40:1. “Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”
God here commands Isaiah
to comfort or console the people, for His chastisement is designed to
produce repentant obedience, and results in destruction only when that
obedience is refused, as it is written, “The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance,” 2 Peter 3:9, but, “He who being often reproved hardens his
neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy,” Proverbs 29:1.
40:2. “Speak
ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the
Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”
The message of comfort
continues with the assurance that her warfare (hard service or penal
service) was complete, she having already received double, i.e., what she
deserved, full punishment for her sins, God being able to forgive them in
view of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ which would expiate them.
According to the JFB
Commentary this means that “she shall receive (blessings) of the Lord’s hand
double to the punishment of all her sins.”
How much more blessed are
believers, our sins being pardoned not because of any punishment inflicted
upon us, but upon our sinless Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has
paid for our sins with His own precious blood, and expiated them by His
vicarious death as declared in Isaiah 53:5-6, “But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
40:3. “The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight (level, smooth) in the desert a highway for our God.”
The voice was that of the
Lord’s forerunner, John the Baptist, whose introduction of Christ is
recorded in Matthew 3:3, “For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet
Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
40:4. “Every
valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:”
While this may refer to
the geographical changes that will occur in the Millennium, see comments on
Isaiah 35:1, most commentators take
it to be a call for moral reformation in Israel in preparation for the
coming of the Lord at His first advent.
Mountains and hills
represent kings and rulers, while the valleys represent the common people.
40:5. “And the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
This will be in glorious
contrast to the experience of Moses as recorded in Exodus 33:18-23, when he
asked to be shown God’s glory, but was told, “Thou canst not see my face:
for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there
is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to
pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the
rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and I will take away
mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”
40:6. “The
voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all
the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:”
Responding to the command
to cry or proclaim, the prophet asked what it was that he was to announce,
and was told to shout that the life of men is as fleeting as that of the
grass or the flowers, a fact confirmed by comparing man’s earthly life-span
with eternity. This is true however, only relative to man’s time on earth.
Beyond that brief interval he will continue to exist for ever in the bliss
of heaven or the torment of the lake of fire, depending on whether he had
been born again spiritually during that fleeting period of earthly
probation.
This is the essence of the
gospel, relative to which the Lord has commanded believers, “Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” Mark 16:15.
40:7. “The
grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth
upon it: surely the people is grass.”
Man’s human life withers,
and earthly glory is brief, but God’s word is eternal; and relative to that
word it is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” Matthew 4:4. He who believes
God’s word in the gospel, and trusts in Christ as his Savior, will live for
ever in the bliss of heaven; but he who believes not will exist for ever in
the torment of the lake of fire.
Just as a man blows out a
candle, so with equal ease does God end men’s earthly lives, and the
imperative of being saved NOW is announced in the fact that we know not the
moment when our lives will also be “blown out,” hence the need of heeding
God’s warning, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of
salvation,” 2 Corinthians 6:2. This present hour may be our last on earth!
40:8. “The
grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for
ever.”
The brevity of human life
and glory is emphasized here by repetition, but by contrast the word of God
is declared to be eternal, assuring us of the certainty of our receiving all
the everlasting blessings He has promised us.
40:9. “O Zion,
that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem.
That bringest good tidings, lift up the voice with strength; lift it up, be
not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”
As has been noted already
Zion is associated with worship, as Jerusalem is with government, so that
the command to Zion to go up to the high mountain speaks of the high value
God sets on worship; and the command to Jerusalem to shout out the good news
fearlessly to the cities of Judah translates into the truth that we are to
be bold and energetic in encouraging other believers to render their service
with a single eye for God’s glory and the blessing of others.
40:10.
“Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for
him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”
This continues to point to
Christ’s millennial reign, during which He will rule the nations with a rod
of iron, and brook no disobedience.
“... his work before him”
is also translated “His wage before him....” YLT; “... his recompense before
him....” ASV; “The prize of his victory is with him, his trophies all go
before him....” Jerusalem; “... bringing what he has won, bringing what he
has gained,” Moffatt.
The reward here refers not
to the reward that He will give to faithful believers, but to the reward
which the Father will give Him for His faithful service during His life here
on earth, that service being crowned with obedience “unto death, even the
death of the cross,” Philippians 2:8.
40:11. “He
shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his
arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with
young.”
Here under the figure of a
faithful shepherd tending his flock with tender care we have a metaphoric
description of the Lord’s loving care of His own, not only in the
Millennium, but always.
40:12. “Who
hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven
with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and
weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?”
The questions are
rhetorical, for clearly the reference is to the Lord’s omnipotence.
40:13. “Who
hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught
him?”
40:14. “With
whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of
judgment (justice), and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of
understanding?”
The reference continues to
be to the Lord’s absolute self-sufficiency.
40:15.
“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small
dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles (continents) as a very
little thing.”
The complete dependence of
the nations upon Him for their very existence is declared in the more
accurate translations which describe them as “a drop hanging from a bucket
... a drop on a bucket ... a drop on the pail’s rim.”
Our world with its vast
continents and oceans, is no more to Him than is a speck of dust to us.
40:16. “And
Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a
burnt offering.”
All the trees of Lebanon’s
forests cut down and built into a pyre would be a fire too small, and all
its animals too few, to constitute a burnt offering worthy of the God of
heaven and earth, not only relative to quantity, but also to quality, for
they all bear the taint of this corrupt world; and the God “Who is of purer
eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity,” Habakkuk 1:13,
will be satisfied with nothing less than an unblemished offering, that is,
one that is inherently pure. Since therefore earth was incapable of
furnishing such an offering, it and everything upon it, including man, were
under sentence of death, and doomed to destruction. But He Himself would
provide the adequate sacrifice in the person of His only Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, an early intimation of that provision being given in Genesis 22:8,
when Abraham responded to Isaac’s question by declaring, “My son, God will
provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering ....”
The inadequacy of every
other sacrifice is poetically declared by the hymnist in the words:
Not all the blood of
beasts,
On Jewish altars slain,
Could give the guilty
conscience peace,
Or wash away one stain.
But richer blood has
flowed from nobler veins,
To purge the soul from
guilt,
And cleanse the reddest
stains.
40:17. “All
nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than
nothing, and vanity (less then nought, chaos, emptiness).”
Great nations, e.g.,
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, have ruled the world of their day, but
they have all passed away, their ephemeral glory being now nothing more than
a chapter in the record of world history; crumbling ruins being all that
remain as tangible evidence of their brief existence.
He who lives only for time
is of all fools the greatest. True wisdom is to have one’s name inscribed
in the Lamb’s book of life, by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord, for what is declared in Job 19:26 is true of every believer, “And
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see
God.” Following the resurrection of life, every believer, in a glorified
body, will dwell with Christ in heaven eternally.
40:18. “To whom
then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto him?”
God is unique, hence the
folly of attempting to represent Him in tangible form, another hymnist
having written concerning Him that He is
Immortal, invisible,
God only wise:
In light inaccessible,
Hid from our eyes.
40:19. “The
workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with
gold, and casteth silver chains.”
The natural man being
sensual, must have something tangible to worship, but the Lord Himself has
informed us that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth,” John 4:24; and in John 20:29 He told Thomas,
“... because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that
have not seen, and yet have believed.”
In spite of the fact that
the making or worship of any kind of image is forbidden in Exodus 20:4-5, it
is ominously significant that Papal Rome is guilty of this very sin, the
sale of such representations contributing much to her incalculable wealth.
40:20. “He
that is impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not
rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that
shall not be moved.”
Nor will the poor man
permit impecuniosity to deprive him of an idol. If poverty prevents his
making it of gold or silver he will substitute wood that is impervious to
decay, and will be careful to fasten it securely so that it wont fall over,
failing to note apparently that an idol which he himself must thus protect
from falling, is little likely to be able to render him any aid in time of
difficulty.
40:21. “Have
ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the
beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?”
The latter part of this
verse is also rendered, “Have you not understood how the earth was founded,”
The Jerusalem Bible; “... the words He gave before the worlds began?
Have you never heard nor understood....? Taylor.
40:22. “It is
he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof
are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and
spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;”
Here is declared the
global shape of the earth, a discovery made by scientists relatively
recently. How small a part the earth and heavens are of all God’s creation
is also announced! The sky which we think of as being infinite, is to God
merely a curtain which He has spread out over the earth. Well might the
Psalmist turn from his contemplation of creation, and exclaim, “What is man
that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
Psalm 8:4.
40:23. “That
bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as
vanity.”
History confirms the truth
declared here. Consider the great men who have strutted for a brief moment
upon the stage of time. Their names are now mere ciphers on the pages of
history books. How different is the future of the believer! He whose name
is inscribed in the Lamb’s book of life will reign with Christ eternally.
40:24. “Yea,
they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock
shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they
shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.”
Moffatt’s translation of
this verse reads, “scarcely planted, scarcely sown, scarcely rooted in the
earth, when at a puff from him they wither, the storm sweeps them off like
straws.” Such is the brevity of man’s earthly life as measured against
eternity, the decision made during that brief time, whether to accept Christ
as Savior, determining whether his eternal existence will be in heaven or in
the lake of fire.
40:25. “To
whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.”
The God with Whom we have
to deal is incomparable and omnipotent.
40:26. “Lift
up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that
bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the
greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.”
Here men are commanded to
consider the wonders of the heavens as displayed in the stars, some of which
are so vast that earth is as a mere speck of dust by comparison. The
unvarying precision of their movements is controlled by that same God whom
men mock, but before Whom they must eventually stand for judgment.
40:27. “Why
sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord,
and my judgment is passed over from my God?”
Commentators differ as to
whether this is the lament of those who feel that God is indifferent to
their troubles; or whether it is the presumptuous conclusion of those who
delude themselves that He doesn’t take note of their evil deeds. The former
however, is the more likely, and is the interpretation accepted by most
competent scholars.
Since Jacob was the
original name, and Israel the new name given the patriarch by God, a further
lesson being taught in the use of both names is that saint and sinner alike
should never forget that God is fully aware, not only of what men do, but
also of what they think.
40:28. “Hast
thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the
Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no
searching of his understanding.”
This continues to
emphasize God’s omnipotence, omniscience and eternality; and while these
attributes may elude human understanding they are not beyond the grasp of
simple faith which is willing to believe even though it may not always fully
understand.
40:29. “He
giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth
strength.”
The ABPS translation of
this verse reads, “He gives vigor to the weary; and to the powerless he
increases strength.” In other words, God is able and willing to meet every
need of His own, the exhortation given us in 1 Peter 5:7 being, “Casting all
your care upon him: for he careth for you,” this latter assurance evoking
the response of Paul recorded in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things
through Christ who strengtheneth me.”
40:30. “Even
the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:”
40:31. “But
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and
not faint.”
These two verses announce
the vast difference between natural and spiritual strength. Natural stamina
eventually fails, but spiritual strength never, for it is the very power of
God, and those who depend upon it can say with Paul, “I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13 “... for when I am
weak, then am I strong 2 Corinthians 12:10, i.e., when I recognize my own
weakness and cast myself upon the Lord, all His strength becomes available
to me.
The phenomenal power of
that supernatural strength is declared in its being likened to that of
eagles’ wings, and to the ability to run or walk without ever being
exhausted. It was the strength with which Paul was endowed when God refused
to remove “the thorn in the flesh,” but gave instead the assurance of the
sufficiency of His grace, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength
is made perfect in weakness,” 2 Corinthians 12:9, evoking Paul’s obedient
response, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
We impoverish ourselves
unimaginably when we reject the proffered grace, and demand instead removal
of the thorn.
