Isaiah 40
· The 2nd section of Isaiah is like the New Testament. Its main focus is on the Lord’s salvation, prophecy concerning Messiah and the coming Kingdom.
God’s People Are Comforted 1-31
· These are words of hope for God’s people.
· Prepare for the Lord’s arrival.
1 ”“Comfort, yes, comfort {cause to breathe again} My people!” Says your God.
A] They had been receiving some heavy warnings of God’s impending judgment. They would be carried off to captivity. Jerusalem would be left in ruins.
B] Isaiah prophesied about those who would be in captivity.
· This is encouragement, written in advance.
C] The Lord Jesus Christ taught us that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter.
D] The psalmist writes that the word of God comforts us.
Ø The Holy Spirit takes the holy word, and gives to us a holy comfort.
2 “Speak comfort {tenderly, kindly, speak to the heart} to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.”
A] The day is coming when there will be no more spiritual warfare.
B] There was a time before we came to Christ when our lives were at war against God. The Bible says we were enemies of God, our hearts were enmity towards God.
C] Our sin has been totally and forever pardoned through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has given us grace upon grace.
Ø God doesn’t pardon us by punishing us, His Son was punished in our place.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
A] The message of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Messiah. This is recorded in all four gospels.
B] Make yourself available to be a voice in the wilderness.
C] Prepare your heart for the Lord to enter in, obstacle-free.
4 Every valley shall be exalted {lifted up} And every mountain and hill brought low {made a plain}; The crooked places {uneven ground} shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;
A] Whenever a king was coming to town, all of these preparations would be made.
B] The King is coming, are you preparing?
5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed {will appear}, And all flesh {humanity, people} shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
A] Christ is the glory of the LORD.
Ø Hebrews 1:3 ”who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,“
B] The fact that the Lord has spoken, it is good as done.
6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh {humanity} is grass, And all itsloveliness is like the flower of the field.
· This is why it is important to not choose a spouse based upon looks only.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the peopleare grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
A] Isaiah is contrasting the temporal with the eternal. This life is transitory. The life God promises is forever.
B] We can build our lives upon the eternal promises of God.
C] Throughout history man has tried to destroy the word of God.
Ø Voltaire said he would destroy the Bible in his lifetime. 50 years after he died, the Geneva Bible was being printed in his house.
9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings {herald good news}, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, Youwho bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God {your God is coming}!”
10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, Hisreward is with Him, And His work {recompense} before Him.
· The Lord will return to establish His eternal kingdom.
Ø Isaiah 9:6-7 ”For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.“
Ø Daniel 7:13-14 ”“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.“
Ø He shall rule with a rod of iron.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom {close to His heart}, And gently lead those who are with young {mothers who are nursing}.
A] The Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd.
B] This a prophecy that has a dual fulfillment. Near fulfillment was the Lord bringing His people back from Babylon. Far fulfillment is the Lord gathering His people to His Kingdom.
12 Who has measured the waters {oceans} in the hollow {palm} of His hand, Measured heaven {universe} with a span {from the tip of the pinky to the tip of the thumb} And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance?
A] 71% of the earth is covered by water. 352 quintillion gallons.
B] The earth weighs an estimated 6 billion trillion tons.
· And this is only the planet earth. He has the whole universe in His hand. He’s got you and me brother, in His hand, He’s got you and me sister, in His hands. If He can carry the weight of the world, He can carry you.
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him?
A] Man says in his ignorance, “If I were God….”
B] It’s often in times of agony or deep pain that we question God’s goodness, grace and guiding.
14 With whom did He take counsel {consult for advice}, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles {continents} as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
· God is not threatened by the nations that have made themselves His enemies.
· God’s people do not have to live in fear by National chaos.
· National turmoil shouldn’t cause us to live in fear.
18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image {idol}, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished {poor} for such a contribution {gold and silver} Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image {an idol} that will not totter {fall over}.
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard {learned}? 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 {enthroned} above the circle of the earth {it’s not a flat earth}, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers {tiny like ants}, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain {it has a beginning}, Andspreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
· The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second.
· The Milky Way Galaxy is 10,000 years wide by 100,000 years long.
· Current estimates is that the universe is 93 billion light years in diameter.
23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
· God can bring the great men of the earth to nothing.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
· John 10:33 ”The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”“
· Philippians 2:6 ”who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,“
26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host {stars} by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
· How many stars are in the universe? There is a star for every grain of sand upon planet earth.
· Psalm 8:3-4 ”When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?“
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
· If He knows the name of the stars, He knows your name.
· The omniscient LORD knows all about you and what you’re going through.
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard {learned}? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable {there is no limit to His understanding}.
· The Universe has a Creator. In school we had models of the solar system. See picture of model.
Ø This is only 1 of 3,916 solar systems in our Milky Way Galaxy alone.
· John 1:3 ”All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.“
· Colossians 1:16 ”For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.“
· Hebrews 1:2 ”has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;“
29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
· We must admit our weakness before we can receive the strength that He wants to give to us.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on {trust in, hope in} the LORD Shall renew {exchange} their strength {for the trials}; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.“
A] The “waiting” used here, is not like playing on your phone, waiting for them to call your name. This is active waiting.
Ø Have you put your trust in the Lord yet?
Ø The tragic bridge collapse and the sad story of the people that died in the theatre attack remind us that any day could be our time to die and go into eternity.
B] The purpose for God’s strength is action, not inaction.
C] My prayer is that this study of the Scriptures glorified the Lord, and encouraged and comforted your heart.
D] Continue to read ahead in Isaiah and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to encourage your heart in His promises and coming Kingdom.
