Isaiah 40:9-31 - God can be trusted

There is a lot in this chapter, but I find that the main idea being addressed is whether the Jews trusted God or not. As I have read and reread this chapter several times the past few days I find that it is very applicable to my own life, as I go transition from one job into what comes next. Change is hard. It can be very good, but it is also usually very hard. We get set in our ways, we get comfortable and feel secure, and then everything gets shaken up and we can’t depend on our usual support systems. Perhaps that’s the point of change: it’s God’s way of keeping us dependent on Him and not on the things of this earth. When things are not normal, and our world is changing around us, it means we can’t lean on anything in the world because if we do, we might fall. It makes us realize that our identity and purpose are found in God, and not in any job, relationship, or personal property.

Isaiah 40 is addressed to the Jews who are returning from Babylonian captivity. It is the first part of a series that proclaims that God is ultimately trustworthy, and will do as He says He will in saving the exiles.[1]

⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
    and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young.

Israel and Judah were sent away from the Promised Land because of their sin and disobedience to God. It wasn’t just that they didn’t keep the rules, and follow the Mosaic Law, they didn’t even know who their God was and what He could do. And now, they have gotten comfortable in their captivity. Seventy years is a long time for us, but all that is going to change. They will see His power and sovereignty. They will know that He is good and gentle and loving. Verse 5 says, “And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.” Everyone would know about God, and that He is good, just, and gentle towards those He loves and who follow him.[2]

In the next section, Isaiah declares that God is the ultimate Creator. It is only in God that all created life finds its purpose and meaning:[3] “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 weighted the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?” He is God, and we are not. He is so much larger and grander than even what we can imagine. In light of this, verse 13 and 14 ask who are we to think that we can council and teach God? Who are we to think that we know better? Who are we to complain about what He has given us, and the nations of the world? Do we know more than him?

Life is hard. It is, the changes we go through and the uncertainty about the future is enough to make us weary and desperate for answers. Who do we turn to for answers though? Oprah? Astrologists? Facebook friends? Isaiah 40:17 says that God is so big that when all the nations are stacked up before Him they look like nothing and are hardly worth noticing. When we forget how big and powerful and loving God is, we turn to other things to fill needs we think we have. A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple. When we feel that we have nothing of value to bring God, we turn to idols, so we can feel good about ourselves and what we do have to offer.

But Isaiah reminds us:

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 up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

It is better to bring our puny offerings to God, the great Creator of the Universe, than to present them before an idol where they would look grander. After all, if God, in His perfect precision, can keep track of the millions and billions of stars in the universe, he can also keep track of us, and ensure that we do not come up missing as well. God is able to great things with what we offer Him, because He is God. No idol can compare.

Therefore, because God is the Creator and the one in control of all the Universe; because He precisely monitors the heavens and earth; because He is ultimately sovereign and good and has no equal, “Why do you complain, Jacob?” Why don’t you trust Him? Verse 27 continues by showing that the Jews still say, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God.” Isaiah counteracts this lie by proclaiming that God is the everlasting Creator who doesn’t rest and lose track of his Creation, but rather understands it all on a level that no one else in all the Universe can. It’s not that He is too big to care,[4] but that because He is so big, he can care for all of His Creation. He exercises his great power over all Creation, but also imparts it to us, His people:

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.

In faith, we must wait for Him and His timing and will for our lives. The phrase, “renew their strength” is in Hebrew literally, “change strength”. That is, change out the old for the new, like putting on new clothes.[5] When we are compared with God, we are nothing, less than dust. But God still comes to us, redeems us, strengthens us, and gives us hope for a greater future. He is so big and great that He doesn’t have to care about the insignificant nations, and our puny offerings, but He does. That’s what we need to remember. He does care, and He does watch out for us, so we can trust Him with everything we are going through, because He is in control of it all.

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[1] J. Gordan McConville, Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Prophets, Vol 4, (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2002), 23.

[2] Ibid., 24.

[3] Derek Kidner, The New Bible Commentary: Revised, edited by D. Guthrie and J.A. Motyer, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), 611.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 612.

Isaiah 35

This chapter stuck out to me because of the stark contrast with the previous chapters. In chapter 34, Edom, having once been a fertile and luscious land, is changed into a desert, while in chapter 35, a desert is changed into a garden. Edom was used to represent all the nations of the world to show that human wisdom and arrogance bring destruction. Likewise, the desert, in chapter 35 is meant to represent the physical, social, spiritual world that was previously destroyed by a lack of faith in God.[1]

¹The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come, he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness;
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

The first part of this chapter is verses 1-4. The first thing that struck me about this chapter is that while it is probably referring in some part to the return of the Exiles from Babylonian captivity, there is a lot more going on here. This is not just a return to normal for the people of God, it speaks of a greater time when there will be true justice, grace, and security for those who follow the Lord. There is going to be a complete physical and spiritual renewal: death, injustice, and fear are gone; and there will be holiness, purity, and wisdom.[2] Like chapter 32 before it, the imagery of a desert becoming a fertile field is used to speak of the renewal to come.

In Scripture, the imagery of a desert is used to convey a place of lifelessness. The desert does not support life, nor do the few things that do live in the desert thrive. But after it rains, the desert comes alive with flowers like the Crocus. But the blooms do not last because the rains do not come. The first two verses are saying that the desert and the parched land, that is, the places where there is no water and that are virtually incapable of supporting life will come alive and bloom as though there is water.

The references to Lebanon and Carmel of Sharon are meant to imply abundance. Lebanon was well known throughout the Ancient Near East for its cedar forests, and Mount Carmel and the fertile Plain of Sharon below remind the people of rich, well watered land that is capable of growing much food. A desert, by contrast is dry, scorched and can only support the toughest and most gnarly plants and animals such as cacti and lizards. While some cacti can grow somewhat tall, it is nothing compared to the heights of an old cedar that has been continually nourished for years and years.

Finally, in verse 2 we find out what is causing these lifeless places to bloom and thrive: they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. God is the author of all life. When he comes, even the desert will live. When Jesus talks about living water in John 4 with the Samaritan woman he is talking about water that does more than just keep us physically alive, it keeps us spiritually alive and connected with God. 

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The water Christ gives us revives our hearts, minds, and spirits, and grows us in holiness and righteousness. God takes us from the dry desert where we are doomed to death and restores us to life—eternal life. God’s presence always brings life and joy to faithful believers. Those who are fearful and have given up and are shaken from life and their circumstances will be made strong because God is the one that saves us from our physical and spiritual enemies. There is great hope in verses 3-4 because it shows that in our weakness, we are not the ones that must go to God for restoration and healing, God “will come to save you.”[3] God, Himself, the Alpha and Omega, will come and bring us living water that gives us new life.

The second part of this chapter is verses 5-7. These verses seem to speak of the healing that will happen when God comes. But this is not just a physical healing of the blind, deaf, mute, and lame, but a spiritual healing as well. The people will have their senses restored such that they can experience God and His glory. The veil will be lifted and they will see and hear clearly, and be able to respond with proper worship befitting of such an awesome God.

Verses 6-7 also says that creation will be healed: “water will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert, the burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.” This verse ties back to John 4:14. The ground will become so saturated that the excess water will be like a spring of water that wells up and sits on top of the earth in a pool. The barren and lifeless land will support reeds and papyrus—both plants that require large amounts of water to survive. So God isn’t just going to come and make it better, or bring just enough water to make things grow, he is going to bring abundantly what creation and humanity needs to thrive and grow the best it all can. We know from history, that this isn’t exactly what happened when the people returned to the land from captivity. A quick read through Nehemiah will show that it took quite a bit to get the city back in order and to keep the rich from exploiting the poor. Not quite the joyful celebration Isaiah describes. Therefore, this must be talking about another time as well, when God’s glory and presence dwells not just in the temple, but in all the world.

The last section of this chapter is verses 8-10. The highway described here, once again, probably refers in part to the road back to Judea that the exiles took, but the poetry also suggests the idea of a “Kings Road” that only the righteous may tread upon. The road is made holy by the holiness of those who walk upon it, and not because it is holy in and of itself.[4] God comes to rescue and redeem his people from physical captivity (as in the Exile), and from the spiritual captivity of sin. In return, His people come to Him to devote their holy lives to Him in worship and praise.[5]

At the end of the highway is Zion, and God will dwell in Zion. The people will come into His presence with joy and praise because these are by products of God’s presence. Verse 10 is repeated in Isaiah 51:11, which is also a chapter about redemption and renewal. God’s supernatural protection and provision removes all obstacles that often keep people from coming to him whole heartedly. Thus, the people who love and follow God will be overcome by the joy of living in His presence and will not remember their sadness or sorrow.[6] This is the hope of new life in Christ. A life where death does not separate us from love, and the sin and evil of this world have no power to harm. This is what it mean to live in Christ and to be continually watered by the source of all living water so that we will thrive under any circumstance.

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[1] John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-39, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986), 620.

[2] Ibid., 621.

[3] Ibid., 623

[4] Ibid., 625.

[5] Ibid., 626.

[6] Ibid.