(40:1-2) Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
As befits a new beginning, the opening verses of ch. 40 echo terms found in ch. 1. In 1:4 God describes Israel at that time:
Is. 1:4 Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! (NIV).
The same Hebrew word ʿavôn translated "guilt" (NIV) in ch.1 occurs in 40:2 "that her iniquity is pardoned". The sins that sent Isaiah's compatriots into exile have now been amply punished.
The people addressed in chapter 40 are in different circumstances, both physically and spiritually. What are the earmarks here of a new situation?
First, the morale and mood of the people addressed. While those addressed in chapters 1-39 needed warnings of judgment, not comfort, those addressed in chapter 40 do need comfort and assurance of pardon.
Secondly, in Isaiah's own day, Israel was a long way from having served her term (as the RSV wording gives it here): the term of her real punishment — the exile predicted by Moses in the final chapters of Deuteronomy—was yet ahead of her. In those days she did not need tenderness, but sternness from God. Her sin had not been paid for. But in the future era that Isaiah here addresses the people need God's comfort and reassurance of his love and faithfulness.
When a parent has to discipline his or her child, it is important that the child still know that he or she is loved. The comfort accompanies the stern discipline. The 70-year exile was God's discipline, but Israel was still his beloved child.Notice here how God calls her "my people".
The verbs "comfort" and "speak tenderly" are plural. Who are the ones addressed here? Who are supposed to speak comfort to God's people Israel? Some think that God here addresses his heavenly council. Is God asking angels to comfort Israel in exile? Is he asking prophets or priests or scribes? Is he asking the faithful remnant—the Daniel’s, Mordecai’s and Esther’s of the exiled community?
Perhaps the plural is addressed to the words or sentences in Isaiah's own prophecy to follow. The comfort will come to Israel, not by persons with a message different from what is written here. Possible also is that the plural entities addressed are the two voices to follow in vv. 3 and 6, in which case one should look for comfort and speaking to the heart in those two messages in particular. Support for this interpretation might also come from the twofold command "Comfort ye, comfort ye".
Who then is to be comforted? Verse 1 identifies the group to receive words of comfort as "my (i.e., Yahweh's) people" and "Jerusalem". Identifying the entire people of Israel—or at least the Judeans— as "Jerusalem" is not without parallel among the earlier prophecies. But if comfort is to be given both to the exiles and to the small remnant that remains in Judea, this dual reference— "my people" for the exiles coming home, and "Jerusalem" for those the Babylonians had left in the land— may be intentional.
In 40:2b we again see poetic parallelism: "her term of service is over, … her iniquity is expiated; … she has received at the hand of the LORD double for all her sins". Each of these is the equivalent of the others.
Her "hard service" (NIV; JPS "term of service"; ESV alt. "time of service") was living in exile. The "iniquity" of the pre-exilic period was now punished. That punishment was "from the LORD's hand". It is important that the Israelites understand that what happened to them was not the triumph of Babylonian kings and their "gods", but loving discipline "from the LORD's hand" (v. 2). The Babylonians only triumphed because the LORD allowed them to.
The punishment received was "double"—or perhaps "twofold". Jeremiah had prophesied (16:18): “And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations".
A double reparation was due in the law of Sinai for cases of theft (Ex 22:4, 7, 9).
Ex. 22:4 When the animal, whether ox or donkey or sheep, is found alive in the thief’s possession, the thief shall pay double.
Ex. 22:7 When someone delivers to a neighbor money or goods for safekeeping, and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, then the thief, if caught, shall pay double.
Ex. 22:9 In any case of disputed ownership involving ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or any other loss, of which one party says, “This is mine,” the case of both parties shall come before God; the one whom God condemns shall pay double to the other.
The connection with the theft laws seems appropriate here, since the sin Jeremiah mentions is that Israel has polluted the LORD's land with idols. The land did not belong to them: it belonged to the LORD. Worshiping foreign gods in it was tantamount to trying to steal it from the LORD. It denied the fact that the LORD was the true owner of the land: his people were merely tenants. The punishment was to take away Israel's right to tenancy of that land for 70 years.
How was this punishment twofold? Perhaps: (1) loss of temple, and (2) loss of land, both for 70 years.
(40:3-4) A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, because the mouth of the LORD has predicted (and done) it!”
40:3 Who speaks here? In verses 3 and 6 Isaiah refers to words which are uttered by a disembodied “voice”. Who is the voice? It cannot be Isaiah’s own voice, crying to his people over the interval of the centuries, because in verse 6 the voice asks Isaiah himself to cry out, and he asks “What shall I cry?” It is surely likely that the “voice” referred to in both places is the same. Is there anywhere else in scripture where a disembodied voice calls to a prophet? Yes, of course. A voice came to the boy Samuel as he slept in the tabernacle with the old priest Eli (1 Sam 3:4-14). A voice came to the prophet Elijah at Mt. Sinai after he had fled from the wrath of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and was discouraged to the point of wanting to die. And one several occasions a voice came from the sky to those standing around Jesus of Nazareth during his earthly ministry.1 Who is the Voice? Of course, it is God Himself!
Why does Isaiah refer to God here as the “voice” instead of just saying that God spoke to him? Because when God speaks as the Voice, only those who are his own hear him; the others hear only an unintelligible Sound (Jn 10:16; 12:28-32). Those who were not God’s true sheep did not hear Him in the voice of John the Baptist or in the voice of Jesus. Neither have they ever heard more than frightening thunder, when he spoke. But this is the voice of comfort, like the bat ḳol that spoke comfort to Elijah at Mt. Sinai.
40:3b-5 To whom does this Voice cry out? Who is addressed here? If the voices of vv. 3 and 6 are the ones addressed in v. 1 "comfort ye, comfort yet my people", then this voice is now doing just that, and Israel is being addressed. Certainly, that was how John the Baptist applied this verse centuries later. But was it originally so intended?
What are the Israelites in Babylonia and in Canaan being asked to do in v. 3? This verse contains a poetic couplet, showing typical synonymous parallelism. "In the wilderness" = "in the desert", and "prepare" = "make straight", and "the way of the LORD" = "a highway for our God".
This command was not intended to be taken literally. The Jewish exiles were not to become physical road-builders. Ancient international roads in Isaiah's day were worn paths but not like later Roman roads with crushed stone bases. They didn't need to be built, but they did need to be cleared periodically of obstructions and debris.
The geographical terms used in vv. 3-4 are all appropriate to the land of Israel: deserts in southern Judah and along the Jordan valley, the valleys of the Jordan River and of Jezreel, and many mountains and hills. This description is not so appropriate to the terrain around Babylon, in southern Iraq. The land of ancient Babylonia was quite flat. There were deserts bordering it, but no mountains, or valleys—only moving sand dunes. Isaiah uses here terminology appropriate to his own land, and applies it metaphorically to the task before the faithful Israelites in exile.
The road described is to be located in the desert, like the road the Israelites followed from Egypt to the Promised Land. On that road they were led by the glory of God in the form of the pillar of cloud and fire. On that road they learned what it was to sin, repent and find the LORD's forgiveness. But here we aren’t told that the people too will travel on this road, only God himself and in his glorious form. The purpose of God’s traveling that prepared road is not revealed here. There is —as yet—no mention of reaching a Promised Land on it. But one goal is clear: that as a result of that road being built and God's traveling on it to his people, all humanity (“all flesh”, ḳol bāśār, not just Israel) will together see the glory of God.
What was this "glory of the LORD [Yahweh]" that all peoples living at that time in the Near East would see? Not the pillar of cloud and fire. But just as in Joshua's time the pagan peoples were aware that Israel's God Yahweh had done the unthinkable—the impossible, by bringing his people out of bondage to the mightiest nation on earth and leading them to a home of their own in Canaan, with the result that it brought Yahweh glory among the nations, so now the nations of the Middle East would all witness a second exodus: Yahweh would rescue his people from exile and return them to their ancestral land—something that had never happened before in human history. And this too would show Yahweh's "glory".
If the road on which Yahweh comes is not literal but metaphorical, what were the people being asked to do? The exiles were to make a path through the desert of human hearts that leads to a true comprehension of the Creator? God expects all people to prepare for his coming to them by faith in his word. And the result of their faith in his redeeming promise, there will be a spiritual "exodus" from the penalty and power of sin, and a dramatic change in those rescued that will bring incredible glory to the Redeeming God! How can we know that this what is meant here? Some clues may be found in the text that follows.
(40:6-8) A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All human beings are like grass, their dependability is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; without doubt human beings are like grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.
Now the voice has a similar message addressed just to the prophet. In v. 3, where many people are addressed, the Voice must “cry out” loud. But in v. 6, where the Voice addresses Isaiah personally and intimately, he merely “says”. but while the Voice merely speaks to Isaiah, Isaiah himself is to “cry out”, for his message is for the whole earth.
The message is that "all flesh [all humanity] is grass"! It is about the weakness and ignorance of humans when compared with the power and wisdom of God. The frailty spoken of in Isaiah 40:6-8 ("all flesh is grass") is not that of God's exiled people, but all of humanity.
Isaiah's purpose in emphasizing this frailty of humanity is to warn Israel not to be discouraged by what appears to be the irresistible power of the pagan empires surrounding her. For like the tender grass on the fringes of the desert, they will wither away and die when the breath of Yahweh—in the form of his declared purposes in history—blows upon them. This was the message of God to the Jewish exiles.
Here two things are contrasted: "all flesh" (= human beings characterized as undependable and powerless) and "the breath/word of Yahweh" (vv. 7-8). Human resourcefulness and pride is like grass in the arid lands of Israel, Babylonia and Egypt—it flourishes for a short season, when there is water, and it dries up when that brief season is over, when the hot winds of the desert ("the breath of Yahweh") blow upon it.
The listening exiles are to learn from this that neither they nor their Babylonian masters with their showy "gods" are in control of their destinies. It is the Mighty Creator God, Yahweh, who decrees what will happen (Jeremiah and Isaiah's predictions of exile and return), and breathes into his people new life and hope.
So also today, many people boast of humanity's scientific and technological prowess (interplanetary travel, genetic engineering, imaging of electrons, iPhones, satellite radio, solar power for a"green" future, etc.) and in their social and intellectual sophistication (moral and cultural relativism, permissive sexual behavior, censoring of Christian claims to a unique way to God). But their boasts are idle and ridiculous to our sovereign God.
(40:9-11) Get you up to a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Lord Yahweh comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
There are two possible translations of the Hebrew text of verse 9: (1) "Get you up to a high mountain, you herald of good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you herald of good tidings to Jerusalem" and (2) "Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings" How are we to interpret each of the alternatives, so as to make good sense within our context? (1) If good news is to be brought to Jerusalem, Zion and the cities of Judah, and in the context of chapter 40 the good news is the LORD's return to his people manifested by his restoring of the Jewish exiles from Babylonia to Judea, the unnamed herald ought to be the exiles returning from Babylonia. (2) If Jerusalem (whose other name is Zion) is the herald bringing good news to the cities of Judah, then "Jerusalem" and "Zion" must be poetic labels for the exiles themselves who announce to the Jews still living in the rural cities of Judah that the LORD is here again! All in all, I like the first interpretation, because it is simpler, requiring the fewest assumptions.
In either case, the good news that they bring to the cities of Judah is of the LORD's miracle of restoring the exiles and giving Israel a second chance in her own land.
40:9 The returning exiles are to be unafraid of declaring the glory of God in this miracle. Presumably, they might be afraid to do so, lest their former captors become angry with them. But by the time God acted to bring them back, the Persians had defeated the Babylonians and become the new masters of the vast empire. And the Persian emperor Cyrus who had issued his decree allowing exiles to return to their lands and worship their gods, had done so only because Yahweh had raised him up and given him the victory over the Babylonians (Isaiah 41:2; 46:11), whether he was aware of that or not. So the Jewish returnees must not be timid in spreading the news of Yahweh's glorious redemption of his people.
40:9-10 The bringer of good news tells the cities of Judah "Here is your God" (notice: not "our God"). The people left in the land (the "cities of Judah") needed to know that He who was bringing the exiles back was also their God. The new community of returnees and remainers needed to be one.
These were comforting and encouraging words to the Jewish exiles. Yahweh, their God, had not abandoned them, nor was he unable to overcome what had happened to them. He meted out vengeance on the Babylonians by using the Persians to conquer them and to decree the release of the Jewish exiles. God's power was evident in those two events. God's forgiveness, faithfulness and enduring commitment to Israel was also shown by these same two events. He could have had the power to do them, but might not have wished to do so. He did so because he still loved them and wanted them back in the land he had given them long ago.
40:12-17 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? 14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? 15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. 16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. 17 Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. (Isaiah 40:12-17 NIV)
In verses 12-17 Isaiah reminds his hearers that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is incomparable in power and wisdom. As the Creator of the universe, nothing is too difficult for him, certainly not restoring his people to his land and blessing them again. His mind is inscrutable. His plans cannot be predicted, but only learned by his own revelation. Nor can he be outwitted. The nations of the world are valued by him as his own creation, but they have no worth apart from their relationship to their Creator. Alone, they are mere dust on the scales he uses to weigh his plans. They are insignificant.
40:18-26 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? 19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. 20 A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple. 21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:18-26 NIV)
Contrast with Israel's God the pale imitations of the Babylonian and Persian idols. They did not create the universe (as Yahweh did, v. 22), but must themselves be "made", from a block of wood, and prettied up with gold and silver plating! Nor are the pagan rulers who worship them of any account (v. 23), for God is able to raise them up or send them sprawling, all according to his plans. In fact, all people are like grasshoppers to him who sits enthroned "above the circle of the earth" (v. 22).
40:27-31 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but 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. (Isaiah 40:27-31 NIV)
In these verses Isaiah returns to his primary message of comfort to Israel. Their just "cause" is not disregarded by God (v. 27). Nor need they worry that their ancestral God, Yahweh, is too feeble to redeem them. He is the all-powerful Creator. Furthermore, not only is he powerful, but he makes those who trust in him able to do the impossible. Although even young men grow weary when they work long and hard, even old people who trust in the Lord God of Israel can "renew their strength" — like runners who get a "second wind" they will amaze even themselves with the power that God will give them to fulfill what he has called them to do.
What a wonderful message all this is for you and me today! As individuals and as a worldwide church we are confronted with all sorts of seemingly daunting challenges. As individuals we may be faced with health issues, financial issues, family problems, job problems. Can God overcome these? And if he can, is he willing to?
As a worldwide church we are confronted by the resurgence of aggressive Islam, using the present situation in the world to expand its missionary efforts inside western countries that have lost their confidence in Christianity (including the US). And their task is made easier because America and Europe have essentially reverted to pre-Christian paganism. Is God able to turn the tide and evangelize the Muslims living among us? And if he is able, is he willing to do so through you and me?
How does the God of the Bible compare with Allah, the god of Islam. Both claim to be powerful. Both claim to be merciful. But Allah has no sovereign control over history. He does not make predictions of dramatically fulfilled events in the remote future. He has given his followers no assurance of salvation, and no sacrifice for their sins. He demands good works as a condition of final salvation. His mercy imposes no sacrifice on himself. In the end he is no better than the gods of Babylonia. He cannot and will not save those who trust in him.
How does the God of the Bible compare with the idols of pagan Europe and pagan America? We idolize authors like Dan Brown whose novels propagate the false idea that the gospel accounts of Jesus, his message, his identity, and his death and resurrection, were falsified, and that in reality no such events every took place! We idolize rock stars who sodomize children. We glorify athletes who brutalize their wives. We make the earth that God created into a goddess ("Mother Earth"), and turn moderate and sensible conservation into a "green" philosophy that is pagan in its roots. We want to improve upon the Creator's work by changing people's gender. We deny to the Creator his title "Father" because it seems too patriarchal. Are the "gods" of the pagan West any better than Baal, Marduk, or Allah? They are all worthless, and can bring nothing but deception and misery to their worshipers.Isaiah would say, "Those who worship them are like them"!
But God's good news in Isaiah 40 is that he is both willing and able to empower those who believe in him to do great exploits of faith and love: to overcome falsehoods and distortions with the truth of God's word and the truth of our transformed lives. Can we not derive encouragement and motivation from passages such as these in Isaiah 40, so that we lift up our voices without fear? Can we not become "bringers of good news" to a lost world?
God bless you as you take God at his word this week and let him work through you to bring the Good News to a needy world!
No comments:
Post a Comment