Isaiah 40:1-6, 8, 10-15, 18-19, 21-23, 25-31

Isaiah 40:1-6, 8, 10-15, 18-19, 21-23, 25-31 NIV

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 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.

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

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. 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.

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? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? 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? 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.

With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. 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? 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. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

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. Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord ; my cause is disregarded by my 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. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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.

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The first 39 chapters of Isaiah deal with the threat of Assyrian invasion between 720-701BC. Isaiah 40 begins the second part of Isaiah, dealing with the exilic period under Babylon between 586-538 BC. Babylonia conquered Judah and deported Jews three times over a period of years. The last time they sacked Jerusalem, tore down the city walls, and razed the temple. The deportations were in 597, 586, and 581 BC. The traditional period for the exile is 70 years. Isaiah 40 is a message delivered to the Jews living in exile under Babylonian oppression.

The exiles had become hopeless and said things like, "God has forgotten us." "God does not see our suffering or surely He would do something about it." Isaiah intends to speak into their hopelessness a word of comfort and truth by reminding the exiles of who God is. The message is delivered as the words spoken by Yahweh to the people.

The good news begins by comforting the people of God with the news that their time of punishment for their sins is over. With tenderness the Lord announces it's time to go home. Pack up and make a straight path back to Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord is coming to deliver you. Make way! The Lord like a shepherd is bringing you home with love and tenderness.

The prophet compares God to people and to other aspects of creation. This section intends to make the point of God's magnanimity. People are like grass compared to the Eternal One. They're here today and gone tomorrow. Mortals fall when God blows a puff from His nostrils. Kings and kingdoms topple with a wave of God's hand. Oceans fit in the psalm of God's hand. The immensity of the creator of the universe cannot be fathomed, nor can God's mind be mastered by any other being. God has no teacher for God is all knowing.

Isaiah 40:25 NIV

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

The purpose for this rhetoric is to encourage the Jews. The unstoppable God is coming to deliver them. Idol makers foolishly portray God as an image of some creature or heavenly body made of precious metals or hardwood. Is there really anything in heaven or earth that can adequately represent God? God is creator of all, the mind and power behind all life everywhere. How can the Jewish exiles think that God doesn't know their pain? God sees all and understands everything completely.

God had not forgotten His promises to Israel. He had not disregarded them. In fact they endure exile just as promised in the law of Moses. Their unfaithfulness to the Lord brought it about. Those were the terms explicitly recorded for all to see, but the Jews chose idolatry instead of faithful worship and attendance to the living God. They settled for less, thinking they were getting more.

But now their time in exile is over. They are ready to return home. Isaiah comforts them with words of God's strength given to them. He will give them what they need to endure and return home to thrive.

Have you ever thought God was too busy to hear your prayers? Have you thought your concerns were too small to bother God? Has it crossed your mind that God doesn't care about your struggle? Isaiah 40 is the biblical passage for you. For the prophet reminds us of the truth. God is everlasting. He has all the time in the world. He is not bound by time or space. He is everywhere and always. You can rely on His strength as you wait in hope on the Lord to lead you through your trials, whatever they may be. Look up at the stars and know God named every one of them when He placed them there. And all the hairs on your head are numbered, meaning your God knows you intimately. Let the Lord shepherd you and lead you home. Trust in Him and be renewed in His mighty strength.