Isaiah 40

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Isaiah Chapter 40

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Isaiah

Date Penned: (700-681 BC)

Overview: To Tell of God's Salvation through the Messiah (c 1-66)

Theme: Words of Comfort (c 40-66)

Message: Israel's Release from Captivity (v 1-31)

Isaiah 40 Commentary

(40:1) A Message of Comfort - The book of Isaiah makes a dramatic shift at this point. The following chapters discuss the majesty of God, who is coming to rule the earth and judge all people. God will reunite Israel and Judah and restore them to glory. Instead of warning the people of impending judgment as he had previously done, Isaiah here comforts them. Isaiah 40 points to the restoration after the Exile. Cyrus would be the instrument of their deliverance from Babylon. Secondarily, it looks to the end of time when "Babylon"-the future evil world system--will be destroyed and the persecution of God's people will end.

(40:1-2) Comfort in the Word - Judah still had 100 years of trouble before Jerusalem would fall and then 70 years of exile. So God told Isaiah to speak tenderly and to comfort Jerusalem. The seeds of comfort may take root in the soil of adversity. When your life seems to be falling apart, ask God to comfort you. You may not escape adversity, but you may find God's comfort as you face it. In some cases, the only comfort we have is in the knowledge that someday we will be with God. Appreciate the comfort and encouragement found in his Word, his presence, and his people.

(40:3-5) The Straightway - Preparing a straight highway means removing obstacles and rolling out the red carpet, so to speak, for the coming of the Lord. The wilderness is a picture of life's trials and sufferings. We are not immune to these, but our faith need not be hindered by them. Isaiah told people to prepare to see God work. John the Baptist used these words as he challenged the people to prepare for the coming Messiah (Matthew 3:3).

(40:6-8) People are compared here to grass and flowers that wither away. We are mortal, but God's Word is eternal and unfailing. As we grow older, the vital bodies we had as young people begin to decline. As we fade physically, we can see the enduring quality of God's Word more clearly. This reminds us to count on him for eternal life and not on our own strength (see 1 Peter 1:23-25). God's Word remains constant. Only in God's eternal Word will we find hope, comfort, and eternal security.

(40:11) Relying on the Lord - The Bible often pictures God as a shepherd, gently caring for and guiding his flock. He is powerful (40:10), yet careful and gentle. He is described as a shepherd throughout Scripture (Psalm 23; John 10:11, 14; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4). Note that the shepherd in this verse cares for the most defenseless members of his society: the young and those caring for them. This reinforces the prophetic theme that the truly powerful nation is not the one with a strong military but rather the one that relies on God's caring strength as it places priority on caring for its people, especially the least of these (see Matthew 25:40).

(40:12-31) God is All-Powerful - Isaiah describes God's power to create, his provision to sustain, and his presence to help. God is almighty and all-powerful; but even so, he cares generously for everything and everyone. No person or thing can be compared to God

(40:25) Power on Display - We describe God as best we can with our limited knowledge and language, but we only limit our understanding of him and his power when we compare him to what we experience on earth. This passage is similar to Job 38:1-41:34. When we feel overwhelmed by life's struggles, these bold statements about our Creator God can remind us that he is in control and that his loving rule will ultimately prevail. He guides and sustains the universe and the circumstances of our daily lives. We can rest in the knowledge of that truth and find peace. Don't limit God's work in your life by underestimating him.

(40:29-31) Renewal - Even the strongest people get tired at times, but God's power and strength never diminish. He is never too tired or too busy to help and listen. His strength is our source of strength. When you feel life crushing you and you cannot go another step, remember that you can call upon God to renew your strength.

(40:31) Renewing Your Strength - Part of waiting on the Lord is expecting that his promise of strength will help us to rise above life's distractions and difficulties. Do you believe God loves you and wants the best for you? Can you relax, confident that his purposes are right? Are you convinced that he has the power to control all of life--and your life as well? Though your faith may be struggling or weak, hold on tightly to it, and you will begin to experience the strength you need

Dave Burnette's Life Application
His Everlasting Word

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today, we continue in the Book of Isaiah with Chapter 40. Today's text shows Israel's release from captivity and a promise that God will feed His Flock. In applying, verse 8 Catches my eye, stating that the Word of the Lord will stand forever. Today, many still try to deny or eliminate the Word from their lives, but the truth is you will never be able to escape God's Word. How about you? Do you see the Word of God as an everlasting truth? Let us learn from our text today and the promise of God to Feed His People through His Word, which shall stand forever.

Isaiah 40

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Isaiah 40

¹Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

²Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

³The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

⁵And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

⁶The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

⁷The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

⁸The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

⁹O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

¹⁰Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

¹¹He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

¹²Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

¹³Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

¹⁴With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

¹⁵Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

¹⁶And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

¹⁸To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

¹⁹The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

²⁰He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

²¹Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

²²It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

²³That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

²⁴Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

²⁵To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

²⁷Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

²⁸Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

²⁹He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

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