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.
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