Comfort for God's People (Isaiah 40:1-2)

 

Comfort for God’s People (Isaiah 40:1-2)

40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
    says your God.
² “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
    and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
    for all her sins.”

In this message; I will seek to apply this Old Testament prophecy concerning God’s chosen people; the children of Israel to people in our day. The original message was meant to comfort a people while they were brutally carried away to exile in a foreign land through bloodshed and capture against their will because of their backsliding ways.

I do not think that I will be straining the text today as the scriptures are replete with analogies that are relatable to various people groups; especially of Gods dealings with sinful mankind. Mankind; wither Jew or gentile ultimately has the same nature and the human experience is relatively similar for all peoples.

1 Corinthians 10:13

¹³ The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Galatians 3:28

²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile,^[a] slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

“Comfort, comfort my people,”
    says your God.

Firstly; it is true that since the first man sinned in the garden, God has been whispering comfort to his beloved creation. In the garden God immediately began to put in place His plan of redemption that would one day vanquish evil and undo the damage caused by original sin and the total depravity that has plagued mankind from Adam until now.

Genesis 3:15

¹⁵ And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike^[b] your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

Luke 3:38

³⁸ Kenan was the son of Enosh.^[a]
Enosh was the son of Seth.
Seth was the son of Adam.
Adam was the son of God.

Genesis 4:25-26

²⁵ Adam had sexual relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth,^[a] for she said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” ²⁶ When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the Lord by name.

For my part; I will proclaim the comfort of the Lord to all who will call upon the name of the Lord and worship Him. God offers His comfort to the penitent soul who hopes for renewed relationship and forgiveness of sins from his maker. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the covenant keeping God who offers comfort to those who keep faith in Him.

Genesis 17

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. ² I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, ⁴ “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! ⁵ What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham,^[a] for you will be the father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

⁷ “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants^[b] after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

While it is also true that our current lot in life may be full of tumultuous trials and pain and suffering, the comfort of God is available today as it was to those during the days of the patriarch Abraham or the prophet Isaiah. Is it not a beautiful invitation that our maker; the Lord God Almighty would offer comfort to us during the many perils that befall us? Is God not merciful to offer us pardon for our inequities and comfort to sustain our weary souls while we long for the paradise that once was ours and that is promised to us in the sweet by and by.

Genesis 1:31

³¹ Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

Genesis 2:25

²⁵ Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

Revelation 21:3

³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.^[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 22:1-4

22 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,^[a] with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

³ No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.

² “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

Is it not true of Jesus Christ that He compared himself to a mother hen (Mathew 23:37) who wished to take Israel under his wings. Jesus is calling you tenderly dear sinners and saints.

To the lost soul; He is offering you his mercy and grace; come to the cross of Jesus and you won’t be disappointed. Come meet the lowly Jesus on the cross. There He laid down his divine glory to condescend and become your sin bearer. There He bled his sinless blood as a peace offering that would make restitution for your trespasses and offences. There He purchased your redemption; the forgiveness of your sins and your eternal life. Won’t you make room in your heart for the one who gladly laid down his life for you that you might be free from the sin that enslaves you? Won’t you make room for the one who drank God’s cup of anger mixed full strength so that you would be spared from the wrath to come? Only whisper to Him now by faith:

“save me from my sin my Lord” and my God and you will saved. (Romans 10:9)

To the saint; Jesus also speaks. Remember to love me and your brothers and sisters. Keep me enthroned in your heart as Lord and tell others about me. Abhor evil and cling to what is good. Remember my promises to you that I will never leave you nor forsake you. You are my beloved bride and I am your groom. I have laid down my life for you and the Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. I do not call you slave but I call you my friend. I am preparing a place for you and will come get you when everything is ready. (Revelation 2:4, I Peter 3:15, Romans 12:9, Hebrews 13:5, Ephesians 5:23, Luke 12:32, John 15:15, John 14:2-3)

Tell her that her sad days are gone
    and her sins are pardoned.

For the child of God (John 1:12); the favourable year of liberty and the grace of our Lord is ours to enjoy because God has released us from the bonds of sin that once enslaved. God has pardoned our inequities. God forgave our sins completely and keeps no records of wrongs when we placed our faith in his son; the Lord Jesus Christ. God was pleased to pour out His Holy Spirit upon on us that we may be partakers of the divine nature. Halleluiah!

The sad days caused by sinning and being a victim of sin are over. What’s more; the penalty of sin which is death has been swallowed up in victory by the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that if Christ was raised from the dead; we too will rise from the dead at the appropriate time. Through Jesus Christ we are made into new creations with holy longings and we are more than conquerors and can confidently await the full redemption that is promised us when we will pass from this temporal world and enter into the eternal state of perfection called heaven. (Romans 8:23) God is the author and finisher of our faith. Praise be to God!

For the unbeliever; don’t harden your heart. The good news that God forgives sin may apply to you also if you may only believe. God’s favourable time of grace is upon all those who hearing, and believing call upon the only one who is able to shatter asunder the chains of a guilty, God suppressing conscience that cries for release. Call upon the Lord while he may be found. Today is the day of salvation! May this message melt your stony heart and may the seed of the kingdom begin to take root on your softened heart. Jesus knocks at the door of your heart. (1 Peter 3:9)

Psalm 103

¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.
    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
    for all her sins.”

Unfortunately; the sad days have afflicted us all. There has been pain caused by sin from within and sin from without. Sin is a cancer that spread and when left untreated, totally corrupts us kills us. (Ezekiel 18:20, James 1:14-15)

Psalm 119:71

⁷¹ My suffering was good for me,
    for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.

God was being gracious to us by punishing our wrongdoings. He was tenderly loving us as a Father who disciplines a wayward child. God’s justice demands that sin be punished. Everyone experiences temporal suffering and consequences from God for committing sins. His fierce wrath is being reserved for unbelievers because they refuse to submit to his will in the great day of judgement whereby God will take vengeance on his foes. (Romans 12:19) For the believer; judicial judgement for sins has already taken place on the cross of Jesus Christ and will not reoccur. (John 5:24)