Isaiah 40 ~ the way of the Lord

Deuteronomy 5 - “Return to your tents.” But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

The tent is a great analogy of life being transient, all walks of life, one direction.

Isaiah 40

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version


1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare [time of service] 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: [A voice of one crying]
“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.”

6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, [And someone says] “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty [all its constancy] is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

9 Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news; [O herald of good news to Zion]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news; [O herald of good news to Jerusalem]
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

12 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?
13 Who has measured [Or has directed] the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 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?
15 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.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18 To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood [He chooses valuable wood] that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.

21 Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.

27 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”?
28 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.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 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.

A God's eye view point of flight from the "eagles'" wings ~ BBC Video. An analogy of the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles

Recently, in the news was a story of well-known television and movie actor who has periods of all out violence, rage and bouts of drugs and promiscuous sex. His work was canceled. This poor man looks dreadful. He has entertained America with his ego rants, and, formerly, his talent. Yet, he was graceful in the exchange of his sons to the police. Providing car seats and comforting his toddlers. Publicly acknowledging his parents have tried and admitting he has tied their hands. His father has made himself busy doing charitable work and is a praying Christian. It was the roar of a wounded lion, the way he spoke of his ex-wife calling him each day to give him support.

Why bring this up today under Isaiah 40? We all deserve some prayer instead of just curiosity.

What does this spectacle remind us in our daily lives? You can have all of your dreams come true; every remote wish of home, spouse, career, family comfort, and still have a deep craving for deeper meaning. Most of the world feels if they could just have one more blessing, or just plain more, they would be happy.

And the success ratio of Alcoholics Anonymous has been debated. Just like people don't want to believe in something not seen, it would be difficult to prove the success record of an anonymous 12 step program asking the seekers to read the Book, put their lives each day in the Higher Power. Research suggests this success 35 percent of people involved in Alcoholics Anonymous achieve sobriety for more than 5 years. Another 34 percent see their sobriety last anywhere from 1 to 5 years.

This is the common denominator. The leveling of the playing field. We all are a drop from a bucket, fine dust - on the scales, like grasshoppers. Yet because he is strong in power ...not one is missing. We all are forced by the circumstances He created, to reckon with our own mortality. Isn't it interesting the differences mankind has always used to deal with the inevitable.

God tells us of His attributes, His personality.

“Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

Are we to judge God, to daily act as Adam and Eve - who wanted to be God and attain His wisdom -

To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.

Who has measured [Or has directed] 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?

We shall all go the way of all flesh. The promise of believing we are saved in Jesus Christ is this: we believe every day He directs us, guides us, leads us. We are now eternal. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand when we believe with our hearts and proclaim Him with our mouths. Each day we trust Him with our lives.

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.

One of the analogies of death would be leveling the playing field:

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.

Yet when we Believe in Jesus Christ saving us, we are pulled out of the meaningless, the dull, the boring - the salmon effect of the daily grind and we are to be the Light of the World. Death will level the playing field, yet God raises us up. His reward is with Him, and He is with us. Each day. We are Asked to see the promises of God unfold:

Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news; [O herald of good news to Zion]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news; [O herald of good news to Jerusalem]
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might!!!

This is the way of the Lord. All glory to You, Lord God Almighty. You are the Shepherd willing and able to gather us into Your arms. Blessed be You, Oh Lord, Who gives us salvation in Jesus Christ.






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