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.

Bring Justice to the Nations (Isaiah 42)

"I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth" (Isa 42:1,3,4).

This is the first of Isaiah's four Servant Songs, fulfilled in Christ. He is the servant of the Lord. He is God's alternative to our idols (Isa 41:22). He is not an abomination but a delight (Isa 42:1). He also stands in contrast with Cyprus the conqueror who "steps on people" (Isa 41:25b). But Jesus did not break a bruised reed nor snuff out a smoldering wick (Isa 42:3; Mt 12:15-21).

What does Isaiah mean by the word translated "justice"? "Justice" is the key word in 42:1-4. The Hebrew word translated "justice" in Isa 42:1,3,4 is mishpat. In many ways it is the antonym of "confusion" or "chaos" (Isa 41:29) [tohu]. It is much more than merely legality or legal correctness, as "justice" has come to connote in English. Mishpat is used in Ex 26:30 of the plan for the tabernacle, the blueprint God revealed from Heaven. In an analogous way, God has a blueprint for human existence. God knows how human beings and human society can be at their best. He knows how to make us happy and fulfilled. And through his servant Jesus he's bringing his plan down from Heaven, to reorder human civilization in a beautiful way. God's kingdom will come, and his will will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, and we were made for it.

Mishpat includes within its scope all our longings for a better life and a better world. A just world, to Isaiah, is human society as God means it to be, with no corrupting idolatries. Slums, poverty, oppression, illiteracy, pollution, human misery in all its forms prove that we are arranging human life according to idolatrous ideals. That's why people always end up shoving each other into the ground, just as Cyprus (Isa 41:25) and many with power and authority do.

Injustice is more than a political dysfunction. It is a spiritual evil, a denial of God. The world is in such a mess that it's beyond our powers of correction. Yet God desires that we work for a better society (Amos 5:24).

Thus, mishpat has the idea of "right order." This explains why it is often paralleled to tsedeq, which is usually translated "righteousness" but simply has the idea of "doing the right thing." Thus mishpat has a much larger pool of connotations than does our word "justice." To be sure, a world where the innocent are punished and the oppressors go free is a world where mishpat is lacking. The word contains everything we think of as "justice," but it contains more than that as well. Isaiah is saying that the coming Messiah will do all that is necessary to restore God's right order on the earth.

Light for the Nations (42:1-17, 18-25) [Kidner]

1. The first "Servant Song" (1-9).
2. The world acclaims its Master (10-12).
3. The Lord declares his zeal (13-17).
4. Blind leaders of the blind (18-25).
   

The great solution: The Servant's mission to the Gentile world [Motyer]

1. Justice on earth (1-4).
   
2. Confirmation by Yahweh of his plan for his Servant (5-9).
3. The world sings in response (10-12).
4. The cause for praise (13).
5. Yahweh speaks: How he sees his coming actions (14-17).
6. A servant who cannot be the Servant (18-25).
   

God's servant brings justice and is a light to the nations (42:1-13; 14-25) [Smith]

1. God's chosen servant will establish justice on earth (1-4).
2. God's servant will be a covenant and light (5-9).
3. Sing a hymn of praise to glorify God (10-13).
4. The blind are not forsaken (14-17).
   
5. The blind servant's sins result in punishment (18-25).
   

A Delusion, a Servant, a New Song (41:21-42:17) [Ortland]

1. A Delusion (41:21-29): "Behold, they are all a delusion" (41:29).
• God sues the idols for false advertising (21-24).
• God proves his own ability to activate history (25-27).
• God dismisses the idols as a delusion (28-29).
  
2. A Servant (42:1-9).
• The servant will bring perfection to the nations (1-4).
• God will discredit the idols through his servant (5-9).
  
3. A New Song (42:10-17).
• The whole world is invited to worship God (10-12).
• God will rid the world of all idol-worship (13-17).
  

No Reason to Fear (Isaiah 41)

"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you," declares the Lord, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel" (Isa 41:10, 14, NASB).

Fear. If we are able to not fear about anything regarding our life and future, life would be such a happy, joyful and peaceful endeavor. But alas, fear arises in our hearts, often seemingly out of nowhere. We fear everything from vague uncertainties to an increasingly likelihood of a Trump presidency!

If Isaiah 40 is about starting over on a new day, Isaiah 41 is about starting over with a new attitude. Isaiah 40 is about having hope. Isaiah 41 is about having confidence with no fear.

God and History (41:1-29) [Derek Kidner, New Bible Commentary]

1. God's challenge to the nations  (1-7).
2. God's servant reassured (8-20).
3. God's challenge renewed (21-29).
   

God, his people, and the nations (41:1-29) [Barry Webb]

1. The nations on trial (1-7, 21-29).
2. Israel, God's servant (8-20).
   

The Reality of God in an Unreal World (41:1-20) [Ray Ortland, God Saves Sinners]

1. God alone activates history (1-7).
1. God invites the nations to settle a question (1).
2. Who controls history? "I, the Lord" (2-4).
3. The nations flee to their idols (5-7).
   
2. God alone emboldens us (8-20).
1. He upholds his fearful servant (8-13).
2. He transforms his worm into a threshing sledge (14-16).
3. He refreshes his thirsty pilgrims (17-20).
   

John Oswalt (41:1-20).

1. God's Challenge to the Nations (1).
2. God's Activities as Evidence (2-7).
3. No Need for God's People to Fear (8-20).
   

Alec Motyer (41:1-20)

1. Who rules the world? (1-4)
2. A hopeless reaction: Make new gods! (5-7)
3. By contrast: Life with Yahweh--three pictures (8-10).
1. Picture 1: Victory for the weak (8-13).
2. Picture 2: Transformation for the negligible (14-16).
3. Picture 3: Provision for the needy (17-20).
4. The wider Gentile world (21-29).
1. Gentile need exposed (21-24).
2. Yahweh by contrast (25-27).
3. Summary in conclusion: The plight of the Gentile world (28-29).
   

Starting Over on a New Day (Isaiah 40:1-11; 12-26; 27-31)

Isaiah 40: A New Day. A New Beginning. Starting Over. Soar Like An Eagle.

Isaiah 40 begins a major new section of the book. Isaiah is no longer addressing Judah in his own day. He is being projected by the Holy Spirit out into the future, like the Apostle John in Revelation. He is looking into his prophetic crystal ball, so to speak, seeing a future day and declaring the gospel to the Jews languishing in Babylonian exile. He is saying to them and to us, "God has not abandoned you. Your best days are still ahead. God has a purpose of grace for you better than ever. He is coming to save you. Believe it, and let this hope fill your sails." [Ray Ortland]

The Motive and Means of Servanthood is Grace (Isaiah 40-55). The dominant idea of Isaiah 40-55 is the undeserved grace of God. This is what will motivate people to trust God, just as was intimated in Isaiah 12. When God delivers his people without any deserving on their part, they will at last be willing to cast themselves on him without reservation. If Isaiah 7-39 were about trust as the basis for servanthood, Isaiah 40-55 are about grace as the motive and the means of servanthood.

Isaiah 40 has two main subdivisions: 1-11 and 12-26 with 27-31 as a summary conclusion. [John Oswalt]

1. 1-11 addresses whether God has cast his people away. Echoing Isaiah 12, where this event is anticipated, God speaks not judgment but comfort. He will deliver them, and they will be in a position to tell the world of the deliverance.
2. 12-26 speaks of God's ability to deliver them. God is the incomparable God, like whom there is no other. The nations of the earth are nothing to him, so they need not fear that they have been abandoned.
3. 27-31 says that God's people need only to wait in hope for God will do what he promised and deliver them.

New Bible Commentary [Derek Kidner]

1. The long-awaited Lord (1-11).
2. God the incomparable (12-31).
1. The Creator (12-20).
2. The Disposer (21-26).
3. The very present help (27-31).
   

God's Glory, Our Comfort (40:1-11) [Ray Ortland]; The Long Awaited Lord [Derek Kidner]

1. The occasion (1-2). The gentle voice.
   
2. The content (3-5). The herald's call.
   
3. The certainty (6-8). The preacher's word.
   
4. The spreading (9-11). The crier's news.
   

God's Uniqueness, Our Assurance (40:12-26) [Ortland] God is...

1. The wise Creator (12-13).
2. The immense Lord over the nations (15-17).
3. God alone is God (18-20).
4. The active Lord over world leaders (21-24).
   
5. The watchful Creator (25-26).
   

God's Greatness, Our Renewal (40:27-31) [Ortland]

1. Our despair (27).
2. God's greatness (28-29).
3. Our renewal (30-31).
   

Confrontation, Consolation, Conquest (Isaiah 1-39, 40-55, 56-66)

Isaiah 1-66 in broad strokes

Chapters	Isaiah 1-39	Isaiah 40-55	Isaiah 56-66
Tone	Confrontation	Consolation	Conquest
Thrust	Conviction	Comfort	Character
Theme	Trust	Grace	Power

An Acts 20 Christian

Acts 20:17-38

1. One always lives transparently among people (Ac 20:18).
2. Serving God with humility and tears while severely tested (Ac 20:19).
3. Preaching publicly from house to house (Ac 20:20).
4. Everyone must turn to God in repentance and faith (Ac 20:21).
5. No anxiety about not knowing what will happen in the future (Ac 20:22).
6. No problem with facing prison and hardships (Ac 20:23).
7. Life's only aim of always testifying to the gospel of the grace of God (Ac 20:24).
8. Able to let go of his disciples and not see them again (Ac 20:25).
9. Innocent of not hurting others (Ac 20:26).
10. Proclaiming the whole counsel of God (Ac 20:27).
11. Keeping watch over oneself and others (Ac 20:28).
12. Aware of savage opposition toward the weak and vulnerable (Ac 20:29).
13. Betrayal and distortion of the truth from within (Ac 20:30).
14. Repeated urgent constant daily warning to be on guard (Ac 20:31).
15. Not holding onto but committing others to God (Ac 20:32).
16. No coveting of what is desired (Ac 20:33).
17. Responsible to support oneself (Ac 20:34).
18. Working hard to help the weak (Ac 20:35a).
19. True blessedness is in giving, not receiving (Ac 20:35b).
20. Collective prayer, weeping, embracing and grieving (Ac 20:36-38).

The contrast between Isaiah 34 and 35

Isaiah 34 (Judgment) [Hell]	Isaiah 35 (Salvation) [Heaven]
Trusting the world/self	Trusting God
Becomes a desert	Becomes a garden
No way (34:10)	A highway (35:8)
Destruction and desolation	Restoration and renewal
The power of the Gentiles will be broken	The redeemed will see the kingdom of God
God's wrath against the nations	God's glory transforming Zion
God, not the world, is the one to fear	God, not the world, is the one to hope in

God, Not the World, is the One to Fear (Isaiah 34)

Titles for Isaiah 34: Judgment -- Listen, Look into the Scroll. When You Don't Trust God. Judgment, an Unpalatable Topic: Painful passages about divine wrath and judgment, such as Isaiah 34, are hard to read and take in, but Isaiah does not spare our feelings.

Listen, Pay Attention, Hear, Look, Read and Learn that (34:1, 16):

1. God will Judge the World (1-15).
2. God's Plan will Happen (16-17).

According to Isaiah 34, God-neglect will turn us into an eternally barren desert. But if we trust God, our desert will be transformed into a garden. That is what the grace of God can do (Isaiah 35). Each of us is moving in one of these two directions, either into judgment or into salvation. What God wants is to save you.

Hell or Heaven. Isaiah 34 shows us what will become of anyone who buys into this world, and Isaiah 35 shows us what will become of one who banks everything on the promised salvation of God. In these two chapters Isaiah shows us the seamless connection between what we embrace now and what we will have in the future. His point is that the salvation you prefer now, whether earthly or heavenly, is shaping who you are and which direction you will go forever (Rev 22:11). So in a sense, Hell or Heaven will be the eternal extension of the deepest, truest you that you become in this life. So the most important question of our existence is: What are you becoming? Whatever you are becoming reveals where you are going. C.S. Lewis says that hell is when you become the photographic negative of what you were meant to be when God made you. If you savor by faith a salvation and fullness from God, you're already on your way to Zion in Isaiah 35. But if you choose to live by faith in this world, Isaiah 34 is showing you your future.

Salvation by God must go through Edom. Though Isaiah mentions the whole world (Isa 34:1), the one nation he mentions is Edom (Isa 34:5, 6, 9). Why? It is because Edom typifies the whole world. The forefathers of Israel and Edom were the brothers Jacob and Esau (Gen 25:21-26). But Esau held a grudge against Jacob (Genesis 27). When the infant nation Israel was journeying toward the Promised Land, they requested passage through Edom (Num 20:14-21) but they refused. Edom tried to block the salvation that God was bringing into the world. Edom, then, is the antithesis to God's pilgrim people. The ethos of the Edomite culture is the spirit of the worle world, a spirit that finds its salvation in the resources of this temporal, physical order. We have to get past Edom to be saved by God.

How do we relate to such a savage text?

In Isaiah's day, blood and gore were a part of everyday life. Today most of us are far removed from the world of bloodshed. At most we see or hear about it from a distance. We are appalled just to hear about ISIS beheadings. We eat meat, but we never give a thought to the butchering process. The last horrifying slaughter that Americans experienced was during the Civil War. But for Isaiah's hearers, it was part of daily life. They knew firsthand the realities of brutal warfare where whole families were butchered.

The strange hope and comfort of the slaughterers getting "a taste of their own medicine." The language of Isaiah 34 is horrifying and offensive to our ears (Isa 34:2-3). But it was probably actually comforting to many of Isaiah's hearers. There is going to be justice in the world after all. The terrible words of judgment against Judah's enemies was a promise that God would balance the scales of justice, and that the Edoms of the world would pay for what they had done.

Why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh. Almost certainly Jonah wanted the Assyrians to suffer for all the suffering they had brought to Israel. But he knew how compassionate God really is (Jon 4:2). He knew that if even an Assyrian would repent, God would not impose judgment on them. Jonah wanted the Assyrians to pay for what they did.

The bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. It was interesting to hear persons who lost family members in the bombing speak of the impending execution of the convicted bomber. There was a sense that they could not feel "closure" in their own experience until the one who made the bomb had paid the full price for his crime. They wanted the scales of justice balanced. And if we will not let God place his Son in the balance for us, then justice says that we ourselves must take that place and go to destruction with Edom.

Is my ultimate trust in creatures (Edom) or the Creator? If so, I am headed into the desert with those Edoms. To put my ultimate trust in creatures instead of the Creator is truly stupid. It is to ultimately crash into that reality with devastating effect.

How do I know if I'm trusting the creature or not? It is too easy to trust the creature. It's too easy for me to trust my youth (which incidentally is evaporating away rapidly!) and my health (which is also gradually ebbing away, beginning with my knees). It's too easy for me to trust my own experience, intuition, perceptiveness, assessment and plan my own course of action with the church, with people, with my medical practice, etc. After doing all that I can, do I truly trust God, or am I still trusting my own efforts? Do I truly pray and surrender the outcome to God, or am I still trying to manipulate the situation to fit my own preference and liking?

What does it mean to trust God radically? Sometimes it means deliberately not doing what I could for myself and letting God do it instead. Sometimes it is to take a radical step of faith without the absolute assurance that the ground is there to step on. When Harrison Ford faced a chasm he cannot cross in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, he remembered words he had been told previously. Then he steps off into the chasm, and suddenly a walkway appears under his feet. Did I somewhat do this when I attempted to start WL church in 2008 despite the disapproval of many older leaders who interpreted my attempts as being insubordinate and disrespectful?

Do Jesus' words about turning the other cheek and loving our enemies radically contradict these words of Isaiah? Does the NT message of forgiveness contradict the OT message of vengeance? They key response is that of Paul: "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the Lord" (Rom 12:19, NLT; Dt 32:35). How can we find the grace to not seek and take revenge? It is precisely in the knowledge that there is a just Judge of all the universe who will see that justice is done in the end. We do not need to destroy the Edom that may have crushed us because we can trust God to do the right thing in the end, both for Edom and us.

How freeing and liberating this is. It takes the justice of the world off our shoulders and frees us from carrying around a heavy load of anger and resentment. One of the things that brought down President Nixon was his "list of enemies." If he was not concerned about his enemies and more concerned to do what is right in the confidence that God would redress the balances, the Watergate scandal might never have happened.

How Satan Makes You Give Up (Isaiah 36)

Titles for Isaiah 36: The Ultimatum. How Satan Makes You Give Up. How Satan Attacks: Give Up and Surrender.

Isaiah 36-39 appears to have been designed to act as a bridge between its two halves (1-35 and 40-66). The issue in these chapters is absolutely central to the book's total message--the issue of trust and where that trust is placed. The Assyrian invader puts the issue most succinctly: "On whom are you depending?" (Isa 36:5, NIV) This is the question which the book of Isaiah forces us to ponder again and again, and with good reason, for our response to it will determine the whole shape of our lives.

The Rock of History (Isaiah 36-37; 2 Kings 18-19) [Alec Motyer]

1. The first Assyrian embassy to Jerusalem: The helpless king (36:1-37:7)
1. No salvation in faith (36:1-10). The first Assyrian speech.
   
2. A popular appeal for surrender (36:11-21)
3. The king's reaction: faith at last! (36:22-37:7)
   
2. The second Assyrian embassy: The godly king (37:8-38)
1. Hezekiah, man of faith (10-13)
2. Hezekiah, man of prayer (14-20)
3. Isaiah's message: Hezekiah, the man of the word of God (21-35)
4. The finale: Assyrian overthrow (36-38)
   

The Supreme Tests for Hezekiah (Isaiah 36-39) [Derek Kidner]

1. The Assyrian onslaught (36-37).
2. Hezekiah's illness (38).
3. The envoys from Babylon (39).
   

In Whom Shall We Trust? (Isaiah 36-39) [Barry Webb]

1. The enemy at the gates (36:1-22)
2. The tables turned (37:1-38)
1. The power of God's word (1-13)
2. Hezekiah looks up (14-20)
3. Sennacherib's fall (21-38)
3. Hezekiah's illness (38:1-22)
4. Envoys from Babylon (39:1-8)
   

Hezekiah's Challenge To Trust God (Isaiah 36-39) [Gary Smith]

I. Challenging Hezekiah's Trust for Deliverance (36:1-22)

1. The First Challenge: On Whom Can You Depend (36:1-10)
1. The setting of the conflict (1-3)
2. Rabshakeh's speech (4-10)
1. You have no one to trust (4-7)
2. Make a bargain with me (8-9)
3. God sent me (10)
2. The Second Challenge: Who Can Deliver You? (36:11-21)
1. Request to speak Aramaic (11-12)
2. Rabshakeh's speech (13-20)
1. Hezekiah and God cannot deliver you (13-16a)
2. Surrender and live well (16b-17)
3. No god can deliver anyone from Assyria (18-20)
3. No response from Hezekiah's representatives (21)

II. Cutting Off the Blaspheming Assyrian King (36:22-37:7)

1. The Hebrews respond with mourning (36:22-37:1)
2. Hezekiah's message to Isaiah (37:2-4)
3. Isaiah's oracle about God's salvation (37:5-7)

III. Sennacherib's Final Warning to Hezekiah (37:8-13)

1. Assyrian military action (8-9a)
2. Sennacherib's threatening letter to Hezekiah (9b-13)
1. Do not trust God for deliverance (9b-10)
2. Rationale: No other gods brought deliverance (11-13)

IV. God's Promise to Rescue Hezekiah (37:14-35)

1. Requesting God's deliverance (37:14-20)
1. Hezekiah goes to the temple (14-15)
2. Hezekiah's prayer (16-20)
1. Invocation (16)
2. First petition and rationale (17-19)
3. Second petition and rationale (20)
2. Promise to defeat proud Sennacherib (37:21-29)
1. God answers Hezekiah's prayer (21)
2. Jerusalem will mock Sennacherib (22)
3. Reason: Sennacherib has reviled God (23-27)
1. Question about reviling God (23a)
2. Quotation proving the king's pride (23b-25)
3. Rebuttal: God is in control (26-27)
   
4. Verdict: God's plan for Sennacherib's rage (28-29)
3. God's sign of survival and promise of protection (30-35)
1. God's sign concerning a remnant (30-32)
1. Instruction on food supply (30)
2. A remnant will survive (31-32a)
3. God will do this (32b)
   
2. God's judgment of Sennacherib (33-35)
1. Sennacherib will not lay siege (33)
2. Sennacherib will go home (34)
3. Divine defense because of David (35)
   

V. Assyrians Defeated (37:36-38)

Wrath and Judgment (Isaiah 34)

Serious passages about divine wrath and judgment, such as Isaiah 34, are hard to read and take in. Isaiah does not try to spare our feelings. If anything, for the most part, we do not feel as he did (Isa 21:4), with a heart broken for the lost when they feel the blow of the divine hand after a lifetime of hostility toward God. Like it or not, Scripture--from Genesis to Revelation--declare that there will be such a day coming.

The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23a), and death it will be. It will be the outpouring of divine exasperation when once divine patience had prevailed throughout one's life.

Isaiah's picture of mountains soaked with the blood of the slain (Isa 34:3) is gory and gruesome, just to read. What would the eventual reality be like? Alec Motyer's translation reads:

"For Yahweh has lost patience with all the nations;

his rage is hot against all their host.

He has appointed them to utter destruction,

consigned them to slaughter,

and, as for their slain, they will be thrown out,

and as for their corpses, their stench will rise up,

and mountains will be dissolved by their blood,

and all the host of heaven will rot..." (Isa 34:2-4).

Yes, and praise God that the company of the saved will be innumerable. But what about the multitudes who will stand unready, unfit, hopeless, in the valley of that eternal decision?

Jesus did not hide his face, or ours, from it (Mt 25:46), nor did John make any attempt to camouflage the grim procession to the lake of fire (Rev 20:12-15). Will these be people we know, people we love? Are they people for whom we have a responsibility in the gospel?

Today is the day to ponder these things. In light of God's word, it is also the day to look to ourselves and to determine to flee from sin. Even though our eternity is as secure as if we were already before the Throne, which, in reality, we are (Eph 2:4-6), yet, as long as God leaves us tarrying on earth, sin still brings death.

Like our ancestors we face daily the choice of life or death (Dt 30:15-16) -- to choose the good and not the evil, to refuse disobedience and cultivate obedience. For it is the Lord's Word, his commands, which bring life (that you may live) and progress (and multiply), blessings and inheritance (possess). Peter taught that God gives his Holy Spirit to those who obey him (Ac 5:32).

Judgment (Isaiah 34) and Salvation (Isaiah 35)

The theme of Isaiah 34 is the final overthrow of the world in all its hostility to God's rule. [Judgment: Listen, Look into the Scroll (34:1-17).] Isaiah 35 paints a glorious picture of the final pilgrimage of the Lord's people to their eternal and blissful destination in Zion. [Salvation: A Highway Will Be There for the Redeemed (35:1-10).]

1. Judgment: Listen, Look into the Scroll (Isaiah 34).
2. Salvation: A Highway for the Redeemed (Isaiah 35).
   

Trusting God to Ruin the Nations and Transform Zion (Isaiah 34-35) [Gary Smith]

1. God's Wrath against the Nations (34:1-17)
1. Learn that God will judge the nations (1-15).
1. Judgment on heaven and earth (1-4).
2. The sword against "Edom" (5-7).
3. The devastated land (8-15).
   
2. Learn that God's plan will happen (16-17).
   
2. God's Glory Transforming Zion (35:1-10). Ultimate realities: pilgrims to Zion.
   
1. God's transformation of nature (1-2): New world, a promise to the pilgrims.
2. God's transformation of the weak and blind (3-6a): New life, salvation for the pilgrims.
3. God's transformed people will return (6b-10): New highway, homecoming for pilgrims.
   

The Final Overthrow (Isaiah 34-35) [Alec Motyer]

1. Final divine judgment (34:1-15).
2. The Lord's sure plan: a final summons (34:16-17).
3. A transformed world (35:1-2).
4. Fortitude: the Lord is coming (35:3-4).
5. Salvation and renewal (35:5-7).
6. The highway and the homecoming (35:8-10).
   

[Barry Webb, Isaiah]

1. Final Judgment (Isaiah 34).
2. Final Salvation: The Joy of the Redeemed (Isaiah 35)
   

[Derek Kidner, New Bible Commentary]

1. The Universal Judgment (Isaiah 34).
2. The Flowering Wilderness (Isaiah 35).
   

The Summary of Judgment and Blessing [The Moody Bible Commentary]

1. The power of the Gentiles will be broken (Isaiah 34).
2. The redeemed will see the kingdom of God (Isaiah 35).
   

See The King in His Beauty (Isaiah 33): Questions

Isaiah 32-33 is about a king (32:1; 33:17), who is the Lord (33:22). Isaiah 32-33 tells us about:

1. A king and his kingdom (32:1-20).
2. A king who is exalted (33:1-16). Be Our Strength Every Morning (33:1-16). Dwell with Fire on the Heights.
   
3. A king in his beauty (33:17-24). See The King In His Beauty (33:17-24).

[Skim Isaiah 33. What is its tone? Compare to Isaiah 28 and notice the changing proportions.]

1. [33:1–6] What was the focus of the first five "woes" in Isaiah 28-33? How is this one different? What will happen to those who plunder others (1)? Who might the betrayer be (33:8; 2 Ki 18:13-16)?
2. In times of distress what does God desire of his people (33:2; 30:18)? Whose help has proven useless (30:7; 31:1)? How is the plundering described (3-4)? Who is always able to deliver from distress (5-6)? What seven gifts does the exalted reigning king bestow on his people (5-6)? What are some ways that you can practice this in your life?
3. [33:7–9] What suffering is described (7-9)? To whom is this referring? What is Isaiah doing here that is typical of him? What is the only hope in times of hopelessness (10-12)? Whose power will prevail, Assyria or God's (13)?
4. [33:10–16] What happens when God is exalted and decides to act (5, 10-12)? Who will be afraid (33:13-14; 2:6-22)? Who will be secure (15-16)? Who can dwell with "consuming fire" and "on the heights" (14-16)? What blessings will he receive (15-16)? There is no mention of grace (14-16). Are we talking about salvation by works? Why or why not (33:24)?
5. [33:17–22] How does the promise of 33:17 relate to the last statement of 6:5? What will righteous people see (17)? What does this king offer us (17, 20, 22, 24)?
6. What does 33:18-20 say about God's purpose in judgment (28:11; 29:14)? What would God's people no longer see (18-19)? Instead, where would they look and what would they see (20)? What would Zion become (20-21)? What is the river a symbol of (48:18; 66:12; Ps 46:64)?
7. How is God described (22)? What will He do for the people? What do the three roles (33:22) tell us about God and our relationship to him? How does 33:21 fit this description?
8. [33:23–24] What will happen to the prey of the plunderer? To those in the city (23-24)? What is promised to us (23b-24)? What will God do for the inhabitants (24)?

Psalm 64

Measure For Measure (Derek Kidner)

1. Insidious attack (1-6).
2. Exemplary punishment (7-10).
   

The Retributive God (J.A. Motyer, New Bible Commentary)

1. Praying for protection (1-2).
2. The attack (3-4).
3. Denial of retribution (5-6).
4. The counterattack (7-8).
5. Affirmation of retribution (9).
6. Rejoicing in protection (10).

Finding Solace from Tormentors (Moody Bible Commentary)

1. Unburdening the torment of heart to God (1-6).
2. Affirming the judgment of tormentors (7-8).
3. Anticipating the glory of the future with God (9-10).

The Psalms: Songs of Jesus (Tim Keller)

1. Voicing Complaint (1-6).
2. The Comfort of Judgment (7-10).
   

Righteous King, New Society (Isaiah 32)

In a day of national emergency, Judah looked to Egypt (31:1-3).

But what about us? What do we look at? Whom do we look to? These are vital questions. What direction are we moving in? Where are our eyes fixed? Are we ever and always getting closer to Jesus, ever and always "seeing him more clearly, loving him more dearly," turning our eyes on Jesus, looking full in his wonderful face?

In Isaiah's day, Judah was in a serious, life and death, national crisis. The Assyrian invasion spelled the end of all they had and hoped. They were in a "big" crisis that could destroy them. But it may not be the "big" occasions that defeat us. Often, out of sheer desperation, it sends us fleeing to Jesus in a more determined way. But what more often leads to our downfall are the "small" daily decisions.

Should I get up early to pray? Or take my time to make my coffee and check my emails? Do I read and reflect at night or watch late night TV and binge watch something on Netflix? These questions might be seemingly innocuous or silly sounding, but it could potentially be deadly serious. Does my heart long for Christ or for the world's attention? Do I enjoy dwelling in the presence of God? Is my inclination toward the kingdom that is not of this world?

Outline of Alec Motyer:

1. The king (1-2). The messianic king of Isaiah 9 and 11.
   
2. New people, new society (3-8). The light of the Lord's coming shines behind every darkness in our experience.
   
3. Call to listen in light of the future (9-14). This matches the call in 31:6-9.
   
4. Outpoured Spirit, new society (15-18).
5. Epilogue: humiliation and blessedness (19-20).

Gary Smith:

1. God's Exaltation of a Righteous King (1-8).
1. The rule of a righteous king (1-2).
2. Opening the eyes of the blind (3-4).
3. The folly of fools will be exposed (5-8).
   
2. Mourning from Complacency, Life from the Spirit (9-20).
1. Complacent women of Jerusalem must lament (9-14).
1. Call for women to listen (9-10).
2. Call for women to mourn (11-14).
   
2. God's Spirit will transform the world (15-20).
1. The Spirit's work of restoration (15-16).
2. The fruit of righteousness (17-20).
   

John Oswalt

1. Good Leaders Rule with Justice (32:1-8).
2. Quietness and Confidence Forever (32:9-20).
   

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Jemimah Arce
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Isaiah 31 and 32 questions

Trusting Egypt Doesn't Work (Isaiah 31:1-9)

1. Why does God pronounce a woe (1)? Why was it foolish for the people to trust in Egypt and her chariots (1-2)? Why could Egypt not be trusted (3)?
2. Who would fight for Zion and defend her? How is He described (4)? To what is God's defense compared (5)?
3. What should the people do (6)?
4. What would happen to Assyria, and what would the people learn (7-9)? How would Assyria fall (8; 37:36-38)?
5. What lessons should we learn from the mistake the people made in trusting Egypt without consulting God?

Peace is the Fruit of Righteousness (Isaiah 32:1-20)

1. What is foretold that gives hope (1)? What kinds of rulers are described (1)? Who is this king (33:17, 22)? What blessings are described (2)?
2. What will various parts of the body be able to do (3,4)? How do these promises work out in the lives of believers?
3. How is the foolish person described (5-6)? What is the difference between a scoundrel and a noble man (7-8)?
4. How are the women described (9-11)? What is the condition that concerns Isaiah (and God)? How does this manifest itself in our attitudes and behavior? What will happen to them?
5. What will happen to the land (12-14)? What is the literary relationship between 32:1–8 and 32:9–14? Why does Isaiah do this? (Remember what is characteristic of him after a promise.)
6. What will make the difference from barrenness to abundance? What will happen when the Spirit is poured out (15-17)? Notice four results of the Spirit's coming (16–17). What brings forth justice and righteousness (15-16)? What are its result (17-18)? How does this relate to our lives? When might this be fulfilled?
7. Describe the dwellings of God's people (18-20)? What circumstances will surround them? What will the Messiah make available to the world (11:1; 62:1)?

Sketch and Overview of Isaiah 28-33, 2016

The Foolishness of Trusting the Nations (Isaiah 28-35). John Oswalt's overview.

• Isaiah 28-29: Bad leadership. Human rulers implementing human rules. Leaders are drunken, blind and deaf to God's word.
• Isaiah 30-31: Bad solution/advice/decision. Trusting in Egypt, instead of God.
• Isaiah 32-33: Good leadership/government. When the Messiah reigns and rules.
• Isaiah 34-35: Conclusion of Isaiah 28-33 (13-33): A desert (Isaiah 34) or a garden (Isaiah 35).
  

28:1-19: Mocking Isaiah's Words (Isa 28:10, 12-13). Consider:

1. Two crowns (1-6).
2. Two words (7-13).
3. Two covenants (14-22).
4. Two parables (23-29)

Schedule:

Jan 17, 2016 David Weed. 29:1-14: Lips and Life Disconnect (Teaching Human Rules from the Bible). (Isa 29:13).

Jan 24, 2016. David Weed. 29:15-24: Creature and Creator Disconnect (Acknowledge the Holiness of the Holy One). (Isa 29:16, 23).

Jan 31, 2016. Tim Fitch. 30:1-17: Easy Shade, Easy Bible Study and Easy Salvation (Find Rest in Repentance). Isa 30:15 is the distinctive challenge of Isaiah (Isa 7:4, 9; 28:12).

Feb 7, 2016. Tim Fitch. 30:18-33: God Longs To Be Gracious To You. Isa 30:18 is one of the greatest statements in all of Scripture.

Feb 14, 2016. David Weed. 31:1-9: Trusting Egypt Doesn't Work (Return to God). (Isa 31:6).

Feb 21, 2016. David Weed. 32:1-20: Peace is the Fruit of Righteousness (True Productivity and Peace, Safety and Security). (Isa 32:17).

Feb 28, 2016. Rhoel. 33:1-16: Dwell with Fire on the Heights. (Isa 33:14, 16).

Mar 6, 2016. Rhoel. 33:17-24: See the King in His Beauty. (Isa 33:17).