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Isaiah 40 Commentary

Comfort, yes, Comfort My people

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KEY THOUGHT: “Speak [a]comfort to Jerusalem [Isaiah 40:2a NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Isaiah 40 NKJV
God’s People Are Comforted

40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak [a]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.”

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight [b]in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made [c]straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And [d]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.”

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!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come [e]with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His [f]work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

12 Who has measured the [g]waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a [h]span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, 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 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.

18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such [i]a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.

21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
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 out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He [j]brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

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.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His 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 just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on 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.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 40:2 Lit. to the heart of
b. Isaiah 40:3 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX omits in the desert
c. Isaiah 40:4 Or a plain
d. Isaiah 40:6 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Vg. I
e. Isaiah 40:10 in strength
f. Isaiah 40:10 recompense
g. Isaiah 40:12 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; DSS adds of the sea; Tg. adds of the world
h. Isaiah 40:12 A span .5 cubit, 9 inches; or the width of His hand
i. Isaiah 40:20 an offering
j. Isaiah 40:23 reduces

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 40 Commentary

Chapter 39 closed with Isaiah announcing the exile, the scattering, or the punishment. The announcement is placed somewhere during the reign of Hezekiah.

The scattering happened about 100 years after Isaiah’s announcement, during the reign of King Zedekiah, in 587 BC.

The punishment would last 70 years as directed by the LORD through the prophet Jeremiah.

Chapter 40 seems to announce the restoration. But it’s a complex situation. You don’t understand it until the New Testament.

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Verse 1. Then an announcement that punishment is fully served. Then pardon follows. Of course, it looks normal and fits the context provided by the period covered by Zechariah and Haggai – Ezra and Nehemiah being in the background.

But verse 3, with its announcement to “Prepare the way of the LORD,” throws everything out of the window. This is the way of Immanuel, the Branch, and importantly, the Son with the government upon His shoulder. He brings peace. After all, He is the Prince of Peace!

So “comfort” doesn’t come until the time of the “Son born to us”.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27.

“My kingdom is not of this world.” John 18:36.

Then we know what we are talking about. Yes, physical Jerusalem provides the actual object of reference, but the New Testament points to a greater other Jerusalem.

“The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together…” Could we be talking about the second appearance of the Son when all flesh see Him in His glory?

Yes, we have the greater picture, but we also have the smaller picture provided by the immediate times to which the scripture prophet speaks – the new dispensation after 70 years of punishment.

The LORD has ordered the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the “hard service has been completed”. Let the nation restart life under the rule of God. Let there be a way for the LORD into the life of the nation. Then, and only then, will the glory of the LORD be revealed.

But is God’s rule really possible around this time? The Scripture appears to pour scorn on this hope. Human faithfulness is fragile. Like grass, it falters. And real restoration depends on human faithfulness! Yet the word that the LORD would restore His rule over Jerusalem remains intact and unchanged. You begin to think about yet another future beyond the prophet’s present time, as already discussed.

You begin to think about another human being whose faithfulness won’t falter. The announcement, therefore, becomes one for the New Testament – a time when “the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and rules with a mighty arm”. It is the time of Immanuel – the Son born to us. Verse 11 introduces another office: “he tends his flock like a shepherd.”

Then we have a praise psalm describing the shepherd, Immanuel, or the Son – the Sovereign LORD. The Creator God reigns over all creation. He is in charge. It is a message that the saint needs today. In the midst of confusion and increased wickedness, let the saint know that the Sovereign LORD remains on the throne. His word never fails.

Let not the saint worry.

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.

Reading the Bible is an interesting activity. You hear God speak to you in different time slots. The context can shift places, but the message is always the same: let the Sovereign LORD rule in your life. The message is packaged differently, but it is always the same.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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