… When something is folded over, each half corresponds exactly with the other half, and this would yield the thought of exact correspondence between sin and payment.” (Motyer) A payment has been made, and it was exactly the payment that was needed!

10For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce, 11but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.12For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.… Exodus 23: 10-12

3-5. A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord" - Isaiah is foretelling the ministry of John the Baptist and also that of the two witnesses from Revelation 11. His is a call to repentance, John testifying to the coming of Messiah, who would be the lamb that Isaiah will describe later in much detail, and the two witnesses will precede Christ's coming as ruler and judge.

1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’ ”…

…4John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.… Matthew 3: 1-6

1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple— the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight— see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.… Malachi 3: 1-2

…13For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15He who has ears, let him hear.… Matthew 11: 13-15

Every valley shall be lifted up - The way would be made straight, obstacles removed, roads cut through mountains and built up in valleys. Sin is the great obstacle that stands between man and a relationship with a Holy God. There is this great hurdle to overcome, that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

…15“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” 17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”… Matthew 4: 15-17

1Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.… Isaiah 9: 1-2

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed - In Christ we shall have the fullness of God and the gospel. We shall see His redemptive plan for humanity.

…2But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.… Hebrews 1: 2-4

6-8. The grass withers, the flower fades - Everything about this life is under entropy. Riches are temporary, life is, and our pursuits here come to an end.

The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.… James 1: 9-11

…23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.… 1 Peter 1: 23-25

But the word of our God will stand forever - When the eternal God speaks it is fixed and certain. He will not lie and His word will be held up when all else fades away. There is nothing more valuable to know here, for it bears eternal ramifications.

1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3

9-11. Behold your God - Jerusalem is to cry out to the rest of Judah proclaiming the good news.

And His recompense before Him - Christ second coming will be in might, as the judge and ruler of the world. He will repay each according to their works. Israel will be delivered from her enemies and Christ will shepherd His people in the land promised to their forefathers. 

12 - 17. Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord - Who has such wisdom as described by the isostasy or equilibrium in the prior verses, measuring the waters, marking off the heavens and weighing the mountains. His design is beyond comparison, the perfection of the orbits, everything in perfect balance. The Spirit of God does not need the counsel or teaching of men, everything is quite in reverse to that. 

18-26. To whom then will you liken God - Idols, that you made? Great nations, armies, are all brought up and then low by a breath from God. Who compares to the one that sits above time and space, the Creator of more than your eyes can take in? He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. Again this reference is made.

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?3Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.… Job 38: 1-3

Why do you say - In Babylon they feel as Jonah in the whale, he thought God could no longer see or hear him in the depths. They felt forgotten, but the prophet reminds them that they that wait upon the Lord, trusting in His perfect timing, shall be renewed.