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COMFORT
Isaiah 40–48

“Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, ’The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob’ ” (Isa. 48:20).

Hope for us as for ancient Israel rests entirely on the incomparable nature of our God.

Background
The historical section in Isaiah 36–39 closes with the account of Isaiah’s denunciation of Hezekiah for welcoming Babylon’s envoys. These chapters serve to illustrate Isaiah 1–35. But they also serve as a bridge introducing us to Isaiah 40–66. For suddenly Isaiah seemed catapulted a hundred years ahead in time. The Babylonian invasion was past, and the Jews were captives in a strange land. Yet Isaiah spoke words of comfort, confidently describing the destruction of Babylon and the salvation of God’s people. The nation will yet be redeemed, and God’s purposes in His people will be fulfilled.
The theory that one or more different persons wrote the second half of Isaiah is rooted in the viewpoint of chapters 40–66. In the first half of Isaiah, Assyria is the main enemy, and the prophet’s message is a grim oracle of judgment. In chapters 40–66 Babylon, which has conquered Judah, is about to be judged, and Cyrus, her Persian conqueror, is named. Rather than the darkness of impending judgment, these later chapters are bright with the confident hope of restoration.
Yet the idea that Isaiah wrote both sections poses no great problem for those who take a repeated message found in chapters 40–66 seriously. The God who spoke through Isaiah is fully able to “declare to us the things to come” and to “tell us what the future holds” (41:22–23; 45:21). Speaking by the Spirit of God Isaiah, like other ancient Hebrew prophets, was transported beyond his own time. His words of comfort and hope were rooted in the sure conviction of what God would do, not what He had already done.
Some of the most powerful and exalted passages in the entire Bible are found in these chapters of comfort. These passages can fill us too with hope. They remind us as they reminded ancient Israel of just how wonderful and how loving our God is.

Overview
Judah’s sovereign Lord intends good for His people (40:1–31). God, not the idols worshiped by the nations, controls the future (41:1–29). Though Israel failed its national calling as God’s servant, One from the nation will fulfill God’s purpose (42:1–25) when the Creator acts to redeem His chosen people (43:1–44:25). As evidence, God will appoint one named Cyrus to restore Jerusalem (v. 26–45:25). Oppressive Babylon will be crushed, and God’s word of blessing for Israel will be fulfilled (46:1–48:22).

Understanding the Text
“Here is your God” Isa. 40:1–31. The first time I traveled in the western America, I couldn’t believe the sky. It seemed so big. I had to keep looking to the left and right to take it all in.
This is something like Isaiah’s treatment here of God. He is so big, Isaiah has us look to the left and the right to try to take Him in. Looking left, Isaiah described a God “enthroned above the circle of the earth” to whom the nations seem “like a drop in a bucket” (vv. 6–26). Looking left, we are simply overwhelmed by the awesome greatness of God’s power and mighty strength.
Then Isaiah has us look right, and we see the Creator stoop down to touch the individual, and give “strength to the weary.” Because ours is a God who not only creates but who also cares, “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (vv. 27–31).

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold” Isa. 42:1–25. There are two “servants” in Isaiah. One is Israel (cf. vv. 8–10), which failed to accomplish God’s purpose. The other, introduced here, is the Messiah. This Servant, who is to come from God’s failed servant, “will bring forth justice; He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth” (v. 4).
As a “covenant for the people” this Servant will Himself be the foundation on which Israel will build its future—a future which includes salvation for the Gentiles as well as the descendants of Abraham (vv. 6–7).
In context Isaiah’s message about the coming Servant of the Lord is intended for comfort and hope. But it is also a challenge. God’s Old Testament people were called to do justice, and by holy living to be “a light for the Gentiles.” In fact, every believer of every age is to be just this kind of servant of the Lord. We must do justice, live holy lives, and bring the light of a hope that releases “from the [spiritual] dungeon those who sit in darkness” (v. 7).
Jesus has fulfilled God’s commission as “the” Servant of the Lord. Now you and I are called to be servants too.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you” Isa. 43:1–28. Like other chapters in this section, Isaiah 43 is rich in verses that invite memorization. Here are a few from this chapter, crafted to comfort us.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze (vv. 1–2).

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more (v. 25).

“I will raise up Cyrus” Isa. 45:1–25. One of the basic sources of comfort for the believer is the conviction that God is in complete control of events.
The theme is illustrated by God’s act in naming Cyrus, long before his birth, and announcing that Cyrus will be given a “title of honor, though you do not acknowledge Me” (vv. 1–7). Whether or not the great ones of our present world honor God, He alone is the source of their existence and position.
The theme is demonstrated by Creation. The universe knows only one all-powerful Being, who “made the earth and created mankind upon it” (vv. 8–17). Surely the Creator has full power to mold those who are works of His hands into whatever form He chooses.
The theme is confirmed by God’s unique self-existence. In a universe in which men worship idols, there is “none but Me” who is able to save, who utters a word “that will not be revoked,” and who will ultimately receive the homage of all (vv. 18–25).
God is in control of world events—and of the days of our lives. Because He is, and because the Lord is “a righteous God and a Saviour” (v. 21), we face the future with confidence and hope.

“I foretold the former things long ago” Isa. 48:3–8. Some people will always try to drain religion of the supernatural. It was true in Isaiah’s day, and it’s true in our day as well. We can almost hear frustration in the prophet’s voice as God spoke to Judah through him: “I foretold the former things long ago, My mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. . . . You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?”
There is no more compelling evidence for the supernatural origin and authority of the Scriptures than fulfilled prophecy. Time and time again the Bible records the prediction of some prophet—and hundreds or thousands of years later what is predicted is fulfilled in detail. Yet, time and time again, some struggle to find excuses not to admit what God has said and done.
The skeptic finds no comfort in Scripture because he or she will not believe in an all-powerful God who acts in the world of men. The believer rejoices and finds a firm foundation of his or her hope.

“Your peace would have been like a river” Isa. 48:17–22. The person who fails to trust God’s Word completely forfeits more than comfort. He or she forfeits peace. God said through Isaiah, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” He added, “If only you had paid attention” then “your peace would have been like a river.”
The person who abandons confidence in the Word of God will soon abandon God’s commands as well. When that happens, he or she will discover that “there is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Trust in God’s Word is not simply an intellectual issue. It is one of the pivotal issues of faith and life.

DEVOTIONAL
Bigger Than Me
(Isa. 44)
This chapter contains the Bible’s classic exposé of idolatry. It pictures a workman forging an idol of metal or carving it from wood. And it ridicules the idol-maker, who sees no contradiction in burning half the wood of a tree he cut down to cook his food, and then praying to the remaining block of wood, “Save me; you are my god.”
But the idol-maker is ridiculous. He wants someone or something to save him. But he chooses something he himself has made to serve as a god. “Give me a god,” the idol-maker seems to say. “But don’t give me a god bigger than me. Give me a god I can control: one I can make out of a tree I cut down; one I can shape to suit myself.”
In biblical times evidence of idolatry lay all around. You could see and touch the metal or wooden figures of the gods. Today we like to think man has progressed beyond idolatry. But in fact, the very same attitude dominates the thinking of many in this “scientific” age.
No, we don’t have metal or wooden figures. But we do have computers. We do have spaceships. We do have hydrogen bombs and rockets. We have many such works of our own hands, and all too often humanity says to these things man himself has created, “Save me. Save me. I’m counting on you to deliver me.”
And then God’s Word comes to our generation. He reminds us that our craftsmen too “are nothing but men.” To have confidence in things that we have made is the essence of idolatry. It is to exchange hope in the living God for hope in dumb, silent works of our own hands.
Mankind does want gods. But gods that are under human control. When we meet the God of Scripture, we meet a God who is bigger than we. Then we abandon our attempts to control Him—and joyfully submit to the loving-kindness and the guidance of a living God.

Personal Application
An idol is anything less than God that you expect to save you.

Quotable
“The calves of Jeroboam still remain in the world, and will remain to the last day; not that any man now makes calves like Jeroboam’s, but upon whatsoever a man depends or trusts—God set aside—this is the calves of Jeroboam, that is, other and strange gods, honored and worshiped instead of the only, true, living, and eternal God, who only can and will help and comfort in time of need. In like manner also, all such as rely and depend upon their art, wisdom, strength, sanctity, riches, honor, power, or anything else, under what title or name soever, on which the world builds, make and worship the calves of Jeroboam.”—Martin Luther

DAY OF VENGEANCE
Isaiah 33–35

“For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause” (Isa. 34:8).

Beyond the troubles glory waits. What these chapters tell us is that faith enables believers to live safely even while the consuming fire burns.

Overview
God is a sure foundation for our times (33:1–9) and hope for our future (vv. 10–24). Isaiah contrasted the judgment that will devastate the nations, represented by Edom (34:1–17), with the joy awaiting the redeemed (35:1–10).

Understanding the Text
“Be our strength every morning” Isa. 33:1–9. God is a sure foundation for every time, “a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge.” But we must use a key to open that storehouse, to enjoy its bounty. The text says, “The fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.”
As we’ve seen, “fear” of God is a reverential awe that keeps us aware of Him at all times. Our awareness that God is, and that He is sovereign, gives us confidence even in the most uncertain of times.

“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?” Isa. 33:10–16 Isaiah pictured God, rising as a monarch from His throne to set out for war (v. 10). This terrified the sinners of Zion (v. 14), who despair of surviving the consuming fires of God’s judgment, and they cried out, “Who of us can dwell with [survive] the consuming fire?”
They did not expect an answer. But Isaiah provided one. “He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil.”
These words contain no promise that the believer will be immune to trouble in those times when God judges a nation. When the bombs fall, the believer and unbeliever alike will be without electricity and fresh water. No, to “dwell with the consuming fire” is to maintain a hope that contrasts with the despair of the wicked. The righteous take refuge in God, and have faith that no matter how grim life’s circumstances, God will supply the necessities to maintain life (v. 16).

“Nothing there to be called a kingdom” Isa. 34:1–17. The contrast drawn here is between civilization and wilderness. Between nature tamed by man and fields returned to the wild. The nations that God would judge refused to respond to the Lord. Their lands would be returned to the birds and the beasts.
The scroll here is the prophecy found in the preceding verses. Everything God says will happen will come to pass. What God has ordained is certain.
It’s striking that Scripture so often contrasts cultivated fields and wilderness when calling up visions of blessing and judgment. God really did create our earth to be the home of man.

“It will burst into bloom” Isa. 35:1–10. This brief chapter concludes the first book of Isaiah. These chapters have drawn dark pictures of divine judgment, with brief flashes of light. But this final chapter glows with warmth and hope. Some of the most beautiful and best known of Isaiah’s images are found here.
For some 10 years I lived in Arizona, in desert country. Dry and parched for so much of the year, the desert literally burst into bloom with the fall rains. The dominant tans and browns suddenly disappeared and in their place was a warm green, decorated with a riot of delicate colors.
What a vision of the future God has in mind for earth, and for us. All that is dry and parched in our lives will soak in His rain. Then we too will rejoice and blossom, for our lives will reflect the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

“Steady the knees that give way” Isa. 35:3–4. When you and I feel weak and overcome, we find strength in this thought: “Your God will come.” While others shrink back in terror, we rejoice at the thought. He comes with retribution for them, but to save us.

“Then” (Isa. 35:5–10). The concluding words of Isaiah are so vivid that they speak for themselves. No comment can do them justice. The prophet shared what God’s coming will mean for us, His people, in verses 5–10.

DEVOTIONAL
Upon the Burning of Our House
(Isa. 33)
On July 10, 1660, the house of Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet burned to the ground, leaving her destitute of earthly possessions. She shares the pain she felt in a poignant poem bearing the title of this devotional.

  When by the ruins oft I past
  My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
  And here and there the places spy
  Where oft I sat and long did lie:
  Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
  There lay that store I counted best.
  My pleasant things in ashes lie,
  And them behold no more shall I.

Anne understood the pain that always accompanies the loss of familiar and precious possessions. Anne understood, and expressed, the pain felt by believers of every era who must live through a period when God arises to judge their societies.
But Anne also understood the secret of dwelling among the consuming fires that burn then. Her poem continues:

  Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
  That dunghill mists away may fly.
  Thou hast an house on high erect,
  Framed by that mighty Architect,
  With glory richly furnished.
  Stands permanent though this be fled.
  It’s purchased and paid for too
  By Him who hath enough to do.
  A price so vast as is unknown
  Yet by His gift is made thine own;
  There’s wealth enough, I need no more.
  Farewell my self, farewell my store.
  The world no longer let me love,
  My hope and treasure lies above.

The secret? To realize that the fires can burn only what is destined to pass away. And to remember that what God has purchased for His own stands permanent, though all in this world be fled.

Personal Application
Treasures in heaven free us from despair when we lose earthly possessions.

Quotable
“Beware of an overconcern for money, or position, or glory. Someday you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are.”—Rudyard Kipling

RUIN TO RESURRECTION
Isaiah 24–27

“On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples” (Isa. 25:6).

The judgment of God on sin is part of His plan for the redemption of humanity. When sin is punished and the wicked wiped out, salvation will come and “the earth will give birth to her dead.”

Background
Divine judgment. Some feel uncomfortable with the notion of divine judgment. Isaiah, however, was completely comfortable. In these chapters, which all commentators see as a unit, Isaiah examined the relationship of history, divine judgment, and God’s ultimate intentions for humanity. The message of the passage is, first, that the disasters that overtake men and nations demonstrate God’s determination to punish sin. But second, no human failure will prevent God from shaping the righteous society that His holiness demands. The God who judges sin and forgives those who trust Him will create a just moral society at history’s end.

Overview
Isaiah predicted devastating judgments (24:1–23) which would bring about the triumph of God (25:1–12). For the righteous, God’s triumph promises a resurrection (26:1–21). In His judgments God will destroy oppressors and restore the blessings of the oppressed (v. 20–27:13).

Understanding the Text
“Its people must bear their guilt” Isa. 24:1–23. Isaiah announced that the whole world will be punished. No class of people (v. 2) will escape, for earth’s inhabitants have “broken the everlasting covenant” (v. 5). This is a reference to the covenant God made with humanity in Noah’s time (Gen. 9:16), which made man responsible for maintaining a just society.
Though God’s judgment will leave earth devastated (Isa. 24:6–13), the people of God will “acclaim the LORD’s majesty” (vv. 14–16). With all evil human and spiritual powers judged, “the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously” (vv. 17–23).
What is striking here is the picture of the saints, praising God while everything around them crashes in ruins. Each believer must be affected by the kind of devastation described here. Yet faith gives the believer the ability to see the hand of God in what seems nothing but tragedy to others. Faith also gives us the strength to praise God and “acclaim the LORD’s majesty” when every earthly hope is lost.

“You have been a refuge” Isa. 25:1–12. Isaiah explained the outcome of God’s acts of judgment, and described the future of the blessed. What the future holds is praise for God, who has stilled “the song of the ruthless” (vv. 1–5). With the wicked destroyed, God prepares a “feast of rich food for all peoples.” It is then that God will “swallow up death forever” and “wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth” (vv. 6–8).
While images of the future differ slightly between the Old Testament and the New Testament, there is no difference at all in the two Testament’s description of who will enjoy it. The blessed of every age are those who can say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
How natural it is for you and me to join Isaiah in praise to the Lord, and share Isaiah’s joy. We too know God as our Saviour. We trust in Him. We know that He will deliver us from the coming judgment. We will be at His side when the song of the ruthless is stilled.

“Your dead will live” Isa. 26:1–21. Not even death can thwart God’s purposes. Isaiah looked ahead and saw a day when salvation’s song will be sung in Jerusalem (vv. 1–7). Yet his own day was one of longing, not of fulfillment. “We wait for You,” Isaiah sighed, and added, “My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You.” His yearning was great, because, even “though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness” (vv. 8–10).
You and I may know Isaiah’s frustration well. Yet we have the same promise that gave Isaiah hope. Isaiah looked ahead, and knew that “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead” (v. 19).
Even death cannot thwart God’s purposes. We live in hope, because we know that if we should die before we see God’s plan for this earth achieved, He will raise us from the dead to share His triumph!

“In that day” Isa. 27:1–13. The phrase “that day” typically indicates history’s end, an eschatological period during which God draws the threads of all His purposes together. Someone has suggested that the phrase simply means, “in God’s time.”
Well, what is it that will happen “in God’s time”? (1) The Lord will destroy evil spiritual powers, 27:1. (2) The Lord will restore and protect His Old Testament people (vv. 2–7). (3) This will be accomplished after God has atoned for their guilt, and by strict punishment weaned them from their hunger for idolatry (vv. 8–11). (4) This will happen when God recalls His people from exile, and the nation is regathered to “worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem” (vv. 12–13).
History does maintain its purposeful flow, coursing as God directs. At history’s end God will bring all things to the conclusion that He intends.
When will this happen? We cannot know. But it will happen.
“In that day.”
In God’s time.

DEVOTIONAL
Waitin’ for Justice
(Isa. 26)
We had just written (another) letter to our superintendent of schools. When our third-grader changed schools midyear, she was placed in a classroom where she suffered serious verbal abuse from other children, and received no support from her teacher.
The stress caused Sarah some serious stomach problems. It caused us serious upset too, because only after a number of complaints did we get Sarah transferred to another classroom. Even then her first teacher seemed to take it out on Sarah by threatening to fail her in one of her subjects.
What was frustrating was that, despite the fact Sarah had an A her first semester, and an A the first quarter in her new school, the teacher threatened to fail her for the year—and despite stated school policy we were not even allowed to check the grade book. I could go on and list other abuses, but the point I want to make is simple. All of us, even in the best of times, are victims now and then of injustice.
I know that our situation with Sarah is relatively insignificant. There are far greater injustices suffered by others. But the experience has made us more sensitive to the frustration experienced by the powerless.
This is what Isaiah felt as he cried, “Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” He went on to complain that though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness, but keep on doing evil (vv. 8–10). How frustrating to try, but always to be kept waiting. How frustrating to struggle, but never seeming to dent injustice.
When something like this happens to us, we need to remember the hope that brought Isaiah comfort. All will be made right, in God’s time. It may not be during our lifetime. But, “Your dead will live!”
Even death is not the end. Even death can’t thwart the ultimate achievement of justice for all in this world. One day, in God’s time, we’ll hear His voice calling us. He’ll cry out to those of us who dwell in the dust, and we will “wake up and shout for joy.” For then we will have justice. Then we will have peace.

Personal Application
Fight injustice. Even if you lose, you will surely win in God’s time.

Quotable
“In Germany, they first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist; then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me—and by that time no one was left to speak up.”—Martin Niemoller