Comfort My People

Isaiah 40:1-11


Whenever our parents had to discipline us as children, it was always good to know that their anger did not signify a loss of their love.  It was good to know that that their discipline didn’t mean that they had turned their back on us, or cast us out.  In our passage today from the Prophet Isaiah, God is letting His people know that though He has had to discipline and punish them for their sins and rebellion against Him, His love and forgiveness is always there if only they will return to Him.

The people of Judah, whom the prophet Isaiah was speaking to, had fallen away from God, disobeying His laws, and worshipping false idols, and God was going to bring the people into foreign captivity.  That wasn’t going to be the end of the story, though, as Isaiah’s words today convey (vs. 1-2).  Even though God brings judgment on both His people, and the world, He has planned for the salvation of all mankind.  God brings hope in the midst of suffering.  God can bring us comfort when our lives are falling apart.  In the midst of adversity, God bring comfort and encouragement from His Word and Presence.  God had good plans for the people of Judah in their future even though things looked bad then.  He has good plans for us believers, too, despite how things may look for us right now.

Isaiah addressed the people, telling them they needed to remove all obstacles, both in their individual lives and in the nation as a whole, from the path of the coming Messiah (vs. 3 - 5).  That would entail repenting of their sins.  Both John the Baptist and Jesus said the same thing (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:14-15). To prepare the way and make a straight highway is to remove any obstacles and welcoming Jesus’s coming.  The desert is life’s trials and suffering.  Our life will have trials, but they should not hinder our faith.

All of life is transitory - here today and gone tomorrow (vs. 6 - 8).  In the New Testament the Apostle James echoes the same words as Isaiah does here.  He warns us to not trust in wealth, as it is just as fleeting as the grass (James 1:10-11).  The Apostle Peter says the same thing in his epistle, as well (I Peter 1:24-25).  In spite of the fact that everything we have, and our life itself is brief and fleeting, we can have hope and encouragement knowing that there is one thing that is permanent, and that is the Word of God (vs. 8).  The Bible is eternal, unfailing, and constant.  People and their philosophies change and are unreliable, but God’s Word is permanent.  What He promises will happen. Despite attacks for years, the Bible still stands.  We can depend on its trustworthiness.

Isaiah closes out this passage with a favorite Biblical reference of God as a shepherd (vs. 11).  All throughout Scripture God refers to Himself as such.  Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd in John 10:11-16.  Peter also called Jesus the Chief Shepherd in his epistle (I Peter 5:4).  The author of Hebrews called Jesus the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20).   Like a shepherd, God is gentle and caring.  He guides His flock with love, and is powerful to keep us safe from the enemy.

All of this is good news to hear.  This is not something that we should keep secret from those who do not know.  This is something that we need to proclaim loud and strong, for all to hear (vs. 9).  Just as Isaiah told to people of Judah to lift up their voices and tell others about God, so we need to as well.  We have good tidings to bring.  As Isaiah says, "Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid." Let our lives and testimony, as well as our words, proclaim to the world, "Behold your God!"