Isaiah
Messianic prophecies, and the remnant of Israel
Comfort and good news announced to the people of God
Chapter 40, verses 1 to 9
SUBJECT TO REVISION
Here we have the beginning of the third and final part of the book of Isaiah (ch. 40-66), in which the Prophet is waiting for the repentance of the people, with the expectation of return of Judah from the Babylonian captivity and then the future restoration of the whole nation in the second advent of Christ.
It can be divided into three parts, each ending with a solemn warning to the ungodly:
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Chapters 40 to 48 - the contrast between the Lord and the idols, and between Israel and the Gentiles. "There is no peace for the wicked, saith the Lord" (48:22).
• Chapters 49 to 57 - the sufferings of the servant of the Lord and his glory. "No peace for the wicked, saith my God" (57:21).
• Chapters 58 to 66-the contrast between the hypocrites, the rebels, and the faithful, the persecuted. "... the maggot will never die, nor your fire will go out, and they will be a horror to all flesh (66:24) ".
Comfort for the people of God (vs. 1 to 5)
In this chapter, the promise of deliverance of the people of Israel begins with the order "comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God," which, with the following until the verse 11, form a prologue to the rest of the book. The word translated "consolation" here means do breathing again and so is significant not only for consolation but lasting power, as a result of the revival and relief. The replay is indicative of urgency.
Three reasons are given for the solace, predicting that would be future blessings in the days of Isaiah, but largely fulfilled on staff of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
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"Its malice is over": the Hebrew word mistranslated as "malice" by Abdullah, and a little better as "work" in NIV, denotes mainly the military service or the feudal service, and also some other state of forced submission miserable and unhappy; the Israelites were enslaved in this way (as every sinner is enslaved by sin).
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"Your iniquity is atoned"; the Hebrew verb translated "expiate" means "happy", as the satisfaction of a debt by your payment; This points to the sacrifice of Calvary, when God's justice was satisfied by Atonement is made;
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"Received in the Lord's hand double for all her sins"; This last reason says more fully the substance of the two previous reasons. Having earlier described the sins and the punishment that would come about Jerusalem, the message now is benign, because it predicts the future time when you will have finished your slavery and their lawlessness will have been atoned, as have received the perfect and complete measure ("double") for all your sins.
The instruction to "prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord..." is not moral and spiritual topography. She was observed by John the Baptist in the first coming of Christ to the world (Matthew 3:3), and will be by Elias in the second advent (Malachi 4:5-6). In the range, so the remnant of Israel as believers in Christ need comfort and each of us can do their bit comforting the people of God in the midst of the tribulation.
The mountains and hills of verse 4 can represent the gaps and roughness of character of humanity, as the pride, arrogance, alcoholism, chemical dependency, etc. Everything will be flattened, all that hinders a proper condition of the people of God before him is now faced and removed, as the verse 3, and the way is open for the blessing to him.
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and every eye will see him (see Revelation 1:7). This is the manifestation of the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Nothing and no one can stop this happening "because the mouth of the Lord hath said."
How many times God intervenes when things seem to be desperate, and the opposition and agigantam difficulties before us. In these cases, the resistance by faith receive the award.
The word of God remains forever (vs. 6 to 9)
At this point a voice orders Isaiah to cry out, and the prophet asks, "What shall I cry?" arguing that mankind is transient like grass. In contrast, "the word of our God stands forever."
The divine Word is as Himself. What God says, He is, and just as He is eternal His word will remain forever. Since the Lord Jesus is the Word of God, the Divine word (John 1:1), this statement is confirmed in His person, and is specially declared in His reply to the Jews in John 8:25: He Himself was exactly what He had told them from the beginning. His teaching was the expression of His nature and character.
The reality of what Isaiah says has been proven through many centuries in which the Bible has remained alive and effective amongst us, despite the changes of the times and customs, and the powerful and frequent attacks that the enemy has made seeking to destroy it.
The oppressors of Israel they will fade and die like grass, under the judgments of God. We have the relatively recent example of Hitler and his henchmen.
R David Jones
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1 "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God.
2 "Speak comfort 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."
Isa 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;
Isa 40:5 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 The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."
The Greatness of God
9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
Isaiah chapter 40, verses 1 to 9