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ISAIAH: GOD'S DIRECTIVES TO THOSE TROUBLED AT GOVERNMENTAL APOSTASY
Part XXVIII: God's Salvation From The Painful Effects Of His Own Discipline
(Isaiah 40:1-31)
  1. Introduction
    1. All men -- even Christians -- sin; 1 John 1:8-10 tell us we believers sin.
    2. As a result, if we do not confess our sins as believers, we will come under God's discipline, a very painful experience as David relates in Psalm 32:3-4.
    3. In His grace, God provides a solution for the pain of His own discipline to keep believers from "caving in" to depression or "giving up" due to God's discipline, a provision taught in Isaiah 40:1-31 as follows:
  2. God's Salvation From The Painful Effects Of His Own Discipline, Isaiah 40:1-31.
    1. Following captivity in Babylon due to God's national discipline on Judah, God prophetically called out through His prophet, Isaiah to comfort His people from their sorrow of His own discipline, Isaiah 40:1-2; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, footnotes to Isaiah 40:1 and Isaiah 40:2.
    2. To picture how sympathetic God would be toward His people when they hurt from His discipline by the captivity, God prophetically called for preparations to make Israel's return from Babylon easy, Isa. 40:3-5:
      1. God prophetically called for the desert to smooth out and make the path easy for His returning people, Isa. 40:3. [This verse is later used by John to call Israel to prepare for her Messiah, cf. John 1:23.]
      2. In the long-term, this divine call focuses on the lasting peace in Messiah's Kingdom, Isaiah 40:4-5. (compare with Matthew 3:1-3, 11, 13-15)
    3. In response to God's call to comfort His people, Isaiah prophetically saw the discouragement of the returning exiles: they would be "burned out" from God's judgment, and lack joyful confidence, 40:6-7.
    4. In grace, God prophetically offered encouragement to diffuse the discouragement His people would express after their difficult divine discipline of the Babylonian Captivity, Isaiah 40:8-31:
      1. In spite of His peoples' coming fatigue over His discipline, God prophetically promised renewal, for God's promises abide forever unlike man who, like the grass of the field, dries up and disappears, 40:8.
      2. Having stated His intent to renew His punished people, God predicted the steps of renewal, 40:9-11:
        1. God called for the good news of restoration for His people to be proclaimed, Isaiah 40:9.
        2. He promised His presence would go with His people, Isaiah 40:10.
        3. With God's presence along, His people would enjoy God's care, Isaiah 40:11: (a) God would feed His people; (b) He would protect the vulnerable and weak and (c) sensitively lead His people.
    5. God then prophetically certified these promises would be fulfilled by His divine attributes, Isa. 40:12-31:
      1. Isaiah reported the God Who had made these priceless promises was the omnipotent Creator, 40:12-14.
      2. Thus, nations like cruel Babylon that was used to punish Israel were nothing to Him, 40:15-17, 18-24.
      3. God thus prophetically promised to use His great superiority over Babylon's painful effects on His people to reverse those effects of judgment in dramatic fashion, Isaiah 40:25-31:
        1. God prophetically challenged those who would be discouraged by Babylon's painful effects to compare Himself in all His greatness to the power of Babylon that had hurt them, Isaiah 40:25.
        2. God prophetically concluded that He was thus greater than even the stars the ungodly Babylonians used for guidance in their efforts to afflict Israel, Isaiah 40:26.
        3. God prophetically challenged the discouraged of His people to reverse their criticism that God was too transcendent to be concerned about their plight as former captives of Babylon, Isaiah 40:27.
        4. God then prophetically revealed that He was IMMUTABLE, that He is unaffected by things that wear people down, so He would be able and willing to restore them in the land, Isaiah 40:28-30.
        5. God finally prophetically urged the returning exiles to wait on Him for their renewal, Isa. 40:31.
Lesson: God demonstrated His great GRACE and COMPASSION in PROMISING to RESTORE the languishing people of Israel after their Babylonian Captivity by His great attributes EVEN when He had NOT YET USED Babylon to DISCIPLINE them!

Application: (1) God is COMPASSIONATE and GRACIOUS enough to WANT to RESTORE us after we suffer from His OWN discipline. (2) God is POWERFUL enough to DO this. (3) Thus, IF we sin, ALWAYS CONFESS it, knowing God WILL RENEW us even when we have miserably failed Him!