Who Is Your God? (Isaiah 40:1-11; 12-26; 27-31)

Who Is Your God? (Isaiah 40:1-11; 12-26; 27-31) [Nov 2016]

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

Most scholars agree that ch. 40–55 were written to the Babylonian exiles after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (Some, doubt Isaiah wrote this ~150 years in advance, and say an anonymous prophet, a devotee of Isaiah, wrote it in 550 B.C. The book makes no reference to this.)

Theme:

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

1. (40:1–2) What attitude/emotion requires encouragement? Why would the exiles be experiencing this? Why was God punishing them? What questions might they be asking? What encouragement does Isaiah offer here? How would these be encouraging? [Comfort" is not a good translation. The idea is to encourage, strengthen.]
2. (40:3-5) How might 40:3 apply to John the Baptist (Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4)? How does that fulfill these promises? Compare to the promise of 7:14. What do these verses say about Yahweh's desire to deliver?
3. (40:6–8) 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 (Isa 45:23; 46:11b; 55:10-11)?
4. (40:9-11) Zion and Judah have been destroyed (9). How can they be the heralds of deliverance (10)? What is the good news (11)? What are the two different uses of "arm"? How do they relate to the message of good news? See shepherd in the OT (Ps 23:1; 78:52; Jer 23:2-3; Eze 34:1-31; Mic 2:12). How does Jesus exemplify this (Jn 10:1-18)?
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. Why do people constantly seek out idols as objects of worship (18–20; 46:1–7)? How do they compare to Yahweh (21–24)? How is he different? How do 40:18-28 stress the uniqueness of Israel's God?
7. Who is Yahweh being compared to (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) What are the people's complaint (27)? What are they forgetting (28)? Who gets tired (30)? Who gains strength (29)? How can any person "fly" (31)?