Divine Attributes and Power
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Isaiah
37. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 40
Comfort,
comfort my people
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your
God” (v.1). This chapter is one of the great
treasures of Isaiah and ranks among the highest portions of Scripture. It is a
wonderful word from God for His flock. His intentions are always good towards
them and His longing is for them to feel comfort and security under His care. He
instructs His messengers to give comfort.
He chastens, as a good father always must, and He said
in his covenant with David, concerning his offspring, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he
commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes
of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took
it from Saul…” (2 S.7:14-15). The destiny of Saul should never be used to
frighten the Lord’s sheep into obedience and subjection. The end of David’s
line was not to be compared with Saul’s. “Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem…” Conflict was one of the ways, in which God frequently
disciplined, but now Jerusalem is assured that the war had ended and the
punishment was more than sufficient (v.2).
John
the Baptist’s ministry
The prophecy carries us ahead 700 years to the
beginning of the gospel era. Isaiah speaks of John the Baptist and verse 3 is
the well-known prophecy, which is quoted in the New Testament in reference to his
ministry. It is preparatory to the coming of Christ and let it remind us that
preaching of repentance always must precede the preaching of the gospel. Tears
of repentance are not to be seen as negative, but a beautiful attitude that begins
in the heart of a sinner, preparing it to receive Christ. Every proud mountain
is brought down and the lowly valleys of degradation are filled. The crooked,
perverted ways are straightened and the rough personality characteristics are
tamed and made smooth (v.3-4, see Mark 1:3).
I am reminded of the moving of God’s Spirit among the
Eskimos in the far northeastern part of Canada. Under a heavy conviction of
sin, repentant natives brought the objects of their vices to the local church. Over
a period of time, barrel after barrel was filled with cigarettes, liquor,
pornography, drugs, and articles of witchcraft. The Royal Canadian Mounted
Police estimated the value, if I remember correctly, from 80,000 to 100,000
Canadian dollars. They were piled in a high mound, because the ground was
frozen and too hard to dig for burial. The police contributed gasoline (very
expensive in those areas) and the entire population stood, applauded and
cheered, as the mountain of sin was removed and turned to ashes. I broke into
tears at the beautiful sight and sound of repentance, as I watched the film.
Soon hundreds were converted.
The words of Isaiah are far too wonderful not to appear
in the New Testament. Peter quotes the following and James refers to it: “All flesh is like grass and all its glory
like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word
of the Lord remains forever” (1 P.1:24-25, Jam.1:10-11, from v.6-8). Peter
adds, “And this word is the good news
that was preached to you.”
Good
news
From the time that Hezekiah entertained the Babylonian
ambassadors, Isaiah turned his prophecies towards those days and through the
rest of the book, spoke comfort to Israel in their distress and oppression. He
promises, “The glory of the Lord shall
be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has
spoken” (v.5). He has already told of the preparation for that day and
afterwards points the people to live by God’s word. Man’s glory falls, but the glory of the Word
is eternal. Because Israel is His chosen people, “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew” (Ro.11:2).
The total ministry of Christ is put together by the
prophet and so, this one refers to the second coming of Christ, as well as the
first. In spite of danger, Zion within Jerusalem is to lift up its voice and announce
good news to the cities of Judah. They are commanded to be bold and strong in
their declaration.
The message is, “Behold
your God” (v.9). There is no denying the deity of Christ from this passage.
It is the Lord God, who is coming, and He is coming in might to rule from
Jerusalem (v.10). Isaiah portrays Christ as the Coming King, but also as the Good
Shepherd: “He will tend his flock like a
shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his
bosom, and gently lead those that are with young” (v.11). The writer of
Hebrews proclaims that He is “the same
yesterday and today and forever… the great shepherd of the sheep… Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Heb.13:8,20,21). Who He was, He
is and always will be.
How consoling it is to have this depiction of a gentle
leader of pregnant ewes, as well as One, who carries the lambs in His bosom! He
is almighty and awesome, terrible in battle and fearsome in wrath, yet He is “gentle and lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls” (Mt.11:29). This is the Christ of the Bible.
Infinite
greatness
The prophet attempts to describe His incomparable greatness.
He shows the ease, with which He controls the universe, holding all the waters
on earth, oceans, lakes and streams, in the palm of His hand. With infinite
intelligence, He formed the balance of nature, the perfect proportions of land
and sea. He determined their size and the weight of the mountains and hills, and
stretched His fingers over the expanse of heaven (v.12).
Yet He is immeasurable and being omniscient, He needs
no counsel or teaching. “Who taught him
the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of
understanding?” (v.13-14). We must find our place, as minute and extremely limited
beings, unjust and ignorant. He is perfectly just and filled with wisdom and
knowledge.
I appreciate the diminishing importance given to the
nations in this portion. The first description is of something very small, like
a drop in a bucket, dust on the scales, and simply fine dust (v.15). If a
worthy sacrifice were to be offered to God, forested “Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a
burnt offering” (v.16). The value of the nations drops from small to
nothing: “All the nations are as nothing
before him”, and finally fall to minus quantity and worth: “They are accounted by him as less than
nothing…” (v.17).
Idolatry
Isaiah will lead us to see the gross sinfulness of
idolatry and the reason for the second commandment: It is massive blasphemy to
compare Him to anything; the difference between the Creator and the sum of His
creation is incalculable (v.18). Try to fathom the utter stupidity of an idol: “A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith
overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains” (v.19). These are the
idols that find a fashionable and prominent place in society, ornate in the
eyes of men. On the other hand, the idols of the common person are baser. He
looks for a piece of wood that will not rot and entrusts it to a craftsman to
form a god for him (v.20). Are they all insane?
The inspired prophet’s questions go out to all
mankind. Are you so ignorant and unlearned? Have you missed the teaching that
is as old as the earth itself and its scientific laws? (v.21)? Here is what has
been taught since the beginning of time to wise men and it has not been just
recently discovered. If the knowledge has been lost, it is because the foolish
heart of man has been darkened. The planet earth is round and God sits highly
over all, seeing human beings as grasshoppers. He unfolds the heavens as if they
were a curtain and, in the middle, sets them like a tent to dwell in (v.22).
The princes and rulers of earth are mortal and,
generation after generation, they fall and are forgotten: “Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem
taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the
tempest carries them off like stubble” (v.23-24). Gone are the ornate
images, with which they tried to depict the Most High. The Holy One again asks
a question. To what can you possibly compare Him in order to form an idol?
(v.25)
Strong
in power
“Lift up your eyes on high and see: who
created these?” He speaks of the
stars in the universe and challenges man to try to find their limits. Make
telescopes, if you will, to reach beyond the naked eye; make them ever stronger
until they stretch their view beyond the Milky Way to countless galaxies more.
They have not exhausted the heavenly bodies; there are yet more… million and
billions more! There is only One, who can count them and, in fact, He has a
name for each of them! Not one is uncounted and not one is nameless, “because he is strong in power” (v.26).
The term ‘strong in power’ smacks of an understatement, knowing what we do know
in the 21st Century about the vastness of the universe, but even in
language, we are weak and incapable of describing Him.
Here, then, is a message to God’s ancient people, who
have known Him longest. One question after another is posed, to Israel and all
the world, in order to spark man’s reason, yet it seems impossible to bring him
to his senses: “Why do you say… My way
is hidden from the Lord? (v.27) They are accusing the Omniscient of
blindness and ignorance. Oh, the arrogance of men… how utterly stupid it is! “The Lord is the everlasting God, the
Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his
understanding is unsearchable” (v.28).
Those are His attributes and the chapter has wonderfully
informed us of them, as few other places in the Bible. We have been left with
little to comment, because the prophet has stretched human language to its
limits. But now, he turns his attention to divine impartation to a hungry,
waiting humanity: “He gives power to the
faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (v.29). We notice
that nothing is offered to the strong and energetic. Their advantages over the
weak are so small, in comparison to the power that they could obtain from God, but
apparently, the pride, due to their puny superiority, has kept them from the
best.
The youths, then, reach their limitations too soon and
the young men fall exhausted (v.30). It is the Lord’s intention to prepare a
people to join with Him in the business of heaven. Just as Jesus called his
disciples from their fishing boats and other common endeavors to make them
become fishers of men, so it has always been His purpose to equip the less
fortunate for supernatural service. His work requires far more than the young
and mighty can provide. Therefore, those He calls must “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come” upon them (Ac.1:8).
The dazzling, flaming seraphim were endowed with six
wings in order to serve the Holy One of Israel, you will remember from chapter
6. Two of their wings were to provide them rapid transport in carrying out the orders
of the One seated upon the throne. Divine service requires haste. Human beings,
as well, who are called into matters that are heavenly, spiritual and eternal, must
be supernaturally clothed with power from on high.
Waiting
on God
They are waiting on God, just as the early disciples
waited forty days in the upper room. It is ironic that flying should require
much waiting, but that we find to be true in modern air travel. We must hurry
to the airport and then wait in line, perhaps to check our luggage, then wait
to go through security. Again, we wait in line to board the plane and then wait
for the plane to leave the gate and taxi to the runway. However, when the
waiting is over, we experience the apex of modern-day transportation.
We wait upon God, because we will not be satisfied
with second-best. He said, “All who came
before me are thieves and robbers” (Jn.10:8). In a time when a push of a
button gives us immediate satisfaction for the things that move this world,
there are those who continue to wait in prayer for God to move. We wait upon
God, even though human aid is close at hand. The best that this world provides
will never help people to walk on streets of gold. We are waiting for wings! “They who wait for the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” This is one of
the mightiest promises in the entire oracles of God, yet so few can be found,
who are waiting for the Lord. They are running for the preparation offered by
mere men and it will never suffice. They will wear down and find, like the five
foolish virgins, that their resources are growing weak.
King Ahab had the best and fastest horses in Israel
and with them he scurried for shelter towards the city of Jezreel to escape the
oncoming storm. Elijah stayed behind on Mount Carmel to wait upon God. As the
blackness of the storm swirled in upon Ahab, he looked behind to see a lone
figure approaching at high speed. “And
the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran
before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel” (1 Kgs.18:46).
The youth can depend upon their speed and endurance to
do the best that human kind can achieve, but we are not waiting for the best of
the abilities of men. They will faint, be weary and fall exhausted, but the
servants of the Lord will wait upon Him and they “shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (v.31).
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