God Gives Strength

December 5, 2010

Background Scripture: Isaiah 40
Lesson Passage: Isaiah 40:1 – 8, 25, 26, 29 – 31

Disaster often happens so quickly that we don’t have enough time to think about what is really going on. Perhaps this is best to keep us from going into shock and mentally shutting down during difficult times. On the other hand, the process of recovery often affords us plenty of time to reflect on the past and contemplate an uncertain future. It is during this time of recovery, rehabilitation, or reordering of our priorities that we are apt to experience the most anxiety. It can be comforting to have someone available who knows all about the situation and is willing to guide us through the process. The presence of such an ally strengthens us. Isaiah informs us that God is that ally.

As we consider the book of Isaiah, we are reminded that its structure is very similar to that of the bible. Its sixty six chapters appear to mirror the sixty six books of the bible. Many scholars refer to the first thirty nine chapters of the book as first Isaiah and the last twenty seven chapters as second Isaiah. This general structure aligns Chapter 40 of Isaiah with the fortieth book of the bible, The Gospel of Matthew. Just as Isaiah 40 signals a renewal of sorts of the covenant between God and the children of Israel, so, too, does Matthew signal the beginning of a new revelation and dispensation from God to his people. Historically, Isaiah 40 is seen as God’s reassuring message to the Jews that their Babylonian captivity is about to end and they will be restored to Canaan, the land of promise, according to the covenant. Captivity in Babylon had served as punishment for the Jews for breaking the covenant with God. The time of their punishment was ending and God was again offering blessed assurance to them that he would indeed be a kind and loving God towards them in spite of their failures in the past. God admonished the prophet to speak gently to his people and inform them that their time of punishment was ending and they were now entering a time of recovery. He went on to tell them of his new plans for them. Prior to the revealing of this new dispensation, God’s messenger would come to prepare the people to receive him even as royalty sent ambassadors ahead to pave the way for their arrival. God’s anointed one would be a shepherd for them and would care for and protect them. They could depend on God’s word as they always had. God’s word had never failed and it never will. They were not to trust in anyone else or anything else but God. God cannot be compared to anyone or anything. No one has given God instructions as a counselor. No idol could ever be compared to God’s greatness no matter how skillful the craftsman that fashions it. Whereas men fashion idols, God fashions men and therefore he knows all about man—who is the work of his hands. There is an assurance in knowing that God knows all about his people and their condition. He promises to remedy their condition and deliver them from their situations. We cannot fully comprehend the knowledge of God because the human mind is too limited. He knows our weakness; therefore he is able to give us strength.

Robert C. Hudson
November 26, 2010