Isaiah 40 – 45

As a childless old man, Abraham was promised his descendants would be innumerable and one descendant would bless the whole world. Although unsure how Yahweh would accomplish these things, he took great comfort in believing the promise – even when the boy Isaac was tied and the knife raised to sacrifice him. Would his descendants in captivity take comfort when the same God made another promise?

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:8-10

As a king over an unstable nation who came to power when Yahweh removed His blessing from the previous king, David was promised his descendant would reign eternally as King of kings. Although he could not foresee how this would come about in a dynasty where brothers killed brothers and a son rebelled against his father, he took great comfort in believing the promise. Would his fellows in the tribe of Judah look up from their circumstances and find comfort in the words of the same LORD making another promise?

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Isaiah 42:1-9

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

Isaiah 43:14-15

So striking is the shift in tone and message in the writings of Isaiah (from condemnation and judgment to renewal and hope) that many critics claimed that chapters 1-39 were written by one guy and 40-66 were written by another. Only when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered did we learn beyond doubt that there is one continuous writing spanning all 66 chapters of Isaiah AND that the writing pre-dated the alleged date of writing by the critics.

Does it matter? Certainly it matters if you are falsely claiming two frauds wrote this after the fact and then claimed it was predictive prophecy, only to discover it was a unified writing that existed long before you thought it was written.

Did it matter? That’s a different question. When the shift in tone and focus occurs, look at what is said and imagine the impact on a family enduring exile in Babylon and longing for the fields and vineyards of Judah.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 40:1-5

Comfort? Why should this be comforting? Yahweh made promises to Abraham to give him the land of Canaan and He took that land away from us. Yahweh made promises to David that his dynasty would be everlasting, and the kingdom divided and now lies in ruins with a puppet king ruling over the desolation of Jerusalem. Where is the comfort in God’s promises? For those who undoubtedly had that reaction, it is hardly surprising.

What if Yahweh IS still keeping those promises and the message of Isaiah is teaching that the promise to Abram IS the promise to David and the promise to them from Isaiah is nothing new? What if the “descendant’ of Abraham IS the eternal king from David’s line, but He is to be a suffering servant who will redeem all flesh, not merely Hebrew flesh? Maybe in this newfound comfort, they will sing a different tune…

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands. The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:10-16

When they first heard the name, it had no meaning. Cyrus. Interesting, but nothing major since it’s not a Babylonian name and the all-powerful Babylonians aren’t going away any time soon. Comfort in your exile? Maybe some comfort creeps in when The Medo-Persians cast off the yoke of Babylon. Then, you hear the name … King Cyrus.

Predictive prophecy and its fulfillment is the greatest evidence of the inspiration of the Scriptures. Comfort spring forth from faith and faith is born of truth. I wasn’t there when the LORD called Abram and made the Promise. Likewise, I wasn’t there when David was promised an heir to reign forever. In part because of the name of Cyrus found in the writings of Isaiah, I believe. When over 300 predictive prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of Abraham through David, I can take comfort in the God of promises and the Son of Promise.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Galatians 4:4-7

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Galatians 3:16-29

Do I take comfort knowing I’m an heir to the King, even though I am exiled as a stranger in a foreign land? Indeed, I do.

Consider His nature.  Consider His ways.  Strive to love Him more!