Comfort for God’s people

by    29th November 2009    0 responses

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Image: mrlerone @ Flickr

Isaiah 40: 1-5   Expand passage

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 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.

3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 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.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

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Christmas always seems to come around sooner than expected, doesn’t it?  Recently I saw a group of workmen putting up lights and decorations in the Town Square in preparation for Christmas.  Ahead of the big event where the lights were switched on last weekend, hours were spent up ladders getting ready; the preparation always seems to start earlier than expected.  Today is Advent Sunday, and we are beginning a series of articles for Advent which cover the story of Jesus coming into the world.  We will mainly be using Luke’s gospel, with some help from Matthew, but we begin our series earlier in the Bible than we might expect, in Isaiah.

God’s People Comforted

Handel began his brilliant oratorio Messiah with words from Isaiah 40, and it seems a good place for us to begin our look at Jesus’ birth.  For before the tale of a boy born in a stable, the Bible speaks of a promised Messiah – God’s anointed one come to earth to redeem it from sin.  So much could be said about Isaiah 40, but I want to draw out just three key things that emerge from the first five verses.

The context of Isaiah is a complex matter of much discussion, but essentially the section from chapters 40 to 55 appears to be prophecy written for the exiles of Judah in Babylon in the 6th Century BC, penned a couple of centuries earlier.  Because of their sin in wilful rejection of God, the people of Judah have been expelled from their promised land and sent into exile under the power of the Babylonian empire.  In the midst of the anguish and hardship of a rebellious people exiled from the land God had promised them, God speaks great words to them: “comfort, comfort my people”.

For a people oppressed and held captive by a foreign superpower, God’s tender words would be great relief.  When Israel was captive in Egypt, God heard their cries, remembered his covenant, and acted with grace to rescue them. [Ex 2:24]  These verses are strikingly similar: God is about to take action again.  And like in Exodus, God’s message is not just one of comfort: Judah’s comfort lies in the fact that her iniquity is pardoned; that God will act with mercy and restore her to right relationship with him.  Judah’s warfare is ended.

This is fantastic news for us as we look towards the coming of Jesus at Christmas.  In a world where we seem so far from God, he brings comfort as he sends his son to pardon our sin.

God’s People Prepared

Before the coming salvation, though, we must be prepared.  Verses 3 and 4 paint a geographical picture of the wilderness of a world without God, but a level plain with him.  In other words, life without God is pretty hard-going but life with him is ideal.  These verses were quoted by John the Baptist in his ministry as he travelled around Judah preaching that people in his day must repent and trust God.  The picture seems to be that before God comes to rescue his people he demands a great upheaval; a change of heart.

John the Baptist’s ministry is key in understanding these words – he explained that he was preparing the way for Jesus to come, by preaching repentance and faith.  He exposed the sin of the people in his generation, and demanded a response from them, all the while pointing to the coming salvation in Jesus.  What happened to Israel in the Babylonian captivity was simply a picture of this fuller fulfilment to come.

As such, it is important that before we think more closely about Jesus coming at Christmas we are conscious of our need to prepare for Jesus.  Just as God could not bring Judah out of Babylon before they turned to him, so we must turn to God before he will save us.  Before he can be Lord over our lives, we must repent or our sin and trust in him.

God’s Glory Revealed

As God saves Judah from exile – and us – his great glory will be revealed.  It is a wonderful truth that, in the words of verses 10 to 11, God will come in might to tend his flock.  It is not God’s almighty power that is remarkable, but rather his desire to use it to save his people.  We read in this chapter of how God created the heavens and earth, and rules over the rulers of this world, but see that it is his father-like care over his flock that truly exults him.

Significantly for us, though, is that, as verse 5 says, all flesh will see the glory of God when it is revealed.  Although the symbol of Judah being rescued from captivity in Babylon would have demonstrated God’s glory in that region in that day, a fuller fulfilment was promised here.  The whole world will see God’s glory as he comes to offer the full rescue he has promised.  God’s final rescue was not limited to a chosen people in a chosen time, but rather to the whole world for all eternity.

This is the great news of Christmas – that God’s glory has finally been revealed in Jesus, who came to earth to save those who would repent and believe.  When John the Baptist spoke these words preparing the people for Jesus, he was not just repeating old prophecy from a past era; instead, he was ushering in the fulfilment of God’s promise to redeem the world.  The birth of Jesus at Christmas is a good time to remind ourselves of this wonderful news; that Jesus came to rescue us once and for all.

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Ali grew up in London, but is currently at university in the North East of England. He helped to re-launch Crossring in 2009, and has acted as Managing Editor of the website since then. He occasionally dabbles in photography and web development - he also designed and maintains the Crossring website.

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