Freedom

1. We humans are enslaved beings.

"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they are." Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

2. We humans enslave one another (by our demands, expectations, power).

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Martin Luther King Jr.

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves." Abraham Lincoln.

3. Freedom involves making a choice/decision.

"Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought. Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us; to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." Abraham Lincoln.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire.

"The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion." John F. Kennedy.

{ unencumbered } "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Heb 12:1).

4. The way to freedom.

{ soaring, flying } "...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles..." (Isa 40:31, NIV). ["wait for" (ESV, NASB); "trust" (HCSB, NLT)]

{ set free } "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:31-32). ["abide" (ESV), "continue" (NASB, HCSB), "remain faithful" (NLT)]

{ you must be freed } "Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free" (Jn 8:36, HCSB). "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor 3:17). "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law" (Gal 5:1, NLT).

{ greatest, most useful lesson } "If you want to learn something that will really help you, learn to see yourself as God sees you and not as you see yourself in the distorted mirror of your own self-importance. This is the greatest and most useful lesson we can learn: to know ourselves for what we truly are, to admit freely our weaknesses and failings, and to hold a humble opinion of ourselves because of them." Thomas Kempis.

{ embrace suffering as inevitable } "Plan as you like and arrange everything as best you can, yet you will always encounter some suffering whether you want to or not. Go wherever you will, you will always find the cross… God wants you to learn to endure troubles without comfort, to submit yourself totally to him, and to become more humble through adversity." Thomas Kempis.

"Great tranquility (freedom) of heart is his who cares for neither praise nor blame." "Grant me prudently (freedom) to avoid him that flatters me, and to endure patiently him that contradicts me." Thomas Kempis.

No one can be happy without freedom. Unhappiness comes from enslavement.

Justice / misphat (Isaiah 42:1,3,4), judge / shaphat, righteousness /tsedeq

• Misphat (justice) (Isa 42:1,3,4): right order, divine truth, the revelation of God, right principles. Justice expresses righteousness in sound precepts.
• Shaphat (to judge) (Isa 2:4): put things to right.
  
• Tsedeq (righteousness) (Isa 9:7): doing the right thing, right practice. Righteousness embodies holiness in sound precepts.

Misphat (justice) and Tsedeq (righteousness) coming together (Isa 5:7) usually means right practice and right principles (Isa 1:21, 27; 9:7; 16:5; 32:1, 16; 35:5; 59:9).

The Messiah's rule is consistently characterized by the administration of justice (Isa 9:7; 11:3-4; 32:1; 42:1,3,4; Ps 72:1-5; Jer 23:5; 33:15). The term justice (misphat) appears to be a fairly straightforward concept, but interpreters have connected this term with a multitude of ideas:

• the general idea of a custom, manner of behavior,
• a place of judgment,
• a case to be presented for judgment,
• the sentence, decision of a case,
• ordinance, laws, rules of behavior,
• a right, privilege of law,
• true religion,
• religious teaching, the rule of salvation; a royal duty of defending the weak and ordering the total "well-being of the community" based on earlier ideals presented in Isa 2:2-4; 11:1-5.
  

God intends to restore justice when his kingdom is introduced (Isa 1:27; 2:2-4; 4:4; 5:16; 11:1-5; 26:9; 28:6; 30:18; 33:5), and this servant will have a key role in accomplishing this goal (Isa 42:1,3,4).

The Hebrew word/noun translated "justice/judgment" (Isa 42:1,3,4) is מִשְׁפָּט (misphat). In many ways it is the antonym of תֹּהוּ (tohu, tohuw), chaos (Gen 1:3; Isa 24:10; 29:21; 34:11; 40:17, 23; 41:29; 44:9; etc). It is much more than merely legality, as "justice" has come to connote in English. Rather, it has the idea of "right order." This is why it is often paralleled to צֶדֶק (tsedeq), which is usually translated "righteousness," but simply has the idea of "doing the right thing." This means that misphat has a much larger pool of connotations than does the word "justice." To be sure, a world where the innocent are punished and the oppressors go free is a world where misphat is lacking. The word contains everything we think of as "justice," but it contains more than that as well.

The verb "judge" (שָׁפַט - shaphat) has the basic meaning of "making an authoritative pronouncement which decides issues." Likewise its noun misphat points to a society in which such a rule prevails. In Isa 42:1,3,4 misphat is the pronouncement itself, the revelation of the Lord's truth (Dt 5:1). Shaphat, therefore, does not have the meaning of "to condemn," to pass an adverse sentence, but to make whatever decision settles a particular issue -- or all issues (Ps 98:9), to "put things to right."

In Judges when the people disobey they are being beaten down by oppressors. They do not experience the kind of right order that God intended in his world. So in response to repentance and faith God sends a champion who will restore them to the kind of life God intended for them. Thus, misphat is restored in the land. So Isaiah is saying that the coming Messiah will do all that is necessary to restore God's right order on the earth.

Idols vs. the Perfect Servant (Isaiah 41:21-29; 42:1-9)

41:21-29 is Isaiah's 2nd statement of his case against idols and 42:1-9 is his 2nd address to the servant of the Lord. The case against idols is similar to the first (Isa 41:7) except that it is considerably more pointed. The address to the servant is very different from the first (Isa 41:8-20), so much so that it is likely to be a different servant being addressed.

The Case Against the Idols (41:21-29)

(41:21-24) Again God calls on the idol worshippers to present their case that the things they worship are really gods (Isa 41:21-22). Here Isaiah strikes directly at the heart of the pagan worldview. He calls on the idolaters to give evidence that their idols have ever specifically predicted the future or give an explanation of the past (Isa 41:22). Since there is neither a sense of purpose or of overarching meaning, there is no possibility of understanding why anything happens. If the past cannot be explained, then neither can the future be predicted (Isa 41:23). Have any of the gods ever given a specific prediction of something that had never happened before but that then subsequently did occur? Of course not. So God mocks them, daring them to do anything at all--either good for their worshippers or frightening against their enemies (Isa 41:23). But there is no answer. So God pronounces judgment (Isa 41:24). These gods are nothing. Their works are worthless. Those who worship them are foolish (detestable, an abomination). In attempting to deify creation, the idol worshippers have actually committed an offense against it.

(41:25-27) God responds to the challenge. God has a plan for history. What will unfold before the exiles' eyes will be the evidence of it. God has brought the conqueror (Isa 41:2; 44:28-45:1) who is coming down on Babylon like a brick-maker or a potter, who jumps into the vat where the clay is and treads it into liquid form (Isa 41:25).

It is one thing to assert that Cyrus's is coming at the direction of Jacob's King (Isa 41:21), but quite another to prove that the assertion is so. To prove this Isaiah declares that none of the idols predicted Cyrus's coming at all (Isa 41:26, 28). By contrast, the God of Israel did make such a prediction in advance (Isa 41:27) through Isaiah his messenger of good tidings in this very writing. The prediction is made in what Isaiah wrote during his own lifetime. Then when that writing is read with opened eyes (Isa 8:16; 29:11-12) amidst its fulfillment during the Exile, 150 years later, it will become its own confirmation.

41:28-29 is the pronouncement of judgment on the idol worshippers. They have been unable to give any answer to the questions God asked (Isa 41:28). There is no one among them who can give evidence that their gods are even in the same category as Yahweh (Isa 41:29). He alone is truly Other, and thus he alone is truly Holy. All who worship something other than the true God are doomed to become like their gods: nothing, worthless, wind and chaos (Isa 41:24,29). Their lives are doomed to become as meaningless as their gods are.

As Address to the Servant (42:1-9)

God's perfect Servant. The "servant of God" theme is one of the riches strands of Isaiah's thought, and it lies right at the heart of his message as it moves to its climax in this second half of the book.

In 41:1-20 the fearful servant needed to be reassured that although Cyrus's coming meant terror for the idol worshippers, it need not cause the servant any fear (Isa 41:10, . In 42:1-9 expands on Yahweh's control of history. Just as God will bring down the Babylonian Empire through Cyrus, so he will bring justice (Isa 42:1,3,4) to the nations  through his servant. The "new things" God will do through his servant (Isa 42:9) is what the gods/idols could never declare in advance, which the Lord can do so with impunity.

The identity of this servant has been the source of endless controversy. The differences between him and the servant Israel are striking. The servant Israel is fearful and blind, yet God loves him and will deliver him so that he can be God's evidence to the nations that he is indeed God. But this Servant who only appears here in ch.40-48 and but three times in ch.49-50, is of a different sort. He is always obedient and responsive to God, his mission is to bring justice to the nations for God, and he is to be a light to the nations and a covenant to the people (Isa 49:6). In contrast to the promises of divine blessing constantly being given to the servant Israel, this servant receives no benefits through his ministry but only increasing difficulty (49:1-7; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). In sum, whoever this is, it is not the nation of Israel; it is another figure altogether.

The reiterated statements are that

• this person is going to bring justice on the earth (Isa 42:1,3,4),
• God's Spirit will be on him (Isa 42:1), and
• his accomplishment of this end will not be through oppression (Isa 42:3).
  

This reminds us of the prophecies of the Messiah in Isaiah 9, 11 and 32, where we have the servant as King, while here we have the king as Servant. The idea that the ends of the earth (the islands), which could not defend the deity of their gods (Isa 41:1), will put their hope/wait for/trust in his law (Isa 42:4) is further indication that this figure is a messianic one (Isa 2:1-5).

The further description of the ministry of this Servant in 42:6-7 confirms that this is not the nation but someone who will function for the nation and indeed for the world. Where Israel was blind and deaf, captive to the powers of this world, this Servant will give sight and freedom. This ministry will be the ultimate revelation of the glory of God, which fills the earth (Isa 6:3) and belongs to no idol (Isa 42:8).

Reference: Oswalt, John N. Isaiah: The NIV Application Commentary. 2003.

Fear Not, I Am God (Isaiah 41)

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isa 41:10). "'For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,' declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Isa 41:13-14).

In 40:12-31 Isaiah reasoned that the greatness of Yahweh as Creator guarantees that the huge and worldwide promises of 40:1-11 will be fulfilled. This great God cannot fail to keep his promises and guard his people. In 41:1-20, Isaiah offers a second guarantee: Yahweh is also the world ruler (41:1-7), and in this capacity he is also the guardian of his own people (41:8-20).

In ch. 41-46, Isaiah seems to repeat key themes in varying ways. Then ch. 47 draws the conclusions of what has been said as regards Babylon, and ch. 48 is a call to trust and belief. The hymnic portions in 42:10-13 and 44:23 are regarded as structural indicators that bring a previous unit to a close and introduce a new one. The structure may then be 41:1-42:9; 42:10-44:22; and 44:23-47:15.

Two subsections can be identified within 41:1-42:9, each beginning with a challenge to the idol worshipers to present their best case that their gods are truly divine.

1. 41:1-20 speaks of the terror that God's activities are inducing among the idol worshipers (2-7) but goes on to assure his servant Israel that they need not be afraid (8-20).
   
2. 41:21-42:9 begins with a strong argument for God's superiority over the idols because he alone has foretold the future (41:21-29) and concludes by introducing the ideal Servant, through whom God will bring justice on the earth (42:1-9).
   

(41:1) God's Challenge to the Nations. 41:1 introduces an imaginary court case between God and the idols in order to determine who is really God. Each side is to bring forward evidence to prove their point. Here God calls the islands and nations from the farthest ends of the earth to be silent in the presence of the Judge of the universe and to hear his evidence. Then they must make whatever response they can. By this means God will demonstrate to his fearful people downtrodden that their captivity in Babylon in no way calls his power or lordship into question.

(41:2-7) God's Activities as Evidence

41:2-4 God begins with a rhetorical question and answers it (Isa 41:2,4). The "one from the east" is most certainly the Persian Cyrus (Isa 45:1), who was to bring down the Babylonian Empire. God is appealing to his unique nature as the Sovereign Lord as evidence that he alone is God (Isa 41:4b). This argument will be repeated and intensified several times in the next few chapters as this court case continues.

Isaiah not only says that God has called Cyrus forth. He also says that it is God who has given the nations into his hand, such that Cyrus is able to subdue every nation he encounters with ease, treating them like grain to be threshed (Isa 41:2) because this is in God's plan, the God who knows the end from the beginning (Isa 41:4b; 43:10; 44:6; 46:10; 48:12). God is not just a part of the process, as the pagan gods are. Rather, God stands outside of time, calling it into existence, directing its path, and bringing it to an end. "I am he" is a statement both of self-existence and self-identity (Exo 6:3). God says he is the One who "is." Every other life form on the planet is derivative. But God is the One who has neither beginning nor end. He simply "is."

41:5-7 When the "nations" of the earth hear of Cyrus's earth-shaking conquests, they will be terrified (41:5-6). So what can they do ... other than to make better idols (Isa 41:7). This idea (Isa 40:25-26) is repeated in the coming chapters (Isa 41:22-24; 44:9-20; 46:6-7). Because there is no encouragement to be had from their gods, idol worshippers must encourage one another (Isa 41:6) and saying "It is good" (Isa 41:7), which reminds us of what the Creator repeatedly says of his creation in Genesis 1.

(41:8-20) 8-9 No Need for God's People to Fear. In this section God asserts that unlike the powerful nations around them, the Judean captives have nothing to fear. Their God is no idol whom they have made. God is powerful enough to do something about their situation. But does he want to? These verses insist that God has not cast them off because of their sin. In fact, they are his "servant," his "chosen" (Isa 41:8-9). God has not forgotten his promise to Abraham.

41:10 Just as God took Abraham from Mesopotamia and the Israelites out of Egypt, he can take them out of exile as well. God is with them to strengthen, help and uphold them so that they have nothing to fear (Isa 41:10). "Do not be afraid" is a central issue for people in captivity. As a result this theme is repeated so often in this section of Isaiah. What are they afraid of? That God has abandoned them. So Isaiah reminds them again and again that this will not happen.

41:11-14 They are also afraid that their many enemies will overpower them. This is addressed in 41:11-16. God will protect them and their enemies will simply evaporate before the Lord (Isa 41:11-12).  Why? Because "I am the Lord," language that is reminiscent of the Exodus. God will demonstrate his lordship by helping his people (Isa 41:13-14).

The word "Redeemer" appears for the first time in Isaiah (Isa 41:14). It appears 13 more times, 10 of them before Isa 54:9. It is given a special association with "the Holy One of Israel." In ch. 1-39 this expression for God most frequently conveyed his transcendent power and glory. In this part of Isaiah it is especially associated with his power to bring his own people back to him.

41:15-16 God continues to offer his people protection from their enemies. But now the focus moves from defense to offense. Just as Cyrus will use his sword to threst his enemies (Isa 41:2), so God is going to use Israel. A "threshing sledge" was constructed from pieces of wood with sharp stones (teeth) driven into them. This device was pulled around over a pile of cut grain so that the kernels of grain were separated from the husks both by the weight and by the cutting effect of the stones. God will use Israel in his plan of world history. They will not be passive by-standers, a helpless "worm" (Isa 41:14), but will be active participants with God in his work. We might think of Daniel in this respect, with his influence in both Babylon and Persia (Dan 6:25-28), and also of Esther and Mordecai (Est 10:1-3).

41:17-20 are a graphic summary of what has been said. Isaiah depicts a God who can do the impossible His people are spiritually dry and desolate. Their hopes are gone and their dreams broken. Yet God, who is not a part of the cosmic system and thus not captive to it (Isa 41:17), can do what is new and unheard of. He can make rivers flow on mountaintops and cause pools to spring up in the desert (Isa 41:18).

Such language is reminiscent of ch.35, where God said he could turn the desert into a garden, indeed into a forest (Isa 35:1,6-7). God reiterates that promise here. He even goes a step further by giving the reason for doing this for his people: so that the world may see the evidence in what God has done for Israel that he is indeed God, the Holy One (Isa 41:20). Ezekial makes a similar point when he says that God will show himself holy among his people so that the world may know who he is (Eze 36:23).

Waiting in Hope (Isaiah 40:27-31)

Both of the questions asked by the exiles have been fully answered in 40:1-26:

• 40:1-11 answers the question, "Does God care?" (Has our sins separated us from God forever?)
• 40:12-26 answers the question, "Is God able to deliver us?" (Was God not defeated by the gods of Babylon?)

How then should God's people respond? This question is answered in 40:27-31.

In 40:27 Isaiah anticipates the attitude of the exiles. They think that they are either now outside of God's vision for them ("my way is hidden") or that God has given up on them ("my cause is disregarded"). Their complaint is that God doesn't know and/or God doesn't care.

To this Isaiah responds that to think in this way is to have too low a view of God. It is to essentially not really know who God truly is. So Isaiah reminds them of who God is in 40:28-29, dealing with the Creator's endless power and wisdom in the first verse (Isa 40:28) and his wonderful desire and ability to share that power with the "weak" and the "weary" in the second (Isa 40:29). So Isaiah speaks of both the being and the person of God.

The question in 40:28 is incredulous. How could they say such things about God when they know who he is and what he is like. God knows our situation perfectly, and he can and will do something about it. The fact is that the most vigorous things in creation ("young men") cannot keep themselves going. They are not self-generating but are dependent on outside sources for their strength. God is not like that. God is self-generating. That means that he also has abundant strength to give away to those who will wait for ("hope in") him.

The theme of trust from ch.1-39 continues in Isa 40:31. This concept of trust as waiting has already appeared three times previously (Isa 8:17; 25:9; 33:2) and will appear twice more (Isa 49:23; 64:4). To "wait" on God is not simply to mark time. Rather, it is to live in confident expectation of his action on our behalf. It is to refuse to run ahead of him in trying to solve our problems for ourselves.

Just as Isaiah called on the people of his own day to trust God to solve their problems, he calls on the exiles a century or so later to do the same thing. If they are worn out and weary, hardly daring to believe that there is any future for them, the God of all strength can give them exactly what they need at the right time, whether or "soar," "run," or "walk" (Isa 40:31).

The Incomparable God (Isaiah 40:12-26)

Isaiah 40 (Oswalt):

1. God's promised deliverance (1-11).
2. God's ability to deliver his people (12-26).
3. Waiting in hope (27-31).
   

(Ray Ortland, Jr):

1. God's glory, our comfort (1-11).
2. God's uniqueness, our assurance (12-26).
3. God's greatness, our renewal (27-31).
   

After expressing the tenderness of Yahweh's shepherding care (1-11) Isaiah sets the magnificence of his sovereign power and executive rule as Creator (12-26). The former expresses the attractiveness and delightfulness of his promises; the latter his irresistible power to keep what he has promised.

40:1-11, the first section, has verified God's desire and intention to deliver his people. But is God able to do this? Why should we think that He can, since it seemed as though He was unable to prevent Babylon from capturing Judah and Jerusalem in the first place? Furthermore, there is no precedent and no evidence that any people have ever gone home from captivity before. In the long history of exile up until the fall of Babylon, there is no report of that ever happening. Thus, for God to say that it is going to happen for the Israelites is to make a huge claim.

Isaiah's approach and response is to assert that God is unique and incomparable. God is able to deliver not because he is greater than Babylon, but because he is the only God!

40:12-26 can be divided into two sections that parallel each other in general ways (12-20, 21-26).

• Each unit begins with an assertion in the form of rhetorical questions that the Lord is the sole Creator (12-14, 21).
  
• This is followed by an affirmation that the Lord is the Ruler of all nations and rulers (15-17, 22-24).
• Next is a rhetorical invitation to compare God with anything else (18a, 25).
• Finally, there is the claim of absolute superiority over the gods, whether conceived of as idols (18b-20) or as the heavenly host (26).

God is the sole Creator (40:12-17): God is transcendent; he is other than the world. Here are a series of rhetorical questions intended to bring the reader to the point of saying that Yahweh is the sole Creator. The doctrine of creation is important and crucial to this argument. The concept is not develped in logical proofs as much as it is assumed and built upon. Isaiah develops the point by insisting that God is other than creation. He is not the mountains or oceans or heavens, but he is other than all of these. He is not them but holds them in his hand. He originated the world, but he is not the world.

40:13-14 is aimed at the polytheistic religions, where a counselor/magician among the gods assists the other gods in realizing their purposes. Isiah asserts that there are no such beings, that "understanding" (Isa 40:14) originated with the Originator of all things. To think otherwise is to give up transcendence. To give that up transcendence is to be dropped into the morass (chaos) where life is only the outworking of a deterministic cycle coming from nowhere and going nowhere.

Compared to the One who holds the oceans in his hand (Isa 40:12a), the nations of the earth are "as nothing" (Isa 40:17). Unlike the other gods, the God of Israel is not a personalization of his nation. He brought all the nations into existence, but he is not an extension of any of them. To God the most important of the nations does not weigh enough to even move a balance scale (Isa 40:12b). Babylon, Assyria, Egypt may be great in their own eyes and int he eyes of their neighbors, but in the eyes of the One who spoke light into existence (Gen 1:3), they mean little. Isa 40:16 is saying that no earthly sacrifice is sufficient to manipulate God in favor of earthly concerns. If all the forests of Lebanon were set on fire and all its animals burned on the fire, it would not affect him at all.

An idol is a no-god (40:18-20). If God is the sole Creator and the Lord of the nations, can we even say that an idol is comparable to him? The diatribe against the idols [no gods] is the first of several (Isa 41:6-7; 42:17; 44:9-20; 46:5-7; 48:5). This is the prophets insistence on the transcendence of God. If God is not the world, then any atempt to represent him in the forms of this world has deadly consequences. It immediately links him to the world and begins the process of ultimately making God identical with the world. The emphasis on the making of the idol is intentional. How can something made by humans possibly be the maker of the humans who made it?

God is other than the heavens (40:21-24); he is not just other than the world. The cycle begins again. God is other than the heavens for "He stretches out the heavens like a canopy" (Isa 40:22). He is not overawed by the "rulers" (Isa 40:23) of this earth. In fact, their destiny (like Sennacherib's) is in his hands (Dan 4:34-35). Isa 40:24 with its comparison of the kings of earth to plants seems to reflect Isa 40:6-8. Like plants, the kings grow up quickly and wither away. The tender plants of humanity are no match for the eternal judgments of God. God's word can just blow them away (Isa 40:7).

No one is God's equal (40:25-26). God asks the readers himself--if we know of anything that can compare to him. If it is not the gorgeous idols of the craftsman, perhaps it is the stars of heaven, the "starry host" that pagans believed were representations of the gods (2 Ki 17:16; 21:3). Isaiah retorts that God "created" them and brings them out night after night "by name," like a shepherd calling his flock. Is the product on the same plane as the maker, or the sheep on the same plane as the shepherd? No, the stars only exist because of the "great power and mighty strength" of Judah's God (Isa 40:26).

The God of Comfort (Isaiah 40:1-11)

Isaiah 40 answers the question, "Who is your God?" God is:

1. The God of Comfort (1-11).
2. The Incomparable God (12-26).
3. The God Who Makes Man Fly (27-31).
   

40:1-11 are often referred to as the "prologue" to "Second Isaiah." In contrast to ch.1-39 no longer is the prophetic message to be primarily one of judgment, which has been made in the fires of the Exile (2). Now the message is to be one of hope. Although the people have withered and fallen like dried grass, God's word as spoken by his prophet will not fail (6-8). Just as God has said judgment would come, and it had, so he now says restoration will come, and it will.

40:1-2 provide an introduction and set the tone for the following three 3-verse stanzas (3-5, 6-8, 9-11). The idea of "comfort" (1) is to "encourage" as is "speak tenderly" (2). Isaiah sees a day when his people will be crushed to the ground under the burden of their sins. They will feel sure that all is lost and that all the promises have been nullified by their rebellion. But the message to be proclaimed to them is that this is not so. The Exile is not to destroy them but only to punish them. Now that punishment is complete ("double"), God has a word of hope for them.

A highway (40:3-5). In the first stanza, some of the language of ch.35 is resumed. There is a "highway" in the desert/wilderness. But in this case the highway is for "our God." As in 52:7 and 63:1, it is God who comes to helpless Zion to set her free. Nothing can prevent his swift coming to his people's aid, neither mountains nor valleys. The highway will be level and straight, so that God can come quickly. If there is to be deliverance for God's people, it must come from God's direct intervention. There is no other hope.

God's word (40:6-8). The second stanza has a twofold implication. Judean flesh is like grass. They have been consumed by their sins and there is no permanence in them at all, nor is there anything they can do to help themselves. But Babylonian flesh is also like grass. If the Judeans are to be delivered from Exile, God will have to do it. If God does decide to do it, there is nothing the Babylonians can do to prevent it. There is no permanence in anything human. If God speaks a promise, that "word" will stand, and nothing on earth can alter it (Isa 40:8).

Good news (40:9-11). The third and final stanza commands that a messenger not only proclaims "good news to Zion" but also shouts it from a high mountain (Isa 40:9). Zion is not merely a recipient of God's grace but also a messenger of that grace to the surrounding world. What is the good news he is to shout? As stated later in Isa 52:7--"Your God reigns!"--it the intervention of God in the world. The Creator "comes" (Isa 40:10) and breaks into his world, both to break the power of evil with his "mighty arm" (Isa 40:10) and "like a shepherd," to gather up the broken in his gentle "arms" (Isa 40:11).

Isaiah 40 questions

Theme:

• Chs.1-39 is Trust: the Basis of Servanthood.
• Chs. 40–55 is Grace: Motive and Means for Servanthood, for trusting God.
• Ch. 40 is the intro.
• Ch. 41–48 is part A, Motive.
• Ch. 49– 55 is part B, Means.

Most students of Isaiah agree that ch. 40–55 were written to the Judeans exiled to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Some, doubting that Isaiah could have written this ~150 years in advance, think that an anonymous prophet, a devotee of Isaiah, wrote it about 550 B.C. The book makes no reference to this. It seems to want its readers to believe that it is all the work of Isaiah. What might be God's possible reasons for inspiring Isaiah to do this?

Who is your God?

1. The God of Comfort (1-11).
2. The Incomparable God (12-26).
3. The God Who Makes Man Fly (27-31).

Questions:

1. (40:1–5) What attitude requires encouragement? Why would the exiles be experiencing this emotion? What might some of the questions the exiles would be asking? What encouragement does the prophet offer here? How would these be encouraging? [Comfort" is not a good translation. The idea is to encourage, strengthen.]
2. Compare 40:3 to Mark 1:1–3. In that light, to what are 40:3–5 referring? How does that event fulfill these promises? Compare also to the promise of 7:14. What do these verses say about Yahweh's desire to deliver?
3. (40:6–11) If the goal here is encouragement, how could 40:6–8 be understood as encouragement? Compare the final clause of 40:5 with the final clause of 40:8. What is the point of this repetition?
4. Jerusalem (Zion) and the cities of Judah (9) have been destroyed. How can they be the heralds of deliverance? And to whom are they speaking? What is the good news Jerusalem is to declare (10–11)? What are the two different uses of "arm," and how do they relate to the message of good news?
5. (40:12–26) What is the expected answer to the rhetorical questions in 12–14? What is the point? [In the myths the gods were always taking counsel with one another to decide what to do (40:13–14).] Relate 40:15–17 to the points made in chs. 13–23.
6. What is the point of 40:18–20 (46:1–7)? Of 40:21–24? Who is Yahweh being compared to here? How is he different?
7. Who is Yahweh being compared to in 40:25–26. [In paganism the stars are considered to be the visible representation of the gods. "The Host of Heaven" is an expression for "the gods."] What do 40:12–26 say about Yahweh's ability to deliver?
8. (40:27–31) Relate these verses to the theme of trust. What do these verses say about Yahweh's intent to deliver?

Notes and questions adapted from John Oswalt.

The Need to Train Yourself to Trust God

TRUST GOD is the main theme of Isaiah 1-39. Isaiah had only one predominant message for his people in Jerusalem and in Judah (southern Israel) (Isa 1:1). This singular message was repeatedly given over four decades during the threat of the Assyrian invasion (735 BC to 701 BC). By God's grace, West Loop has preached through this first part of Isaiah--chs. 1-39--over the past year (from early 2015) in 40 sermons.

What is the alternative to trusting in God?

It is to trust in man, who has but a breath in their nostrils (Isa 2:22). It is truly not wise to not trust God. It would ultimately be fatal and tragic. Isaiah says bluntly that that if one does not stand firm in trusting God, he or she will not stand at all (Isa 7:9b).

Why should we confidently trust God?

• Perhaps Corrie ten Boom says it well: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
• Tim Tebow's says that this is his favorite quote: "I don't know what my future holds, but I do know who holds my future."

What is faith and how does one trust God? In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says,

"Faith ... is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change... This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue unless you teach your moods 'where they get off,' you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather... Consequently one must train the habit of Faith."

"The first step is to recognize the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed."

A Tale of Two Kings (Isaiah 7; 36-39)

1. Who are the two kings of Judah in Isaiah (Isa 1:1)? Who was bad (2 Ki 16:2)? Who was good (2 Ki 18:3)?
2. What was the threat facing Judah during each king's reign (Isa 7:1; 36:1)? What year were these threats?
3. What was the common location (Isa 7:2; 36:2)? Why do you think Isaiah mentioned this location?
4. What was the superpower nation at the time? Who was their king (2 Ki 16:7; Isa 36:1)?
5. When threatened what was the first response of the two kings of Judah (Isa 7:2; 36:1-2, 3-4)?
6. What was Isaiah's challenge (Isa 7:4,9; 37:5-7)?
7. After Isaiah's challenge, how did the two kings of Judah respond (Isa 7:11-12; 37:15-20)? What was the result (Isa 7:13-14, 17; 37:36-38)?

• What life lesson(s) can you learn from these two kings of Judah? Comments? Reflections? Questions?

• Does this story have a happy ending (Isa 39:1-8)? Is life black and white and so clear cut? What does 39:8 tell us about Hezekiah (Isa 2:22)? Why do you think Isaiah ends the first part of his book (ch. 1-39) with this story? 

 

Chapter	7	36-39
Year	735 B.C.	701 B.C.
Judah's king	Ahaz	Hezekiah
Assyrian king	Tiglath-Pileser (2 Ki 16:7)	Sennacherib (Isa 36:1)
The threat	Aram and Israel attacking Jerusalem (Isa 7:1)	Assyria attacking Jerusalem  (Isa 36:1)
The location	Aqueduct of the Upper Pool (Isa 7:3)	Aqueduct of the Upper Pool (Isa 36:2)
King's first response	Isaiah 7:2	Isaiah 37:1-2, 3-4
Isaiah's challenge	Isaiah 7:4, 9b	Isaiah 37:5-7
King's second response	Isaiah 7:11-12	Isaiah 37:15-20
Result	Isaiah 7:13-14, 17	Isaiah 37:36-37, 38
Lesson learned	Refuse to trust God, experience judgment	Trust God, experience victory against all odds

 

Who Is Your God? (Isaiah 40)

Isaiah 40 (1-11, 12-26, 27-31)

1. The God of Comfort (1-11).
2. The Incomparable God (12-26).
3. The God Who Makes Man Fly (27-31).
   

The God of Comfort (1-11)

1. The God of Comfort and Tenderness (1-2).
2. Prepare a Highway for God (3-5).
3. Know What is Transient and What is Forever (6-8).
4. The Good News: God is a Gentle Shepherd (9-11).
   

The Incomparable God (12-26)

1. Compare God with the Nations (12-17).
2. The Utter Foolishness of Idols (18-20).
3. God Rules Over the World and the Entire Universe (21-26).
   

The God Who Makes Us Fly (27-31)

1. Man's Common Complaint (27).
2. Man's Ignorance of Who God Is (28).
3. What God Does for the Weak and Weary (29-31).
   

Starting Over On A New Day (Isaiah 40).
Isa40_Ses20. John Oswalt, 2013.