The last few chapters of Isaiah have looked forward to strife with Babylon, a growing power to the east. Now God speaks again through Isaiah to the people of Judah.
Isaiah 40:1-2, Speak tenderly
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
Jerusalem is to know that (in a time coming) all the punishment and judgment will be over. Isaiah is to speak encouraging and tender words.
Isaiah 40:3-5, A voice calling
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
A voice cries out, "Listen! Prepare the path for YHWH!" This will be repeated by John the Baptist in the day of Jesus. (See Mark 1:1-4, in which Mark's Gospel opens with this call.)
Martin Luther King quotes verses 4 and 5 in his speech, I Have a Dream: "I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; 'and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.' "
Isaiah 40:6-8, Dry grass
A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
A second voice cries out, "Listen!" Isaiah responds with "What do I shout?" Here the message is the brevity of life -- and the permanent, infinite actions of God and His speech. In the New Testament, the first letter of Peter quotes this passage (1 Peter 1:24-25.) The Hebrew word translated "endures" is qum, which often means "rise up", "be established".
Isaiah 40:9, Shout "Here is your God!"
You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
In parallel lines of poetry, Isaiah is told to bring good news to Zion, concluding with the approach of the God of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 40:10-11, Lambs in his arms
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
The poetry here, in parallel lines, gives the image of a strong powerful shepherd, lifting up the lambs and holding them close to his heart, leading those sheep that have their young with them. The image of is one of intimacy, care, affection.
Isaiah 40:12-14, Counselors for YHWH?
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD,
or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
After assuring Israel of His love and leadership (yet also righteous and Judge) in the previous verses, God reminds Israel Who He is. Is there anyone else who is able to create the heavens and earth like He has done? Can anyone be God's counselor? Certainly not. (Grogan, p. 245, says that the Babylonian god Marduk sought the counsel of other gods in creation. But the true Creator needs no such counsel.)
The Hebrew word bashshalish in verse 12 is translated "in a basket". The Hebrew word is literally "a third", but in context represents any small measurement. Motyer translates the word as "in a pint pot." That is, from God's point of view, the earth could be held in a pint glass. I am reminded of the pale blue dot photo from Voyager 1, in which Voyager, looking back at the sun, snaps a picture. Hidden in the picture is a small blue pixel that is earth. A more recent version of that shot is below, with the earth in the center of the screen.
From a billion miles away, the earth is a speck. That speck, our wonderful earth, on which is all known life and history, appears to easily fit into a "pint pot".
Isaiah 40:15-17, Microscopic nations
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
If the earth fits into a pint pot, so much so all the nations. Rich glorious Lebanon has insufficient fuel for altars fires nor does it have enough animals to make sufficient sacrifices to God.
Isaiah 40:18-20, Silly idols
With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
Like all of Israel's true prophets, Isaiah experiences a mixture of humor and insult at the ludicrous objects passed off as gods in his culture. Look, says Isaiah, it this piece of wood, covered with a thin layer of gold and bling really what you worship. Can you compare that piece of wood (that just right topple off your mantel) to the Creator of the universe??
Isaiah 40:21-22, Above the circle of the earth
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
God is far above the earth; from his viewpoint, the horizon is a circle and people are grasshoppers. (This passage carries the ANE view of the universe, with the earth a flat circle and God high above, spreading out the heavens as a tent, from which He looks down. (See also Proverbs 8:27.))
Isaiah 40:23-24, Princes rise and wither
He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
Princes and rulers rise in power, take root ... and just as suddenly they are gone.
Isaiah 40:25-26, Names the starry hosts
“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
God calls all the stars by name -- He created them, after all, and challenges the people to match His understanding.
The Babylonian religion relied on astrology and assumed that the stars guided the events on earth. (It is from their astrology and astronomy that we get the constellations of the Zodiak and measurements of degrees, minutes, seconds.) But YHWH created the stars and "calls forth each of them"; it is He Who controls events, not the stars!
Isaiah 40:27, Whining
Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Why does Israel whine? They may think that they are hidden from God and that they are ignored, but that is not true.
Isaiah 40:28, He does not grow weary or tired
Do 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,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
Almighty God, YHWH, of course, never gets tired. His timeline is long (he runs a marathon, not a sprint) and so it is silly to somehow outlast God. Furthermore, He passes on His power and energy ....
Isaiah 40:29-31, Strength to the weary
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
As a God Who never tires, YHWH also passes on that energy and strength to those who follow Him and are a part of His kingdom.
As an eighteen-year-old who had voted for Richard Nixon in 1972, I was still impressed by George McGovern's concession speech in which he quoted this passage. (See minute 8 in the YouTube copy of his concession speech.)
Some Random Thoughts
In these scary times, I want to be assured (verse 11) that I am picked up and carried along by the Shepherd. Although bleating in confusion, I am held close to His heart. (Psalm 23.)
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