The Comfort of God - Isaiah 40:1-11

Introduction  There have been more pages written about this part of Isaiah then any other part of the Bible, most of it regarding its authorship. We, however, are confident of its authorship. We know it was given to the Church of Jesus Christ by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in order to bring glory to God and good to his people. This passage shows us that we have a God who is greatly powerful and at the same time supremely tender toward his people.  I. Overview of context  God's people had not been obedient to God. They had decided to worship idols instead of the true God of the Bible, the God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. In God's providence, envoys from Babylon had just come to see Hezekiah and in a moment of great foreign policy brilliance, he shows them all the treasures of the kingdom. As a consequence of that visit, Isaiah prophesies the impending doom of the Babylonian captivity. Hezekiah really missed the point and was glad that these things weren't going to happen during his life.  What a scary and dreadful thing to have God turn his back on you because you turned your back on him! To be sent away from him to a place you won't experience his blessing and will constantly know of his judgment. You can imagine that there was a fair amount of discouragement among God's people after hearing this message, especially among those who loved the Lord. Following the message of doom, the Lord comforts his people through the herald of his Word.  II. Comfort Them With  A. The reality of the forgiveness of their sins, 40:2.  B. The glory of the Lord displayed to us Christ Jesus, 3-5.  C. The permanence of the Word of God, 40:6-8  D. The tenderness of God, 40:9-11  III. The Tenderness of God, 40:11  A. This beautiful description of the love and care with which God deals with his people is nestled in a greater context of God's power and sovereignty, 40:9, 12-26.  B. God's tenderness toward his people is described in terms of a loving shepherd dealing with his sheep.  C. Don't we see a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ here?  Conclusion  Ultimately this is the only encouragement a Christian needs: Jesus Christ crucified and risen. This is the only encouragement that actually works. I heard it said that the one who has Christ as his Lord and Savior and has everything else in the world, doesn't have anymore than the one who has Christ alone.  So we preach this great and tender God, and as we do so we also preach to ourselves. As we do that our drooping hands will be lifted up and our weak knees will be strengthen to the work that God has called us to do. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-comfort-of-god-isaiah-401-11.html

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