40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
In chapters 1-39, Isaiah wrote prophecies of judgment and woes against many of the nations surrounding and including Israel. In chapters 40-66, Isaiah wrote about the glorious future of Israel. He wrote about the restoration of Israel back into her land (40-48), the coming of her Messiah (58-66), and the Millennial Kingdom (58-66). These messages were so different in subject matter, that liberal critics often claim that chapters 1-39 were written by one author and 40-66 were written by a different author. However, a change of subject matter does not mean a change in authors. Isaiah wrote about judgment, followed by restoration. It is biased to claim that this book was written by two authors, especially when the Lord Jesus Christ quoted Isaiah as being the prophet of both sections. It seems that the Lord Jesus Chist would know more than the liberal critic, since Jesus is God and the liberal critics are just arrogant human beings who elevate their human opinions above the inspired, inerrant, and infallible written Word of God.
In verse 1, God was not issuing out any more woes or judgments against Israel. He was informing the believing Jewish remnant that they need to be comforted. The "You" is plural. The "You" is a group of Jewish people who were commanded to give messages which would comfort the Jewish people. Since the Babylonian captivity had been prophetically announced in the last chapter, then it would not be fulfilled until 150 years later. It was a dose deal. The prophecies would be fulfilled. God would not change his mind. Therefore, the Jewish prophets were to give no more prophecies of judgment. They were to give only prophecies of comfort. These prophets of encouragement would include all of the later writing prophecies, such as Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
40:2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”
Jehovah told these Jewish prophets to speak to Israel in encouraging baby talk, in love talk, in courtship talk, and in alluring talk. These Jewish prophets were to woo Israel back to God, just as a man woos his virgin bride-to-be int marriage. These Jewish prophets were to talk to Israel in three different ways,
First, God was no longer at war against Israel. Why was God no longer at war with Israel? Because second, Israel was pardoned for her national sins. Why was Israel pardoned of her national sins? Because third, she was pardoned, because she paid double for her sins.
According to the Mosaic Covenant, the firstborn was to receive a double portion of the inheritance. If there were three sons, then the inheritance would be divided into four parts. The elder son would receive two parts (or double) of the inheritance. Since Israel was the firstborn of the nations, then she was to receive a double portion of both blessings and cursings.
40:3 A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; construct in the desert a road for our God.
A messenger would arrive and inform Israel that her Messianic King was coming. Israel needed to clear all of the roads for His royal entrance into Israel. John the Baptist announced the King and the Kingdom, but Israel rejected his announcement. The Gentiles were also not interested in the message of John the Baptist. King Herod of the Roman government would eventually arrest this messenger from God and cut off his head.
40:4 Every valley must be elevated, and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley.
When a king visited a city, then the roads were leveled for his safe and comfortable travel.
40:5 The splendor of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it at the same time. For the Lord has decreed it.”
When the Messianic King arrives to establish the Kingdom, then He will be seen in His Shechinah Glory form.
40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!” Another asks, “What should I cry out?” The first voice responds: “All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field.
Man does not keep his promises. His promises are like the grass on the ground or the flowers on the field. They grow and look good, but quickly die.
40:7 The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the Lord blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass.
The grass is there one day and then it dies the next day. Like the flower, man withers and dies.
40:8 The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”
Man’s word cannot be trusted, but God’s word is reliable. God's word can be completely and eternally trusted. God's word today is only available in written form.
It is important to note that the devil has a lot of false prophets running around today in modern local churches who are deceiving ignorant Christians with false prophecies, false tongues, and false words of knowledge. If the modern believer will just study the written Word of God at the deepest level through a gifted pastor teacher, then the believer will not be deceived.
40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! Shout, don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”
The messenger will proclaim to Jerusalem and to the towns of Judah that the Messianic King has arrived. The Messiah is God on earth.
40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; his military power establishes his rule. Look, his reward is with him; his prize goes before him.
At the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messianic King will arrive as a victorious warrior.
40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along.
The Messianic King will have strong powerful arms which will gently care for His sheep.
40:12 Who has measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand, or carefully measured the sky, or carefully weighed the soil of the earth, or weighed the mountains in a balance, or the hills on scales?
The Messianic King is God, so He possesses the attributes of deity. He carries all of the waters on the earth in the hollow of His hand. He measures the sky. He weighs the dirt on the earth. He weighs the mountains and the hills on a balance scale.
40:13 Who comprehends the mind of the Lord, or gives him instruction as his counselor?
No one can comprehend the mind of the Messianic King. No one can counsel Him and give Him advice. He does not need anyone’s human opinion. He does not rule by committee.
40:14 From whom does he receive directions? Who teaches him the correct way to do things, or imparts knowledge to him, or instructs him in skillful design?
No one gives the Messianic Kings directions. No one can teach the Messianic King anything, because He knows all things. No one can impart knowledge to Him, because He is omniscient. No one can instruct Him on how He should design things, because He created all things.
40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales. He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust.
The nations are just a drop in the Messianic King’s bucket. They are just dust on His scales. He can lift up all of the beaches on the planet as if they were dust.
40:16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.
All of the cedar trees in the forests of Lebanon do not contain enough timber to give this Messianic King a proper sacrifice.
40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him; they are regarded as absolutely nothing.
Compared to the Messianic King, all of the nations are as nothing.
40:18 To whom can you compare God? To what image can you liken him?
The Messianic King cannot be compared to anyone who has or ever will live. No image can truly represent Him.
40:19 A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.
A craftsman makes an idol out of wood and covers it with gold and silver.
40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over.
If a skilled craftsman can make an idol that will not topple over, then people will be foolish enough to worship it as a god.
40:21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
Do not these pagans understand the identity of the one true God?
40:22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, and spreads it out like a pitched tent.
The Hebrew word for “horizon” is חוּג (chug), meaning a circle or sphere. Isaiah mentioned the earth being a sphere 2,100 years before Christopher Columbus was born. The Bible always taught a round earth, but the secular humanism of the Greeks came along a few centuries after Isaiah and flattened it out.
The Messianic King is the one who sits above the sphere of the earth. He looks down upon men, as if they were little insects.
The Messianic King is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain. The sky is His tent in which He lives under.
40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
The Messianic King is the one who thrones and dethrones kings. According to Daniel 2, He gives man the worst kinds of leaders, because this is what man deserves.
40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw.
The Messianic King plants rulers of nations as grass in shallow ground, and then blows them away like straw. Political leaders may think they are really something, but they are just a vapor of breath away from death.
40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One.
The Messianic King is the Holy One, He is the One who is set apart from all men to establish a specific task. No one can compare to Him, because He is both God and man. He is one-of-a-kind. He possesses the mind of God, but He also possesses the experiences of man. No Islamic, Hindu, or pagan god can make this claim.
40:26 Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing.
The Messianic King is the one who created all of the billions of stars in the sky. He even has a name for every single star. He has the power to keep the universe from breaking down.
40:27 Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, “The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me, My God is not concerned with my vindication”?
Israel was falsely claiming that the Messianic King was no longer interested in helping Israel. This was human viewpoint. God has always helped Israel, because of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant.
40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an eternal God, the creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom.
The Messianic King is the eternal God and the Creator of the universe. He never experiences exhaustion. There is no limit to His wisdom.
40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
The Messianic King can give strength, power, and energy to anyone that he wishes.
40:30 Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble.
Youth and strong men experience exhaustion, but not the Messianic King.
40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.
Those who wait for the help of the Lord is the believing Jewish remnant. They will be given strength to overcome anything which comes their way, including the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Tribulation. When the time comes, the Messianic King will raise the believing Jewish remnant up on eagle’s wings. They will run without feeling fatigue. They will walk without getting tired. There is no one who will be able to stop Israel from returning back to her land and accomplishing God's purposes.