DAY 207: Isaiah 40–43

Welcome to 5-Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's July the 26th, and we'll be looking at Isaiah 40 -43. Now yesterday, the Lord answered Assyria's blasphemy and defended Jerusalem.

Comfort for Jerusalem and the Coming Shepherd

And yet, Hezekiah's story ended soberly. After displaying Judah's treasure to Babylon, he learned that those treasures and some of his descendants would one day be carried into exile. Well today, Isaiah speaks beyond the Assyrian crisis to that particular generation.

Jerusalem will feel defeated and exhausted and forgotten, but Isaiah 40 -43 opens with the cry, Comfort, O comfort my people. The God who announced exile now promises a new exodus. He will come as king and shepherd and expose the powerless idols and reveal His servant, forgive His people, and gather His children home.

And in that way, Isaiah 40 begins with comfort for Jerusalem. Her warfare is going to end, her iniquity will be removed, and the voice will cry in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord. Valleys are going to be lifted up, mountains are going to be brought low, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed to all flesh.

Humanity fades like grass, but the word of the Lord stands forever. And the Lord appears as both mighty king and gentle shepherd in this chapter. He rules with strength, and He gathers lambs in His arms, numbers the stars, governs the nations, and gives power to the weary.

That's chapter 40. Then chapter 41 places the nations and their idols on trial. The nations tremble, and craftsmen even brace their idols that cannot stand, but the Lord alone is the one who governs history.

Israel must not fear because God has chosen and upheld and even promised to help His servant. That's chapter 41. And then chapter 42 introduces another servant. In chapter 41, the servant is a lowercase s.

The Spirit-Anointed Servant Who Brings Justice

In chapter 42, it's an uppercase s. It's a servant upon whom the Spirit of the Lord is going to rest. It's a servant who brings justice to the nations, a servant who doesn't crush the bruised reed, but he opens blind eyes, he releases prisoners, and he causes the coastlands to wait for his law.

Yet Israel, also called God's servant, lowercase s, remains blind and deaf to the servant God will send. Then chapter 43 returns to sovereign grace. The Lord tells His people not to fear because He has redeemed them.

God Calls His People by Name

He's called them by name, and He's claimed them as His own particular people. Waters and fire will not destroy them, and God will gather them from every single direction. And then finally, the Lord promises a new exodus to end chapter 43, making a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

Though Israel has burdened Him with sin, He will blot out her transgressions for His own namesake. So as you read today, I want you to ask the following question. How does the Lord comfort His people when judgment has left them feeling forgotten and even beyond restoration?

Well, Isaiah 40 -43 answers that God's comfort actually rests upon His character. He remains the Creator, the Shepherd, the King, and the Redeemer, even when His people feel forgotten, because He has called them by name, and He has declared that you are mine.

And in that way, the central tension in these chapters is between human exhaustion and the inexhaustible Redeemer. The exiles will look at Babylon and assume that their way is hidden from the Lord. Jerusalem is going to lie in ruins in the future, but God's promises are not going to be buried beneath imperial power.

His promises are real because He's the Creator. And the Lord, as Creator, doesn't grow faint or weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives strength to the exhausted and power to those who have none.

Weariness will tempt you and I to interpret God's faithfulness through our circumstances because we can't see the path, like Israel going into exile. We assume that God maybe has lost the way, or He doesn't notice us, or He's not paying attention to us, He doesn't care about us, because we are exhausted, and we imagine that in our exhaustion He must be overlooking us.

We think because we are exhausted, He must be exhausted too. But weakness in the creature does not imply weakness in the Creator. At the same time, Isaiah exposes the foolishness of idols. Men shape wood and metal, and they fasten the image so that it won't topple.

Then they ask that little God to carry the weight of their salvation. Every idol must be maintained by the worshiper. Money must be guarded, reputation managed, power defended, approval continually earned.

Idols That Exhaust Their Worshipers

False gods exhaust their worshipers because the worshiper must keep the God alive. But the Lord is utterly different. He carries His people. Isaiah 42 then reveals the manner of His kingdom. The servant doesn't establish justice through crushing brutality.

He doesn't break the bruised reed or extinguish the dimly burning wick. His role is going to be gentle toward the weak and yet unwavering until His justice fills the entire earth. And then finally, Isaiah 43 completes this week's movement.

Hosea began with Israel called, not my people. And now the Lord tells His scattered people, I have called you by name. You are mine. Interesting how from the beginning of this week we see not my people.

Now at the end of the week, you are my people. God is a redeeming God. Judgment is real, but exile cannot cancel God's covenant purposes or destroy the remnant that He has chosen to save. The Redeemer will gather His people home.

Jesus Christ as Lord, Shepherd, and Servant

And in that way, Isaiah 40 -43 directly points to Jesus as the coming Lord. He's the shepherd. He's the faithful servant. He's the Redeemer who's now leading His people into a new exodus. The voice crying in the wilderness that prepares the way for the Lord is John the Baptist, the New Testament tells us.

Christ is not merely another messenger in a long line of them. He is the Lord God who's coming to His people. He's the shepherd who's going to gather the lambs into His arms. Israel's kings are the ones who scattered the flock of God, but Jesus is the one who seeks the lost.

He leaves the 99 to find the lost, and He's going to gather them into His fold. Isaiah 42 identifies Him as the spirit anointed servant who brings justice to the nations. Israel remained blind and disobedient.

They were a servant who led the people away from God and led the nations into idolatry and disobedience. But Christ is going to fulfill that fated calling. He's going to open the blind eyes of the nations.

He's going to free the prisoners from their captivity, and He's going to faithfully establish justice all over the earth. His gentleness isn't weakness. The coastlands are going to wait for His law and His kingdom to gather them under His righteous rule.

The Greater Exodus Through Christ's Death and Resurrection

He's going to accomplish the greater exodus. Moses led Israel through the sea and out of Egypt, but Jesus is going to lead His people through death and out the other side because He defeats the greater oppressor, which is Satan's sin and death, and leads His people out of bondage and out of sin and out of the grave forever.

Most importantly, God also promises to blot out our transgressions for His own namesake. That forgiveness is secured nowhere but the cross of Jesus Christ, the one who bears our covenant judgment so that we, the guilty, may walk away free.

In Him, the weary receive strength, the blind receive sight, the prisoners receive freedom, exiles are gathered, and those who were once called not my people have become the people of God. So as you read Isaiah 40 -43, I want you to hear the Lord's answer to the exiles.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. The week began with an adulterous bride running after false lovers, and it ends with a faithful, redeeming servant of the Lord who's going to gather His people home.

And next week, we're going to continue exposing the powerlessness of idols and revealing the sovereignty of the Lord who governs history and accomplishes redemption. But with that, read your Bible carefully, devotionally, and joyfully, and may the Lord use His word to sanctify you completely, and we will continue our journey tomorrow.

God bless you.