Isaiah 40 - New Beginnings for God's People

Isaiah 40 comes on the heels of numerous prophetic denunciations of Israel, the surrounding nations, and a recap of the life of Hezekiah - Isaiah 36-39. He was one of the very few kings who sought to follow Yahweh. But even his reign, for all its religious reformation, couldn’t hold back forever the inevitable exile to Babylon of God’s people; a people who consistently and provocatively worshipped other gods, blaspheming God’s name among the nations.

Is this where it would all end? Would Israel be wiped from the map as they were judged and exiled? Would God’s promise to Abraham – that he would be a blessing to the world – become untenable, null and void? This would not have been an unreasonable assumption, as the history of Israel gives little comfort it would be otherwise.

This is why Isaiah 40 is such a change in prophetic perception, so startling. It begins with comforting God’s people (my people) and saying Jerusalem has paid double for her sins. Then the prophet presents us with remarkable prophetic promises and insights (prophets don’t just speak of the future) of God and the future, but not before putting mankind in its place. Sandwiched between the promise of the voice from the wilderness and the promise of God’s deliverance for the nation is the sobering piece about the difference between the enduring Word of God and the inconstancy of mankind, who, like grass and flowers in the desert is short lived. This is a realization, that left to our resources we will never go the distance but must rely upon and act in accordance with God’s enduring Word. We are necessarily surrounded by Gods promises and incomparability. Salvation belongs to the Lord – they were never going to make it on their own.

V3-5

Firstly, we hear the cry that a way for the Lord was to be prepared in the wilderness. Mountains would be leveled, valleys lifted, and rough ways made smooth – a highway created. And God’s glory would be seen - because God’s mouth has spoken it. This was fulfilled in John the Baptist’s ministry of repentance and preparation in which the proud (the mountains) were brought low and the poor, the humble (the valleys) lifted. God’s glory was to be reflected in Jesus – the exact representation of Yahweh.

V6-8

Again, a voice cries out, but this time it describes people – that we are like desert grass, our constancy like that of the fading flower of the desert that momentarily blooms – magnificent for a moment. There is nothing permanent or consistent about people. It is the Word of the Lord that endures forever.

The previous chapters of Isaiah (1-39) are testimony to the fickle and dissolute nature of people, even God’s people – like desert grass and flowers. God’s word on the other hand does not wither or fade. It is constancy itself; its bloom does not pale; its splendor never fades.

V9-11

Realizing the inability of humankind to save themselves Isaiah then paints a picture of what God comes to do, what we cannot do. He comes with might, he brings reward, he feeds and cares for his flock (a picture of our dependency and helplessness if there ever was one). In these verses proclaiming the enduring Word of God is juxtaposed to the testimony of the withering and fading nature of people.

V12-26

The prophet goes on to ask, who can you compare the Lord with, who is his equal, who knows things from the beginning, is he like an idol? The text brushes aside any idea that God can be compared to anything in creation. He is simply God, all powerful and knowing the end from the beginning. His word, which is him, stands unassailable.

Man can’t save himself, can’t keep from drifting to idols. Our glory is short-lived, fading like desert grass and flowers. Only God can come to level and lift and show Himself.

These verses were an encouragement to a weakened and soon to be exiled people. Their circumstances looked hopeless but God’s word, which spoke of their exile, would prevail and endure. They would return to the land and God would come to them, redeeming them. This was their comfort in their crisis, spoken in the first verses of chapter 40 – Comfort, O comfort my people – speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

Whatever circumstances we find ourselves, whether due to our own failures, foolishness or circumstances beyond our control, we can take heart in the enduring word (promises) God has made to his people, as he did to Israel.