Comment on a Lectionary Reading: Isaiah 40.12-17, 27-31

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. Isaiah 40:12–17

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:27–31

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This bit of Scripture is a favorite of mine. It highlights something of the wonder of God in terms of who He is as well as how He cares. It’s a great picture of an important aspect of the Gospel.

Scripture to Meditate On

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25.6–9

This passage of Scripture is a good reminder of what our future holds. There will be a feast. And feasts are things you do to celebrate happy times: weddings, anniversaries, birthdays. On that day we will certainly have reason to celebrate something happy: God will swallow up death. It will be gone in all its ugly, evil forms.

We will need to wait for Him to save us, but He will. And when He does, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. And we will do that every day forever.

Scripture to Meditate On

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55.6-7

Isaiah writes about the offer of God's compassion, a compassion that is ready to pardon the sins of wicked people, people like us. It's another bit of Scripture that highlights the grace of the Gospel.

But please notice a few things. First, did you see the phrase 'while He may be found'? What is this? It's a warning. This offer of pardon will come to an end. After that it will not be possible to find Yahweh in order for Him to be compassionate. God's offer of forgiveness will come to an end. This is a warning to those who foolishly think that they can delay their repentance. Isaiah is clear. Don't delay. Come right now.

The other thing to notice is the call for the person seeking forgiveness to 'forsake his way'. Repentance is not just turning toward God in Christ. It is also turning away from living in wicked ways. So, while forgiveness is free, it has conditions. The cost of forgiveness is the resolve to put death to sin. This is accomplished by grace, but it still takes effort.

Scripture to Meditate On

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:30-31

Isaiah reminds us of something that we all too often forget. There are limits to what we can do. We forget this so we push and push and push. As a result, we find ourselves 'faint and weary' and we 'fall exhausted'. How much better to accept these limitations and to live more sanely.

But there are all those things that need to happen! How will we get them done?

This is where Isaiah's word 'wait' comes in. But don't think of it as being passive as you watch life pass you by. This word includes the notion of hope. It's sometimes associated with that word. For example,

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Psalms 39:7

We wait, placing our hope in Yahweh. Remember the Bible's definition of hope: waiting for God to keep a promise.

When I feel the pressure of time and the weight of things to do I have learned to recall to mind this promise.

… casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

I have found that as I, then, deal with what needs to happen, recognizing my limitations and hoping in Him instead of rushing about, my Father always makes sure that what needs to get done does get done. It may not feel exactly like mounting up with wings like eagles, but life works well and that without all the stress and bother that it used to have for me.

We need to see more of this in our rush about culture.

Scripture to Meditate On

​All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

One word that bears some scrutiny here is the word 'astray'. What is included in that word? Well, think about what it means for a sheep to go astray. There is danger. Wolves are near, and a sheep has no defense against them. Then, there is the threat of hunger and thirst. Sheep don't know where the green grass and clean water are. And on top of that, there is the loneliness of being away from the flock. Going astray is not a happy time. But lest we feel too sorry for the sheep we need to remember that it is confronted by all of this because it chose to go astray.

Isaiah uses all of this to convey something of what was our own plight. 'All we like sheep have gone astray.' We deserve what would have come our way because of that choice. And we're not talking about mere hunger and wolves. Consider what lies behind that imagery. But that is not our fate. And there is but one reason why that is the case. We have a savior who rescues us from all of that.

Scripture to Meditate On

I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43.25

I've written on this verse before. The last time I focused on what it means for God to blot out our sins. This time I’m going to consider the phrase 'for my own sake'.

What could that mean? Yahweh forgives us to benefit Himself? How does His doing that bring about any benefit for Him to enjoy?

It will help to look at another place where Yahweh says the same sort of thing.

For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Isaiah 48:9

The parallelism here is what helps. 'For my name's sake' is parallel to 'for the sake of my praise'. In this verse, God defers His just anger against His people so that He will be praised. That's the benefit for Him to enjoy here.

Now, back to our original verse. In what way is God praised when He blots out our sin? Answering that question is your homework.

Scripture to Meditate On

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1.18

One word that stands out here is the word reason, 'let us reason together'. God is inviting His people to consider their situation, to discuss it with Him. The situation is bad. You might want to read the first part of Isaiah 1 to see how bad it is. Here's how it starts off.

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me."

And it gets worse from there.

After listing the many ways in which Israel is rebelling, their God calls to them. 'Come, let us reason together'. Any sane assessment of their situation would result in being appalled. Divine destruction is coming. That's just obvious. It's a reasonable conclusion.

But there is also this. This God is ready to forgive, eager to forgive. And even if their sins are as terrible as they might be, He is still ready to forgive. All they need do is be reasonable, admit the truth and ask for forgiveness.

This is our God.

Scripture to Meditate On

Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. Isaiah 44:21-22

This bit of Scripture has some familiar language.

Our transgressions are blotted out. But what does that mean? How about completely obliterated. Our sins no longer exist and thus can never be found for someone to accuse us with them. That's what God has done with our sins, obliterated them out of existence, never to be seen again.

We have been redeemed. And what is this? Boaz was the redeemer of Ruth. Remember that she was a widow in great need. Boaz rescued her from what would have been a very hard life and made it possible for her to be honored as a mother of Jesus. The law in Leviticus allowed an Israelite to redeem a relative who had sold himself into slavery because of his debt. Jesus is our Redeemer. He paid the price to rescue us from our slavery to sin, from what would have been a very hard life.

But there is another word that needs some attention: remember. Our sins are obliterated out of existence. We have been redeemed out of our slavery to sin.  But what good are these things if we don't remember them but rather live as if our sins were still around to accuse us and as if we were still enslaved instead of free? Satan does his best to distract us from these facts of the Gospel to make us forget them so that we would be discouraged and even despairing. He doesn't want us to be rejoicing in the Gospel and living well. Don't be fooled by him. Remember these facts of the Gospel so that you can enjoy them.

Scripture to Meditate On

I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43.25

The key to meditating on Scripture is to be sure that you really get the sense of the words. You want to feel what God is saying. One word that stands out here, a word that we need to feel, is the word blot. According to the standard Hebrew-English lexicon this word means to wipe out, obliterate. Here's one other place where this word is used in the Bible. God is describing what He will do by the flood.

For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground. Genesis 7:4

To wipe out, obliterate.

And that's what God does with our sins. There is great comfort in this, especially as we become more sensitive to the evil of our sins.

And now some homework for you. What is the significance of 'for my own sake'? 

You Are Mine

But now thus says Yahweh, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

The Gospel is filled with many beautiful truths, truths that we are to embrace and relish and enjoy. The bit of Scripture that I just read points to one of those beautiful truths. The God who runs this universe says to you, His people, ‘You are mine.’ This morning we’re going to take a look at that short but powerful phrase so that you can understand it better and thus enjoy it more.

Waiting 5/5

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40.30,31)

Being able to deal with the struggles of being exiled from home is a matter of grace. God must act. He must give us what we need to continue. And he does. But there is something that we are to do. Having received his gifts of power and strength, we are to wait for him. Don't be fooled by how that sounds to our ears. This is not a passive waiting. It is a waiting that can wait because it knows that our God will act. He will act at the right time, according to what Isaiah calls his 'unsearchable' understanding. It is a waiting that can patiently wait because he has given us the strength we need to wait. This waiting is an active waiting because it is an expression of believing him. He has promised that our exile will end. Jesus will return. There will be a new heavens and a new earth. And we will enjoy home with renewed bodies - just as he promised. We are not forgotten. He is completely aware of our struggles. But it isn't time yet for the exile to be over. So, we choose to wait - because we believe him when he promises. We believe him because he gives us the strength to be able to believe him. And because of that we wait in hope. As we do that we know that our waiting in this way actually hastens the arrival of that promised day. Our waiting is not for nothing. One day it will happen and all of the troubles of now will be over.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Waiting 4/5

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. (Isaiah 40.29)

Life in exile is hard. The tempter is busy. There is doubt about the true character of our God. Isaiah responds to all of this. He provides answers to our questions. But, as important as those answer are, they are not the solution. If knowing the right answers is all that is needed, then being able to hang in there would only depend on our being knowledgeable enough. According to this way of thinking, life would be fine if we were able to understand and agree with Isaiah's answers. So, when life gets a little challenging all you'd need to do is pull out answer #3 - or whichever one applied. But what is that but saving ourselves. We'd be rescued by our intellectual abilities and gritty resolve to view life in terms of what we know. Where's the Gospel in that? 

Answers are important, but they cannot save. So, Isaiah says more about this God. 'He gives power ... he increases strength. He gives good gifts. And it's because he gives us those gifts that we are able to continue on. Dealing with the struggles of exile is not a matter of thinking better and then trying harder. That will not work. The difficulties are too great. The tempter is too strong. Dealing with the difficulties of exile is a matter of grace. Our Father must give us what we need so that we can endure to the end. He gives the power that we need and the strength to hold on.

Waiting 3/5

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. (Isaiah 40.28)

Here, Isaiah gives us a reason to hold on, a reason to continue to hope for home. He points us to our God. He reminds us what kind of God he is. Behind so many questions and so many problems lies this fundamental question: What is God like? What kind of person is he? It is as we know who our God is that we can have a real hope. Isaiah reminds us that our God does not fail. He does not make promises and then finds that he doesn't have enough oomph to keep them. He is the one, after all, who created all of this. And then, Isaiah reminds us that our God understands what is going on. In fact, he knows the situation so much better than we do - so much better. So, our struggles with life are not because our God has somehow dropped the ball. Yes, there seems to be a gap between what has been promised - home - and what we actually experience. But that's not because our God has blown it.

Waiting 2/5

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”? (Isaiah 40.27)

Waiting is hard. That should not be news to anyone. It shows itself in this chapter in the verse quoted above. The claim is that the God of Israel has forgotten about his exiled people. He is not aware of what is happening to them. After all, that's how it feels as they sit in far away Babylon. How much fun could that be? And then there is all the injustice suffered - and God doesn't care. At least, that's what it looks like.

Again, though Isaiah's original audience was a group of Jewish exiles stuck in Babylon long ago, by the Spirit, this prophecy is about us. We are the exiles that they prophetically pictured. So, it is no surprise that this verse describes what the Christian often feels: forgotten and struggling with what's going on. And that makes sense. We are, after all, exiled from our home. And because the Spirit lives within us we can feel the burden of that exile, even though, like so many of those Jews in  Babylon, we were born in exile. But it's not just our experience of homesickness. The tempter is busy. He whispers words of doubt. 'Your life is so hard. Time after time you get the short end of the stick, and no one does anything about it, not even your supposed 'heavenly Father' who made all those promises. Face it, you are forgotten. You're on your own. You need to accept that and deal with it.' There is no sin in hearing his words. Jesus also heard Satan's tempting words. It's all about how we respond. And that's why Isaiah has written this chapter.

Waiting 1/5

They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40.31)

The text above is a relatively familiar and very comforting bit of Scripture, and rightly so. It has been that for me. So, I thought that it would be good to take a closer look at it. I do that based on an assumption. There is great benefit in investing some time with one bit of Scripture. There are blessings to be enjoyed that do not lie on the surface. We need to dig a bit. But it's worth it.

I've thought it best to present my thoughts in several brief posts. (There is something to be said for short and sweet.) This is the first.

Who is the audience? The first part of Isaiah, chapters 1-39, is filled with words of warning to Isaiah's contemporaries. The God of Israel sees the evil of his people. The need of the moment is repentance.  Once we get to chapter 40, however, the audience changes. Isaiah is no longer writing to the people around him. He recognizes that his words of warning have fallen on deaf ears. The condemnation will come. The people of Israel will face a very angry God. Most will be killed. But there will be others. These God will send away: the Babylonian Exile. Isaiah knows this, so he now writes for the sake of those future exiles. The day will come when they will return. That's what the opening verses of this chapter are about. The closing verses, especially the verse printed above, are about waiting until that promised return becomes a reality.

Even though Isaiah was not thinking about us when he wrote, his words of comfort are intended for us. Matthew, Mark and Luke all quote from the beginning of this chapter even though the expected return from Babylon had already occurred. They referred to Isaiah's words to herald the greater return from a greater exile. This is the return that Jesus will lead. We are the exiles. And the home to which we return will not be a plot of ground in the Middle East but a renewed heaven and earth. These words are for our comfort while we wait for that day, the day when Jesus returns and fixes everything.

Hell

Today, we come to the end of the book of Isaiah. It seems appropriate that the book ends with a look at the destinies of the two groups that were the primary focus of this prophecy: those who were faithful and those who were not. Someone might even say that this is what the whole Bible is about.

Please listen as I read Isaiah 66.22-24.

Gather the Nations

In this morning’s text we will, once again, encounter the theme of the purification of the people of God. Last week we looked at how Jesus makes a distinction within His Church between those that are faithful and those that are not. So, we looked at being humbled and contrite, and trembling at God’s word. This week we pick up the thread after the distinction is made. Now that the faithful have been identified and separated out, what are they to do? The text deals with one aspect of our calling as the Church: the spread of the Gospel, the gathering of the nations to Jesus. We’re going to look at this text to consider what it has to say about why we are to do this and how. It’s my hope that this will help us as we pursue this part of our calling as the Church.

Listen as I read Isaiah 66.15-24.

New Heavens and a New Earth

‘For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…’ That’s how our text for this morning begins. It’s about a new beginning. There are all sorts of questions that can be – and have been – raised about this text. But the point that needs to be kept clearly in mind is simply this. The text is about hope. When sin entered the world lots of things changed; lots of things got really bad. Nothing was untouched from the heavens above to the earth below. And each day we see in others and feel in ourselves the consequences of that change. Broken bodies, broken dreams, broken lives. That would be utterly depressing if it were not for the Gospel. Jesus points us to a reason to hope, a reason to be optimistic. He tells us that He creates something different, something new. And nothing is untouched from the heavens above to the earth below. It is not possible to live without hope. Many try, but at some point or other it becomes clear that life that way doesn’t work. Our text offers hope. So, please listen as I read our text. I’ll begin at verse 17 of Isaiah 65.

Evidence

In this morning’s text Jesus considers three groups. The first group, the Gentile nations, takes up only the first sentence. We’re going to bypass that today. Then, Jesus considers His Church, the people of God, but He divides them into two groups: those that are faithful and those that are not. To put it in words that we find elsewhere in Isaiah, Jesus takes a look at the remnant, who are blessed, and at the rest, who are cursed. I will be looking at this text from the vantage point of a question. And that question is simply this: What’s the difference between the faithful remnant and the rest of the people of God? Bear in mind that both groups are within the Church. So, how can you tell the difference between these two groups? It’s important that you understand why I ask this question. My goal is not to for us to criticize other people because of their sin. To be sure, there is a place for pointing out sin in others. Jesus, in fact, commands it. ‘If your brother sins against you, go to him and tell him his fault…’ But that is not the purpose of my question. Rather than point at another person, I would like you to point at yourself. I want you to be able to ask, ‘Which group am I in?’, and come to an accurate answer. I want you to be able to ask this question and come away assured that you are one of the faithful. I want to encourage you. To be honest with you, your encouragement is not my ultimate goal. One great need of our day is a bold Christian witness – or better, lots of bold Christian witnesses. Jesus deserves at least that. But how can anyone do that well without knowing – really knowing – that he belongs to Jesus? If there is going to be boldness, there must first be assurance. So, do you see the goal? It’s that you would be bold for Jesus out there in your part of the world, taking your stand in the face of opposition, both visible and invisible. Toward that end I want you to know, with confidence, that Jesus is yours and that you are His. That’s what the sermon is about. In our text Jesus makes a distinction in His Church and in so doing He points you to assurance.

Now, please listen as I read the first part of Isaiah 65.

Expectations

In a sense this morning’s text belongs in the Psalms. It is a prayer offered up by a soul that is in pain. Isaiah is seeking relief. He looks to his God, but he does so with questions and confusion. Here, we get to take a look not only into Isaiah’s soul but also into the nature of his relationship with his God. Here, we listen in on a heart-to-heart conversation, one with real questions and sometimes blunt statements, the kind of things that friends can say without fear of offending or having to apologize. This is honest prayer.

As I mentioned last week, the end of chapter 63 is more closely related to chapter 64 than to the rest of chapter 63. So, I will begin reading at verse 15 of chapter 63 and continue to the end of chapter 64. Please listen as I read.