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November 2 - Isaiah 40 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. Sean here.
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  So glad that you could tap on play and let me join you for
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  this few minutes as we go back into God's Word.
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  Back back, back, all the way back into the Old Testament, to
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  the book of Isaiah where we had previously read from chapters 1
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  all the way through to 39 where we heard about God's people,
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  Israel doing the wrong thing, testing God's judgment.
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  And in the end, the only thing left to do after they continued
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  to disobey God was for God to pluck them from their land and
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  dump them in exile so that they would come back to God and be
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  reliant upon him. And as we've gone through these
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  different phases, we have arrived from Chapter 40, and
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  Chapter 40 is where these people have arrived in Babylon.
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  If you remember chapter 39, Hezekiah showed the Babylonian
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  guests everything that they had in their Kingdom, including all
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  of the royal treasures. And God said they are going to
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  have everything that you showed them.
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  And sure enough, history tells us they marched in and took it
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  all for themselves. And so now the tone shifts
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  dramatically. And now instead of being
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  judgement, God gives comfort to His people who are now homeless
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  in a very foreign, distant land, lamenting what has happened.
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  And so today we will hear God's response of comfort to His
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  people as we read together. Isaiah chapter 40.
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  Comfort, comfort, my people, says your God, Speak tenderly to
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  Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are
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  gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her
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  twice over for all her sins. Listen, it's the voice of
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  someone shouting. Clear the way through the
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  wilderness for the Lord. Make a straight highway through
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  the wasteland for our God. Fill in the valleys and level
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  the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves and smooth
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  out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will
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  be revealed and all people will see it together.
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  The Lord has spoken. A voice said.
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  Shout. I asked What should I shout?
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  Shout that the people are like the grass.
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  Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.
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  The grass Withers, and the flowers fade beneath the breath
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  of the Lord. And so it is with people.
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  The grass Withers and the flowers fade, but the word of
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  our God stands forever. Oh Zion, messenger of good news,
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  shout from the mountain tops, shout at louder.
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  O Jerusalem, shout, and do not be afraid.
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  Tell the towns of Judah your God is coming.
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  Yes, the sovereign Lord is coming in power.
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  He will rule with a powerful arm.
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  See, He brings his reward with him as he comes.
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  He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
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  He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his
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  heart. He will gently lead the mother
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  sheep with their young. Who else has held the oceans in
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  his hand? Who was measured off the heavens
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  with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the
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  earth or his way, the mountains and hills on a scale?
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  Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
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  Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
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  Has the Lord ever needed anyone's advice?
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  Does he need instruction about what is good?
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  Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of
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  justice? No, for all the nations of the
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  world are but a drop in a bucket.
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  They are nothing more than dust on the scales.
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  He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.
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  All the wood in Lebanon's forests and all Lebanon's
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  animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of
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  our God. The nations of the world are
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  worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less
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  than nothing, mere emptiness and froth.
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  To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to
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  resemble him? Can he be compared to an idol
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  formed in a mold, overlaid with gold and decorated with silver
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  chains? Or if people are too poor for
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  that, they might at least choose wood that won't decay and a
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  skilled Craftsman to carve an image that won't fall down.
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  Haven't you heard? Don't you understand?
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  Are you deaf to the words of God?
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  The words He gave before the world began?
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  Are you so ignorant? God sits above the circle of the
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  earth. The people below seem like
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  grasshoppers to him. He spreads out the heavens like
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  a curtain and makes his tent. From them he judges the great
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  people of the world and brings them all to nothing.
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  They hardly get started, barely taking root.
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  When he blows on them and they wither, the wind carries them
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  off like chaff. To whom will you compare me, who
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  is my equal? Asks the Holy One Look up into
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  the heavens, who created all the stars?
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  He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each
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  by its name. Because of his great power and
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  incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
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  Oh, Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
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  Oh, Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
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  Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
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  The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of all the earth.
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  He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of
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  his understanding. He gives power to the weak and
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  strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and
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  tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
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  But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
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  They will soar high on wings like Eagles.
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  They will run and not grow weary.
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  They will walk and not faint. Our mighty Father, you are a
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  very big God. So much bigger than our little
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  human minds can fathom. You are the mighty Creator, and
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  we just worship before you. And what we love about you is
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  you don't just flex your biceps in your power, but you use your
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  power to uphold the weak and give your strength to the
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  powerless. So when we feel utterly spent
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  and powerless, let us lean into you, our mighty Creator God that
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  you would be our strength. Because even young men and women
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  become weak and tired that our trust in you will bring us
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  strength. Help us be entirely dependent on
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  you and not our own pitiful resources.
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  Thank you, God, for your love and your graciousness and your
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  might. We just fall in worship of You,
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  our wonderful mighty God. We pray all these things in the
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  name of Jesus. Amen.