Isaiah served as a prophet seven centuries before the birth of Christ. Israel's coming captivity had been announced and now God desires to comfort Israel. Though Jerusalem would be razed and left in ruins, God's plan was to rebuild and raise up his people and their home. Knowing the sad setting helps us to better understand the consoling sermon found in this passage.
"Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 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. A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 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. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. 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, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 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." (Isaiah 40:1-11)
Human life is such a warfare. Cost of living raises never measure up to the climbing cost of living. Hostilities within the global environment create an underlying current of uncertainty that causes us to wonder when the next wave will crash. Our best and most earnest attempts at living a peaceful and contented life often find themselves thwarted by situations, circumstances, and people that are close to us. Though technology abounds to make our lives easier, it seems that life, and the rigors associated with living, find themselves surrounded by a perpetual battle ground where incessant demands are laid upon us.
Where human life is a warfare, the Christian life is more so. Where once the truths and principles of Christianity were espoused by the larger percentage of the American population, now we find ourselves in an arena that greatly resembles a scene from Babylon. While Israel was led out of their homeland and into the land of their captors, Christianity, in a real sense, is being held captive within the borders of a land that, though it once embraced Christianity, now largely rejects it. In the midst of the warfare that surrounds the human and Christian life, there is no shortage of difficult decisions that must be made, decisions that cause us to reach deep within our cultivated wells of wisdom and reason.
The Babylonian captivity did come to an end, just as God promised it would, and Israel waited almost seven hundred years before John the Baptist came along preaching the coming Kingdom of God during the reign of the Roman Empire. He caused quite a stir preaching (Matthew 3:1-12) this message from the prophet Isaiah and, just as God had prepared beforehand, the Messiah made the entrance to His public ministry at the Jordan River where John baptized Him. (Matthew 3:13-17).
The content of Isaiah 40:1-11 contains a prophetic message foretelling the Advents of Christ. This prophetic message was initially fulfilled at the First Advent where Jesus brought salvation, the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life, to all who would believe in Him. (John 3:16). The Israelites, for the most part, rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah because He didn't overthrow the Roman Empire and set Israel free from the rule of Rome. Rather, He went about preaching the Kingdom of God, casting out demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead. The nerve of Jesus! He failed to supply the expectations of the religious Israelites and surrounded himself with a crowd that boasted a lesser station in life. He demoted those who looked upon themselves with admiration and exalted those who saw themselves in a much humbler light.
We, people of grass, will have our share of trials and difficulties as long as we reside in these physical bodies as sojourners upon the earth. Our own sins and failures will generate plenty of personal regrets. The sins and failures of others will add their complications. Such is the plight of the fallen ancestors of Adam and Eve and, to discover hope, our sight must rise to a height above mortal humanity.
In spite of our sins and failures, as well as those of others, it's important to keep our focus fixed on the Cradle where Jesus was born at His First Advent, the Cross where Jesus died as the sacrifice for our sins, and the Culmination when He will come again at His Second Advent. Herein we find the Divine Comfort that assures us of God's love. Christ is the good Shepherd; he shows tender care for young converts, weak believers, and those of a sorrowful spirit.
May God indeed supply within us His Divine Comforts as we realize our fallen nature
and reach out to Him to receive our forgiveness in Christ Jesus. Amen. |
