OVERVIEW:
FRAMEWORKS:
Isaiah
Part
1: Words of Judgment: Ch.1-39
Part
2: Words of Comfort: Ch.40-66
Part
2: Words of Comfort: Ch.40-66
2.1
Israel's release from Captivity: Ch.40-48
2.2
The Future Redeemer: Ch.49-59
2.3
The Future Kingdom: Ch.60-66
FRAMEWORKS:
Isaiah 40 :
Comfort for God's People
v.1,2
The Overall Call – to comfort & be gentle with Israel
v.3-9
Three Voices
v.10-31
The Greatness & Uniqueness of your God
[Preliminary
notes: After judgment and discipline, the Lord comes
to His people. He never want to destroy but to discipline and
correct them and bring them back to Himself. For that to happen,
they have to realise the folly of their past idolatry and regain
a right perspective of the Lord's greatness.]
v.1,2
The Overall Call – to comfort & be gentle with Israel
v.1
[The
Overall Call] (The God of judgment
from earlier chapters, is also the God who seeks to comfort His
people if they will repent - 2 Cor 1:3,4)
Comfort,
comfort my people,
says your God.
v.2
[The
Specific Call] (Jerusalem
is in a sorry state, so speak gently to her and tell her that
her time for punishment has passed.)
Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord 's hand
double for all her sins.
v.3-9
Three Voices
v.3
[Voice
1] (Listen, there is a prophetic
voice calling in the desert [the land of dryness] calling us to
make an easy access road because God is coming.)
A
voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord ;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
v.4
(You will need to level
it up and clear away all obstacles to make it easy for Him to
come)
Every
valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
v.5
(His glory is going to
be seen in the land again, He has declared it!)
And
the glory of the Lord
will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
v.6
[Voice
2] (But a second prophetic voice
calls, I have to speak but what shall I call?)
A
voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
(Remind
the people of their frailty, they are like grass that so easily
withers, or the wild flowers of the field that so quickly drop
their petals. They are like this but God's word is enduring and
will remain for ever once He has spoken it – so listen!)
“All
people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the
flowers of the field.
v.7
The
grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows
on them.
Surely the people are grass.
v.8
The
grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
v.9
[Voice
3] (Look you prophet, I have
good news for you to bring to Jerusalem so get up onto a high
place and proclaim that I am coming.)
You
who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
v.10-31
The Greatness & Uniqueness of your God
v.10
[God
comes] (Look you people, God
comes in strength and He brings His blessing with Him for you.)
See,
the Sovereign Lord
comes with
power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
v.11
[How
He comes] (He comes to you like
a caring shepherd, especially looking after the little ones and
those who have young ones themselves.)
He
tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
v.12
[His
Greatness as Creator] (Hey,
understand how mighty the Lord is. Who else has moved the waters,
created the land masses, the skies, and the clouds, who knows
every mountain and hill?)
Who
has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked
off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
v.13
[His
Knowledge & Wisdom] (Stop
and think about this. Who can understand the Lord or teach Him
anything, who can guide Him or enlighten Him in any way? That's
how great He is!)
Who
can fathom the Spirit of the Lord
,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
v.14
Whom
did the Lord
consult to
enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
v.15
[Mightier
than the Nations] (In comparison
to Almighty God, all the nations together are like a drop in a
bucket, or just dust on the scales; all the land masses are as
fine dust in comparison to His might, in comparison to Him the
whole world is, well, insignificant!)
Surely
the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they
were fine dust.
v.16
Lebanon
is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
v.17
Before
him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
v.18
[The
Folly of Idols] (See what goes
on among the people and then see if there is anyone or anything
to compare with God. These silly people make little models of
iron overlaid with gold, or if they can't afford that, little
idols of wood. What are they in comparison to God????)
With
whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
v.19
As
for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
v.20
A
person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
v.21
[Understand
Him as Creator] (Has no one taught
you [you foolish, superstitious believers in idols] that from
the beginning God created all things and He reigns high above
all created things.)
Do
you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth
was founded?
v.22
He
sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live
in.
v.23
[Understand
He is Sovereign] (Don't
you realise He is so mighty that He can bring down the most proud
of princes, the mightiest of rulers. Just like plants, they get
established and all He's got to do is blow on them … and they're
gone!)
He
brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world
to nothing.
v.24
No
sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like
chaff.
v.25
[Understand
His Uniqueness] (He asks us,
come on people, to whom can you compare me, is there anyone who
is anywhere near my equal? Clearly a rhetorical question!)
“To
whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
v.26
[Understand
Him as Creator -2] (Look, just
go outside when it is dark and gaze at the wonder of the starry
sky, who do you think created all these? They didn't just happen
by accident, you know! It was Him!)
Lift
up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
v.27
[Wrong
Perception] (Why do you people
in Israel complain that I have abandoned you, that God doesn't
see you, He doesn't bother with you?)
Why
do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord ;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
v.28
[Understand
the Creator doesn't tire] (Look,
don't you know, haven't you ever realised, the “I AM” is the eternal,
never beginning, never ending God, the One who made all things
we know of. A God like this isn't going to get tired out watching
over you and if you don't understand the scope of what He does,
don't be surprised – He's God!)
Do
you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
v.29
[He
imparts His strength] (This never-tiring,
ever-resourced God is the one who can give strength to us when
we're weary, give us power when we're weak.)
He
gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
v.30
[We
all need His strength] (Even
the young men among you whose strength outlasts the rest of us,
even they get tired and fall, that's what we're like, we human
beings.)
Even
youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
v.31
[He
gives it to those who rely on Him]
(But the truth is that those who turn to God, seek Him, and trust
Him, these ones will find He renews their strength, lifts them
so that soar like the greatest of birds and will be able to keep
on and on – with His strength.)
but
those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
[Concluding
comments: The prophet addresses the downtrodden people
of Jerusalem who have been disciplined by the Lord. That discipline
is going to come to an end and God is coming to them again and
His glory will be seen in their midst again. The call is to recognise
His greatness and realise that He doesn't give up on them. Rather
like Gideon of earlier centuries, when they are being disciplined
they shouldn't jump to wrong conclusions: God hasn't given up
on them, He's coming to them again and they should get ready to
receive Him, for He comes to comfort and strengthen them again.
It is a word that challenges the idolatry that had been tolerated
and challenges getting a right perspective of God.]