Isaiah · chapter 40 of 66
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Isaiah 40 opens the second great part of the book with an order to comfort God's people: their guilt is pardoned. A voice cries out to prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, words the Gospels apply to John the Baptist. The chapter proclaims that the word of God stands forever, presents the Lord as shepherd and incomparable creator, and promises new strength to those who wait for him.
With chapter 40 the tone and the scene of Isaiah change. After the announcements of judgment and the narratives about Hezekiah, the prophet now speaks to a people who will live in exile and need comfort. Chapters 40-55 are known as the book of comfort and present God as creator, shepherd and redeemer, in a series of passages the New Testament quotes often.
The chapter begins with a command: comfort, comfort my people, says your God; speak tenderly to Jerusalem and tell her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned and 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 will be lifted up and every mountain made low, the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together.
Another voice says to cry out, and the prophet asks what he should cry. That all flesh is grass and all its beauty like the flower of the field; the grass withers and the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it, but the word of our God will stand forever. Zion, herald of good news, is told to go up to a high mountain and lift up her voice without fear: behold your God. Like a shepherd he will tend his flock, gather the lambs in his arms and gently lead those that are with young.
Then the prophet asks who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span. The nations are like a drop from a bucket and like dust on the scales; before him they are as nothing. To whom will they compare God? He sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. Lift up your eyes and see who created these: he who brings out their host by number and calls them all by name; not one is missing.
Finally the prophet confronts Jacob's complaint that his way is hidden from the Lord. The everlasting God, creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow weary. He gives power to the faint and increases strength for the one who has none. Youths faint, but those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not faint.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
God commands that his people be comforted and that Jerusalem be spoken to tenderly: her warfare is over and her guilt is pardoned. The book of comfort begins with a declaration of forgiveness, not a demand.
A voice cries that the way of the Lord be prepared in the wilderness. All four Gospels apply these words to John the Baptist, who was preparing the people for the coming of Jesus.
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Against human frailty, Isaiah offers the firmness of what God has said.
Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength, mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. Strength comes not from youth or from our own spirit but from waiting on God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That her warfare is ended and her iniquity is pardoned. — Isaiah 40:2
Answer: The way of the Lord. — Isaiah 40:3
Answer: The word of our God. — Isaiah 40:8
Answer: As a shepherd who tends his flock, carries the lambs in his arm and gently leads those with young. — Isaiah 40:11
Answer: Like a drop from a bucket and like dust on the scales. — Isaiah 40:15
Answer: They renew their strength, mount up with wings like eagles, run and are not weary, walk and do not faint. — Isaiah 40:31
Isaiah 40 is a chapter for those who feel their way is hidden from the Lord, as Jacob did. God answers with two truths: he is great, creator of the stars he calls by name, and he is near, a shepherd who carries the lambs. In a Sunday school class you can pray with the questions the people asked, knowing that the Lord does not faint or grow weary.
The chapter also invites us to prepare the way. If John the Baptist prepared the people for Jesus, every believer can prepare a simple way for others: mending relationships, smoothing obstacles, speaking clearly about the gospel. In a small group you can think about who needs a word of comfort today, and look for the strength for it in waiting on the Lord.
Isaiah 40 leaves the people with an incomparable God who forgives, guides and renews. Chapter 41 continues that theme in the form of a trial between the nations and the idols, and with the first words about the Lord's chosen servant.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John quote this verse about John the Baptist, who preached in the wilderness and called for repentance to prepare for the coming of Jesus. In John 1:23 the Baptist himself identifies with the voice crying in the wilderness.
The text does not say God punished more than was due, but that the time of discipline has been fully served. Translators and interpreters debate the exact sense of double, but the central message is that the guilt has been paid and comfort is coming.
Yes. In 1 Peter 1:24-25, verses 6-8 of Isaiah 40 are quoted to affirm that all flesh is like grass but the word of the Lord remains forever, and Peter identifies it with the gospel that was preached.