Comfort, Comfort

Kevin Eck

The Gospel According to Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Intro

Group Intro

- Goal

We are to eagerly hunger for spiritual nutrition in greater degrees - Spiritually mature

Regardless of your background or where you are in your relationship with Jesus, you are called to grow

- What we do

Scripture

Prayer

Community

Lesson Intro

Last Lesson

Past few chapters had been stories of God working in the life of Hezekiah.

What were some of these events? Were they showers of blessings or trials?

Why did God send these trials? What do we learn about Hezekiah?

How did the last story end? - a prophecy of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem

New section

They show the foolishness of Hezekiah’s earthly hopes

They go beyond and try to elevate themselves above Yahweh

Hezekiah is forced to place his hope 100% in Assyria or 100% in God

Humbles himself - faces the failure of his trust in himself

God saves in total way - but the climax was not if God is faithful to save, but if Hezekiah is willing to be faithful

Literary Setting - Transition (36-39)

What is different about this passage?

It is a historical narrative, not poetic prophecy

This is not arbitrary, It has a precise literary purpose

Divides the two halves of the book

Previous couple chapters were like a hinge that binds the halves of the book together

Confirms the prophecies of God’s sovereignty over all nations, illustrates the discipline that is coming, confirms there is hope for those who have faith

It anchors the prophecies in history

Will God’s word come true?

Ch 36 &37 is a dramatic example that God rules the world and that He keeps His promises

Sets a historical transition from a prosperous people who reject God’s word to a exiled people seeking hope

There is a change in setting

Alludes to the coming Babylonian invasion and the destruction of Jerusalem

Resets hope from Jerusalem that was to the New Jerusalem that is coming

Not the concrete present day with clearly identified characters

Confirms the Messiah is still to come, but more needs to be revealed about Him

Now future, characters are more figurative

Not that future history doesnt matter, but the specific events of mankind fade as the reality of God and his plans come into focus

Central image expands beyond the Davidic king who defends against external enemies

There is a change in theme

Unpacks how He is a suffering servant who defeats the internal wickedness of your heart

Change in tone - not coming judgment but coming restoration

Focus on God who will do this personally

Confirms both God’s desire and power to restore His people

Intro Questions

How do you feel about studying God’s character?

Where do you run for comfort?

Tender Words (1-2)

Background of crisis

Isaiah had just prophesied the fall of Jerusalem - how can that be?

The destruction was not just a political/economic disaster, but a theological crisis

God had protected it from the Assyrians, but let the Babylonians through

Does he not care? Has he given up on His people?

Jerusalem was supposed to be Zion with the promises of eternal glory

Is God strong enough to keep His promises?

Two questions - Does God have the power and the desire to save?

God’s heart revealed

God’s response - Comfort, Comfort - v1

Repeated for emphasis

Uses the wording of my people & your God

No longer calls them this people, or my enemies

God is returning to the covenantal intimacy with Israel

Says - Verb is imperfect, ongoing action - God keeps saying to his people

Speak tenderly - Lit speak to the heart - v.2

Not just soft kindness

But lover persuading, wooing, pursuing, his beloved

God is pursuing His people like Boaz was pursued Ruth

God’s sanctifying, purifying trials are over. He is reaching out to His people

How would broken Israel respond to this? How do these words of comfort make you feel?

Fighting depression and anxiety

Sometime we get overwhelmed by the depths of our sin. We acutely feel the distance that our guilt puts between us and God

Isaiah has been pounding at the guilt of God’s people for 39 chapters

Now it is as if the prophet says, ‘alright, so much for that. It’s all true, but it’s not all there is for truth. Dont forget… [the truth of who God is].’” - Oswalt, NICOT, p 49

Now I am not saying this is the only cause or solution, but this can feed into our feelings of depression and anxiety.

Some of us are like Hezekiah and hard to the reality of our sin

But many of us see our inadequacies and sink into the swamp of despair (to paraphrase the Pilgrim’s Progress)

Here see your God speaking to your heart, seeing the burden of your troubles, and reaching down to you in tender compassion. This is your God

Pensive doubting heart

Here see your God speaking to your heart, seeing the burden of your troubles, and reaching down to you in tender compassion. This is your God

The follow through of discipline

What are some situations God calls us to carry out discipline and correction? Parenting, church, marriage, even ourselves

It can feel so good to take our wrath

“I am going to be righteously angry and dwell in it. I am going to not let them stop hearing about it. (Faith) Or I am going to let it linger and sink in (Me)”

But is this what God does with us? Does He berate us or leave us in the cold?

God certainly does not let sin slip by - He will address it and bring discipline, that may be pretty stern

But God halts as soon as that discipline is administered.

And He softens. He draws near and speaks these tender words of comfort

Do we imitate this follow through of discipline?

Do you hug your child immediately after spanking them?

After correcting your spouse, do you draw out the punishment, or do you immediately draw near in intimacy?

Note that this is not just a mere compliment sandwich

Modern wisdom says that we should sweeten hard words to make them more palatable

My wife is more likely to hear criticism about this spending habit if I wrap it in compliments about her parenting skills

But Scripture does not advocate this sort of self-esteem building. It calls it flattery

Christian love does not say “I love you because you are pretty, smart, strong, etc”

Instead we are to declare our love and faithful loyalty in spite of whatever faults exist in the other other person

Why? Because our love is not dependent on the attributes or behavior of the other person

Instead of saying “I love you because you are worthy of being loved” Christian love says “you are lovely because I love you”

So when correcting your child about being mean to their sibling, you dont then praise how well behaved they were at church

That is teaching them that your love is based on their actions

Instead we tell them we love them just as much when they are bad as when they good

Sometime we get overwhelmed by the depths of our sin. We acutely feel the distance that our guilt puts between us and God

Isaiah has been pounding at the guilt of God’s people for 39 chapters

Sometime we get overwhelmed by the depths of our sin. We acutely feel the distance that our guilt puts between us and God

Now it is as if the prophet says, ‘alright, so much for that. It’s all true, but it’s not all there is for truth. Dont forget… [the truth of who God is].’” - Oswalt, NICOT, p 49

Now I am not saying this is the only cause or solution, but this can feed into our feelings of depression and anxiety.

Some of us are like Hezekiah and hard to the reality of our sin

Now it is as if the prophet says, ‘alright, so much for that. It’s all true, but it’s not all there is for truth. Dont forget… [the truth of who God is].’” - Oswalt, NICOT, p 49

But many of us see our inadequacies and sink into the swamp of despair (to paraphrase the Pilgrim’s Progress

Here see your God speaking to your heart, seeing the burden of your troubles, and reaching down to you in tender compassion. This is your God

A Preparing Voice (3-8)

Image of a highway - v.3-5

A road is being built and all obstacles of wilderness are being cleared

A straight, level sturdy highway is being built

Note the direction -

It is a path for man to travel to God

It is a highway for God to reach His people

God is unstoppably pursuing His people

He is clearing every obstacle between Him and His people

God condescends to his people

We rightly understand that we cannot reach up to God (not just because of sin, but also because we are mere creation)

This is like a great baseball player who kneels down to interact with a young fan on the child’s level

God meets us in as we wander in the wilderness

Isaiah returns to this idea of condescension in ch 42, 43, 48, & 55

Fulfilled in the incarnation

This is the ultimate case of God entering into History to pursue us

This passage pointed to John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus to pursue His people

The trustworthiness of man - v 6-7

Man and his beauty is like grass, which grows up fast and withers just as fast

Heb. Hesed (Beauty)

This word is typically translated as love or kindness, or sometimes reliability or loyalty

Used in the context of God’s covenants with His people to describe how God is 100% reliable in the loving commitments He has made to us

Jesus Storybook Bible uses the phrase “God’s never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.”

But here Isaiah is contrasting the total dependability of God’s love vs the human promises of trustworthiness that fades like a flower in the field

We are not faithful to God or each other

In fact, the Breath of the Lord (HS) exposes our unreliability

Breath of the Lord

The trustworthiness of God - v 8

In contrast, God is completely true and steadfast.

What about God stands? His Word

We can see how no human philosophy, psychological theory, or political scheme is durable. They are all discarded, sometimes in just a few years.

In the moment these ideas can feel so permanent, but in the scope of history, they mean nothing.

In contrast the Word of God has stood true, unchanged, and relevant for thousands of years.

Another way of taking this is that our promises to God are about as lasting as a flower.

We have all promised these commitments to God, yet they almost always fall short

Romans asks this question: What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though everyone were a liar.

Even when we break our promises to God, God does not break His promises to us

Behold Your God!

The good news (Gospel)- v9

What do mean by gospel?

The gospel is the character (For God so loved the world) and actions of our God (that He sent His only son)

Greatness as the God of His people

God is our strong hero - v10

He wins the battle

Defeating evil

Protecting His people, Keeping them as His own

Strong enough to do it on his own

Application?

The reward

Whose reward is it? God’s

What is the reward? It is us!

How does the thought of being God’s reward make you feel?

God is our true shepherd - v. 11

Compassionate, loving verbs - Tend, gather, carry, gently lead

Same arms that smites the enemies gently gathers weak lambs

Greatness as creator

This section pulls a lot of imagery from and Psalms

Creator - v 12

Made all things - the totality

Waters & heavens

Earth & mountains

How does the reality of God as creator meet us in our circumstances?

How does the reality of God as creator meet us in our distress? He is powerful

The great designer -v 13-14

God does not need consultation or permission to make creation

Not some cosmic struggle with an evil force

Not part of some sexual act

He has all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding

There is no independent law outside of God. We cannot evaluate Him against some standard

How do we measure the Holy Spirit or teach God the path of justice?

If God was really loving and good, then…

One of the most common ways is subtle manipulation of God: If two people love one another, then God must endorse it. We make a false version of God based on some independent wisdom, rather than take Him at His word

Greater than creation - v 15-17

They are so small in comparison that you cannot even measure it

God is independent

He is separate and not tied to creation

He does not need our worship. There is nothing that we can give him that adds to His glory

How does this contrast to the modern notion of “the universe”

Wrong reaction #1 - Looking to creation - v 18-20

Why would we compare Yahweh to gods made out of creation

We easily make fun of those worship wood, but it is just as foolish as worshipping our job

This is the futility of idolatry, we seek it for hope in small parts of creation instead of the Creator God

Ex: Sex, money, relationships

All of these things are smaller than us and crumple under the weight of our expectations

But God is greater than all of creation put together. He can bear the weight of our hopes

Compare this silent, unmoving idol to the God who moves in close to us to comfort us in our distress. Why would we hope in creation when the Living God meets us in love like that?

Here again we the foolishness of trusting in the flower of flesh and human trustworthiness instead of the steadfast word of God

This is what God asks in vs 21

Do you not know?

Have I not revealed to you? Have I not told you in my word?

Greatness as sustainer - v 22-26

God isnt a cosmic watchmaker who builds the universe, winds it up, then sits back and watches the show unfold

His greatness as Creator is matched to His greatness as Sustainer - these are linked and parallel traits

Rules over creation - v 22-23

He watches it all

Arranges the “natural” impersonal events

Directs the even personal behaviors

Rules independently - v 24

Without anything to stop Him or hold its own against Him

Like a powerful storm - What could stop hurricane Michael? What could hold up against the intensity?

Rules all of creation - v 26

Rules the entire universe

But also each individual part

Wrong reaction #2 - Doubting the steadfastness of God - vs 27-31

Why would we compare Yahweh to gods made out of creation

We easily make fun of those worship wood, but it is just as foolish as worshipping our job

This is the futility of idolatry, we seek it for hope in small parts of creation instead of the Creator God

Ex: Sex, money, relationships

All of these things are smaller than us and crumple under the weight of our expectations

But God is greater than all of creation put together. He can bear the weight of our hopes

Tie back to earlier sections

What does God ask in vs 21?

Do you not know?

Have I not revealed to you? Have I not told you in my word?

Here we see God pointing us again to the truth of vs 3-5

Doubting the steadfastness of God - vs 27-31

We may acknowledge God as creator instead of idols, but we dont trust in Him as sustainer

We often think does God really know?

Or maybe He is too busy with the rest of creation to pay attention to me

Or maybe He sees, but doesnt really understand

But look at His character

Yes, He rules over the whole scope of creation, but He is intimately involved with every part of creation. Even you

There is nothing that God does not understand better than us

He has revealed to us His purposes in His Word

God is utterly reliable to fulfill His promises

God ministers to His people

He will not grow weary and He will strengthen His people

He will strengthen His people

The right reaction: preach to your heart

Pensive doubting heart - a hymn that you sing in the voice of God to your own heart

"Fear thou not, nor be ashamed, All thy sorrows soon shall end. I who heaven and earth have framed, Am thy husband and thy friend.

Pensive doubting heart

"Fear thou not, nor be ashamed, All thy sorrows soon shall end. I who heaven and earth have framed, Am thy husband and thy friend.

"For a moment I withdrew, And thy heart was filled with pain, But my mercies I'll renew, Thou shalt soon rejoice again. Though I scorn to hide my face, Very soon my wrath shall cease. ‘Tis but for a moment's space, Ending in eternal peace."

Though afflicted, tempest-tossed, Comfortless awhile thou art, Do not think thou canst be lost, Thou art graven on my heart. All thy walls I will repair, Thou shalt be rebuilt anew, And in thee it shall appear, What a God of love can do.

When the circumstances of life crowd in, when we are tempted to trust in creation, or when we doubt that God will help,

There in the midst of that, God blazes a trail through the wilderness to reach us

And He pursue us with tender words of comfort

Indeed, Christian, behold your God

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