←Isaiah 40→BSB

In This Chapter 3 people 10 places 81 terms

People

Jacob (Patriarch) 2 Israel 2 Jeshurun (Israel)

Places

    Key Terms

    Strength 7 Perceive 4 Understanding (Awareness) 4 Burnt Offering 4 Counsel 3 Knowledge 3 Offering (Contribution) 3 Holy 3 Transgression 2 Sin 2 Greatness 2 Kindness (Solidarity) 2 Fear 2 To Sin Guilt (State) Sin (Act) Sin (Incur Guilt) Guilty (Responsible) Guilt (Consequence) Guiltiness Trespass (Sin) Sinful Sin (Offense) To Stand Guilty Sin (Guilty) Sin (Wrongdoing) Guilty Considered Guilty Guilty Of Sin Previously Sin Against The Way Way of Life Way of the Lord (Metaphorical) Way to Live Way of Life Glory (Presence of God) Glory (Splendor) Praise (Glorify) Praise (Respect) Be Kind Kindness (Benevolence) Kindness (Graciousness) Kindness (Affection) Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People) Intention (Evil) Understanding Offering Gift (Tribute) Sin Offering Peace Offering Offering Made by Fire Drink-Offering Guilt-Offering Sacrifice (Offering) Wave-Offering Voluntary Offering Gift (Offering) Dedication (Ceremony) Offer Sacrifice Sacrifice (Act) Sacrifice (Ritual) Whole Burnt Offering Offering (Special) Offering (Voluntary) Sin Offering (Guilt Removal) Be Holy Holy (Pure) Holy Thing Most Holy Place Holiness Holy (Devout) Hallow Sanctuary

    Prepare the Way for the LORD

    (Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28)

    ⓘ This chapter introduces chs 40–66. In this section,...

    This chapter introduces chs 40–66. In this section, comfort refers to the result of God’s merciful way of dealing with people in the age to come. It includes encouragement, strength, and acceptance. God wants to rescue his people (40:1–11) and is more than able to do so (40:12–26). The exiles needed to believe God’s promises and wait on him for their rescue (40:27–31; see also 30:15–18).
    ⓘ This section announces the good news of God’s...

    This section announces the good news of God’s coming salvation. The Lord is coming to vindicate his own and to judge his enemies. Salvation would be accomplished through the arrival, suffering, and exaltation of the Lord’s servant—the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
    ⓘ The rest of Isaiah provides a message of...

    The rest of Isaiah provides a message of comfort and a revelation of God’s character and his purposes for Israel. As 39:6–7 predicted, Judah would experience judgment and exile after the time of Isaiah. Throughout chs 40–66, Isaiah prophesied from the vantage point of the Exile having already become a reality. Therefore, the Babylonian exile provides the background for understanding these chapters.
    1“Comfort, comfort My people,”says your God.2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,and proclaim to herthat her forced labor has been completed;her iniquity has been pardoned.For she has received from the hand of the LORDdouble for all her sins.”
    ⓘ There is now a shift from the general...

    There is now a shift from the general announcement of the good news to the specific expectation of God’s coming. The good news (40:1–2) is grounded in God himself. Isaiah portrayed the Lord as coming on a highway through the desert (see ch 35), although the imagery is here reversed: In ch 35, the people were traveling to Zion, toward the Lord. Here, the Lord is coming toward his people (see also 52:8, where the two images are brought together).

    3A voice of one calling:

    “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness;†make a straight highway for our God in the desert.†4Every valley shall be lifted up,and every mountain and hill made low;the uneven ground will become smooth,and the rugged land a plain.†5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,and all humanity together will see it.”†For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

    The Enduring Word

    (1 Peter 1:22–25)

    ⓘ All humanity is mortal and fleeting. By contrast,...

    All humanity is mortal and fleeting. By contrast, God persists in his plans and succeeds. Time does not limit him from carrying out his will (see 14:24).
    6A voice says, “Cry out!”And I asked, “What should I cry out?”“All flesh is like grass,and all its glory like the flowers of the field.7The grass withers and the flowers fallwhen the breath of the LORD blows on them;indeed, the people are grass.8The grass withers and the flowers fall,but the word of our God stands forever.”†

    Here Is Your God!

    (Romans 11:33–36)

    ⓘ God is the good news. Although he comes...

    God is the good news. Although he comes like a warrior to rescue his people with power, he also holds them tenderly as a shepherd.
    9Go up on a high mountain,O Zion, herald of good news.Raise your voice loudly,O Jerusalem, herald of good news.Lift it up,†do not be afraid!Say to the cities of Judah,“Here is your God!”10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,and His arm establishes His rule.His reward is with Him,and His recompense accompanies Him.11He tends His flock like a shepherd;He gathers the lambs in His armsand carries them close to His heart.He gently leads the nursing ewes.
    ⓘ These rhetorical questions evoke the answer “No one!”...

    These rhetorical questions evoke the answer “No one!” God alone created all that exists. He will judge creation (24:17), and he alone can and will restore creation through his salvation.
    ⓘ Against the backdrop of Israel’s questions (spoken by...

    Against the backdrop of Israel’s questions (spoken by the prophet), the Lord affirmed that he is the incomparable God, a wise and sovereign creator who rules over the nations.
    12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,or weighed the mountains on a scaleand the hills with a balance?13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,†or informed Him as His counselor?†14Whom did He consult to enlighten Him,and who taught Him the paths of justice?Who imparted knowledge to Himand showed Him the way of understanding?
    15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;He lifts up the islands† like fine dust.16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.17All the nations are as nothing before Him;He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
    18To whom will you liken God?To what image will you compare Him?19To an idol that a craftsman castsand a metalworker overlays with goldand fits with silver chains?20One bereft of an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.
    21Do you not know?Have you not heard?Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth;its dwellers are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.23He brings the princes to nothingand makes the rulers† of the earth meaningless.24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown,no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground,than He blows on them and they wither,and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.
    25“To whom will you liken Me,or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.26Lift up your eyes on high:Who created all these?He leads forth the starry host by number;He calls each one by name.Because of His great power and mighty strength,not one of them is missing.
    27Why do you say, O Jacob,and why do you assert, O Israel,“My way is hidden from the LORD,and my claim is ignored by my God”?28Do 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;His understanding is beyond searching out.29He gives power to the faintand increases the strength of the weak.30Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall.31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength;they will mount up with wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not faint.