“‘Comfort ye, comfort ye My people,’ saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished.'” Isaiah 40:2
Dear Ones:
In the book of Jeremiah, we find him at one point in prison in Jerusalem, with the Babylonian army laying siege to the city. Jeremiah had been instrumental, along with other prophets of his day, and before, in pointing out to the people of Israel that their sins had indeed separated them from their God, and that the hand of God’s blessing had been withdrawn. Judgement was upon them because God had declared it. As sin crouches at the door of the foolish sinner, so judgement pounds upon the door, with the power to shatter it and destroy all that is in its path. In this hour of great darkness, hopelessness, and helplessness, God speaks to Jeremiah of a day that is coming when all will be changed. The Lord speaks of that day when He says concerning Jerusalem: “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them and reveal unto them unto them the abundance of peace and truth.” (33:6) Several times in succeeding verses, the Lord will use the word, “again:” “Thus saith the Lord: ‘AGAIN there shall be heard in this place…the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness.” (v.10,11) In verse 12 He says, “AGAIN in this place, which is desolate, without man and beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds, causing their flocks to lie down.” The Lord is speaking of a time in the future concerning Jerusalem, when the desolation of invasion and captivity, will be turned by the gracious and merciful God, who will give to Israel, and specifically to Jerusalem, a new beginning. The concept of a new beginning under such circumstances will not be easily believed, and grasped. Ezekiel will put this attitude of the people in the following words: “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” (37:11) While captive in Babylon, the Psalmist would write of the languishing heart of the people: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.” (137:1) Also, the people would ask the question: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (v.4) Isaiah would write of the despondency of Jerusalem, and its people: “But Zion said, ‘The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.'” (49:14) Such was the state of Israel when taken captive and led away to Babylon. After seventy years in captivity, their hope was very thin, almost non-existent. They felt themselves abandoned, forsaken, and without hope. However, even as there would come about in Elijah’s day, a little cloud of hope which would rise from the sea, announcing the abundance of rain, so, according to the words of the Lord, there would arise a glimmer of hope in the hearts of the people, by the mouths of the same prophets who had announced the judgment of God. Where does one start in finding one’s way back to God, knowing a new beginning?
The prophetic vision for the new beginning for Israel and Jerusalem came when God spoke. As it was in the beginning at creation, so now, at the moment of “restoration, renewing, and revival,” it is by the power and authority of God that everything is put in motion, so that hope can be restored, and the people returning to their God. The call of God to Isaiah is very personal, and comforting: “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people…her warfare is ended,” and “…her iniquity is pardoned.” (40:2) In one declaration God deals with Israel’s past, to bring her to freedom in the present moment. The message for that moment is clear as crystal: “The grass withereth (speaking of the people), the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.” (40:8) Herein lies the basis of Israel’s faith, not her ideas, or persuasions, but only God according to His word, for here resides His power and authority over heaven and earth.
Dear Father, Make us to hear Thy voice of power and authority today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad