Here Is Your God – Part 3
Isaiah 40:1-31 (11)
February 4, 2024
This morning we dive back into our study of Isaiah 40.
Allow me just a quick recap
Over the ground we have covered before we move forward.
Isaiah 40 is addressing a group of people over 100 years after Isaiah.
• He is writing, prophetically, to those Jews who are in exile in Babylon.
• They are downtrodden because they believe God has abandoned them.
• Isaiah is revealing why that is not the case, and how they can overcome their despair.
Very simply put, these exiles need to remember 3 things.
1) God’s Promises
2) God’s Power
3) God’s Perseverance
Remembering those truths are the key to comfort
For any believer in any circumstance.
We have started working on that first point.
#1 GOD’S PROMISES
Isaiah 40:1-11
And we noted that the chief point here and for the entire chapter is clear, “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.”
• That is the goal
• That is the objective
Remembering God’s promises will set you on the course of comfort.
Now, we have broken this first point down a little further and given some specific details about the promises of God.
1) THE COMFORT OF GOD’S PROMISES (1-2)
Might I just add here at the start
That God’s promises are always for the comfort of God’s people.
What else would they be for?
• They are the God of the universe
• Choosing to put His integrity on the line
• In order to give you information about the future
• That you would not otherwise have.
God’s promises are meant to be received by faith in His power and character and when they are received the result is comfort.
And that is what God is doing here.
With the first reminder that
GOD HAS PROMISED FORGIVENESS FOR HIS CHILDREN.
I would remind you of Romans 8
Romans 8:31-34 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”
John Owen says that
The love of God which prompted Him to give His Son for us “infers an impossibility in not giving all good things in Him”
(Owen, John [The Death of Death In The Death of Christ; The Banner of Truth Trust; Carlisle, PA 2020] pg.70-71 )
To perhaps put it more plainly.
Do you suppose that God would love you enough to send His Son to pay the debt against your sin and then at the last moment refuse to allow that death to actually be used on your behalf?
Do you suppose God would waste the atoning sacrifice of Christ?
Do you suppose Christ would come and pay the debt for your sin and then be satisfied in not seeing that forgiveness occur?
Do you suppose either the Father or the Son would go to such a great extreme to purchase forgiveness and then not see forgiveness occur?
It’s unthinkable!
By Owen’s account, it is impossible.
God forgives His children.
Christ died to pay the debt for their sin.
• He has appeared before the Father on our behalf in His blood-stained raiment to deliver the payment for our sin.
• He said it was paid in full.
• He said every requirement was finished.
• He said every sin of His bride has been covered.
Do you suppose that you have now out-sinned His sacrifice?
Do you suppose that yours was the one sin where He drew the line?
He promised forgiveness for His people and forgiveness is given.
The announcement of Isaiah is that
God’s discipline in your life has run its course and you are forgiven.
Every believer should find comfort in that promise.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Take comfort in that promise.
2) THE CONTENT OF GOD’S PROMISES (3-5)
Here we were reminded of that message of John the Baptist
Which is categorized as a message of repentance.
It is the call to remove those things from your life
Which might prohibit a relationship with the coming King.
I would reiterate that this is NOT a negative promise.
The point here is not about the cost of hosting the King,
So much as it is about the privilege and anticipation of hosting the King.
We likened it to that family caught in the P.O.W. camp in Manilla in WWII.
• If you told them that the troops were going to come through that gate any
minute
• They needed to put on American clothes, put on their shoes to prepare to
leave, and get rid of anything that would slow them down…
• You would not see that as a negative cost.
You’d see that as a glorious privilege
For salvation was about to come through the door!
Just as those in Egypt
• Were told to eat the Passover with their loins girded, their staff in hand, and to eat it in haste.
• That was about anticipation, not cost.
The reason such behavior is called for is because
The glorious King is about to arrive,
And you are preparing to enjoy His deliverance.
God promised salvation and it is coming through Jesus Christ.
• He is the content of the promises.
• He is the sum total of them all.
• He is what the Old Testament is all about.
• In Him the promises of God are “yes”.
So we have seen a coming Savior/King who comes to forgive His people.
That alone should be encouraging to anyone stuck in despair.
God has forgiven you and God is coming to save you.
BELIEVE THAT PROMISE!
BUT THERE WE ARE ALSO CONFRONTED WITH
What believing the promises of God looks like.
In regard to the first promise of forgiveness,
• Believing that promise was really an intellectual exercise.
• It simply required you believing what God says.
But believing that Christ is coming looks a little different.
What does it look like?
It looks like repentance.
(3-5) “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
• Belief there looks like preparation.
• Belief there looks like repentance.
If you really believe the promise then get this place ready for Him.
• He won’t dwell in your house if you insist on leaving idols there.
• He won’t dwell in your house if you insist He share it with other gods.
If you believe the promise that the glorious King
Will come to forgive and deliver you,
Then prepare your heart for His coming.
Clean up the place, like you believe He’s coming.
3) THE CERTAINTY OF GOD’S PROMISES (6-9)
You might be that family in the P.O.W. camp who receives word that the troops are coming, but you are cynical because you’ve heard it all before.
“I’ll believe it when I see it!” you say.
And to encourage us beyond such doubt and fear Isaiah reminds us of a very important point.
The God who is making this promise to you is NOT like man.
• He is not weak
• He is not fickle
• He does not lie
• He is not temporary
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
1 Samuel 15:29 “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”
When God promises forgiveness through a coming glorious King
Then you can count on it happening.
If He said it, He will do it.
Take comfort in that.
So get ready, clean this place up and believe the promise.
4) THE CIRCULATION OF GOD’S PROMISES (9-11)
IN ORDER TO SPREAD THE COMFORT,
God now declares that the recipients of this promise
Get up on a high mountain and declare it to all of God’s people.
Go forth and declare the glories of this promised King!
(Want your mission’s month emphasis? Here it is!)
WHAT DO WE TELL THE PEOPLE ABOUT THIS KING?
HE WILL RULE – “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him.”
HE WILL REWARD – “Behold, His reward is with Him”
HE WILL RECOMPENSE – “And His recompense before Him.”
We saw all of those Sunday night.
• He did come to rule in the hearts of men,
• He will come again to rule the world.
• He did reward with spiritual blessing those who trusted Him,
• He will come again and reward His followers even more.
• He did recompense the enemies of the gospel in His first coming,
• He will come again to trample them under His feet.
These promises were true, they are true, and they will remain true.
GO FORWARD AND PROCLAIM THAT!
But there was one aspect of this promise to be circulated
That we did not have time to examine Sunday night.
That this promised King of Glory
WILL ROUND UP (11)
“Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”
That is to say, He will round up His people and gather them to Himself.
This is another aspect of the promise
That those who are downtrodden can most certainly anticipate.
We might be prone to wonder:
• When this King comes through the gate…
• When He arrives to bring rescue and forgiveness…
• WHAT WILL HE BE LIKE?
• Is He going to be ruthless and mean?
• Is He going to be rigid and battle hardened?
• What will He be like?
(11) “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”
This promise is pure comfort
To His people who live in a broken and fallen world.
He is well-aware of your weakness.
He is well-aware of what you have been through.
He knows who He is saving.
LET’S START FIRST WITH THE EXILES IN BABYLON
Whom Isaiah is immediately addressing.
The thought of God gathering His lambs
Must be quite a welcomed promise to the exiles
Since they definitely understood themselves as having been scattered.
Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”
• If you have a bad shepherd you get scattered sheep.
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
• If you have bad priests you get destroyed people.
Israel certainly understands the problem they have found themselves in.
• They are like that family in the P.O.W. camp.
• They are scattered to Babylon, away from the land of promise.
• They are captives in a foreign land.
And while every man stands before God because of his own sin,
We also see in Scripture a special burden placed upon
The heads of the bad shepherds who allowed it to happen.
TURN TO: EZEKIEL 34
We FIRST recognize what Jeremiah said, that it was the bad shepherds who led to the fall of the flock.
(READ 1-6)
• You have there weak sheep who weren’t strengthened.
• You have there sinful sheep who weren’t corrected.
• You have there broken sheep who were not restored.
• You have there discouraged sheep who were not comforted.
• You have there lost sheep who were not sought.
And the result is that they were devoured by the lion
And now they have been sent to Babylon in exile.
It is harsh, but it is real.
And, we find that God is opposed to those terrible shepherds who led their flock to this terrible position.
(READ 7-10)
• God is not pleased with the shepherds who so mistreated their flocks,
• But it doesn’t change the fact that the flock is scattered.
SO HERE’S THE PROMISE…
(READ 11-16)
God says that He will step in and deliver His flock.
• He says He will care for them.
• He says He will seek them.
• He says He will bring them out.
• And 4 times He says He will feed them.
Now if you are an exile in Babylon
This would be a good promise for you to remember.
God is going to seek you, feed you, and deliver you.
HE PROMISED.
God also promises to purify the flock:
(READ 17-22)
• It’s not just bad rulers, in some cases it is also brutal sheep.
• It is also the unredeemed in their midst, and God is going to clean them out.
• That’s another good promise to grab.
And then GOD PROMISES A NEW SHEPHERD
(READ 23-24)
• He promises to deliver His flock and then put a new shepherd over them.
• A Shepherd from the line of David to care for this flock.
Hang on to that promise
Because that’s exactly the point Isaiah is making in Isaiah 40.
Then under this new Shepherd God promises to restore blessing to them.
(READ 25-31)
THAT IS TOTAL DELIVERANCE.
So listen to Isaiah and follow the promise.
• You have God’s people who have been exiled because of their sin.
• The blame falls on their shepherds, but they are exiled none the less.
• So God promises to go and deliver them from their place of exile.
• He will then give them a new Shepherd from David’s line.
• And this new Shepherd will lead them to continual blessing.
THAT IS THE PROMISE.
So what happened?
538 BC
Ezra 1:1-4 “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ‘Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. ‘Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’”
What is that?
That is God doing exactly what He promised through Isaiah.
Yes, the promise here refers to the words of Jeremiah,
That is in reference to the 70-year period. Isaiah’s promise is also being fulfilled.
• God said He would go get them.
• God said He would deliver them back home.
• God said He would feed them.
What did God promise next?
He said He was going to give them a Shepherd from David’s line.
John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
There is that Davidic Shepherd
Who came to give life and blessing to the sheep.
John 10:9-10 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
We see both Ezekiel and Isaiah’s promise fulfilled.
There is that “shepherd” Isaiah promised.
AND WHAT A SHEPHERD HE IS!
• He’s not cruel or mean.
• He’s not rigid or harsh.
Another passage about Him says:
Matthew 12:17-21 “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”
He is a gentle shepherd.
He is a good shepherd.
• He lays down His life for those sheep.
• He loves those sheep.
• He will not flee in the face of danger.
• He will not abandon when it is difficult.
He is exactly the shepherd that God was looking for to tend His flock.
He will rescue those sheep and He will lead them to pasture.
God promised a good shepherd and that is exactly who Jesus was.
That was a fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise.
BUT ISRAEL REJECTED HIM
• We remember that Israel crucified her King
• We remember that Israel killed her Shepherd
• She didn’t want Him to rule over her.
SO WHAT NEXT?
• Did the promise of God fail?
• Is it over?
• Has the promise been used up?
Didn’t we just talk about the certainty of God’s promises?
(He promised blessing, did He not?)
Isaiah said God is not like a man.
When He makes a promise it “stands forever” (40:8)
SO, THE PROMISE REMAINS, perhaps delayed, but it remains.
When Israel will repent and yield to her Shepherd,
He will return and shepherd His flock to green pastures.
And so even today WE STILL WAIT for our Shepherd.
1 Peter 2:25 “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”
• We still have a Shepherd.
• We still have One who guards our souls.
• And we are promised that He is still coming.
1 Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
Did you catch that from Peter?
• The “Chief Shepherd” is coming.
HE’S COMING BACK.
The promise of Isaiah has not failed, we still wait for it.
We wait for the One who will return to His people,
Rescue them from bondage, and lead them to a land of blessing.
We know it will happen because…GOD PROMISED.
AND INCIDENTALLY, we are actually shown the fulfillment of it in Scripture.
TURN TO: REVELATION 7
What an interesting chapter this is.
• It takes place during that 7-year period known as the tribulation.
• It begins with this sealing of the 144,000
• It is obvious that they are all Jewish and we see them as 144,000 Jewish evangelists.
• They are there to preach the gospel to Israel during the great tribulation.
• They are strategically important to the promise that Isael will one day look on Him whom they have pierced.
These evangelists will lead Israel back to Christ.
There is evidence that they will lead many Gentiles to Christ as well at that time.
And then we see the fruits of their labor.
(READ 9-12)
• It is a heavenly scene of many, from every tribe, worshiping God for His great salvation.
But then a question arises as to WHO THEY ARE?
(READ 13-17)
• These are those who are saved out of the Great Tribulation.
But did you notice what was said about their salvation in that final verse?
“for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
We DON’T see a frustrated shepherd.
We see a compassionate shepherd.
Consoling and leading His flock to salvation.
There is the final fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise.
God started this chapter with a promise of comfort.
“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.”
BASED ON WHAT?
Why should we be comforted while living here in a pagan land?
Why should we be comforted as stranger and exiles in Babylon?
1. Because God has promised forgiveness for His children.
2. Because God has promised to send a glorious Shepherd King to deliver you.
3. Because God’s promises never fail.
4. And you can see throughout Scripture, they never have.
AND CHURCH we realize that this promise obviously extends well beyond just those exiles in Babylon.
• We rejoice in this promise!
• We rejoice in the promise of a returning Shepherd!
• This One who will rule.
• This One who will reward.
• This One who will recompense.
• This One who will round up His sheep.
And take a look at His CHARACTER and COMPASSION!
Back to Isaiah 40:11
“Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”
Just notice the language there.
• “tend His flock”
• “gather the lambs”
• “carry them in His bosom”
• “gently lead”
Does it shock you to understand that Christ knows exactly what it is like to live in this sin infested world?
Does it shock you to see that Christ realizes that you are existing in many ways as a P.O.W. who is beaten and battered in this world?
When those troops finally broke through the gates at that Manilla prison camp, not a soldier there expected that they were about to march those refugees on a hard march out of Manilla.
• They knew that these people were weak and feeble.
• They knew that these people were broken and frail.
• They knew that these people needed to be carried and coddled and led gently.
And if a war-hardened soldier can make that observation
The Chief Shepherd has no problem showing such sympathy.
He cares for the littlest of His flock.
• Notice Him gathering “the lambs”.
• Notice Him being gentle with the “nursing ewes”
Quoting on this passage Charles Spurgeon said:
“The lambs have not the value of mature sheep, yet they are the most thought of under the great Shepherd. They might fetch the least price in the market, but they have the greatest portion of His heart. You needy, troubled ones, I want you to look here and note down in you memories that though there are promises for all saints, there are special promises for you. Jesus Christ will take care that lambs and those who are with young, shall be specially housed. Notice this in Jacob…when he met with Esau, Esau wanted him to accept a guard to go with him, but he said, “My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me; and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.” Jesus, the good Shepherd, will not travel at such a rate as to overdrive the lambs. He has tender consideration for the poor and needy. Kings usually look to the interests of the great and the rich, but in the kingdom of our Great Shepherd, He cares most for the poor…The weaklings and the sickly of the flock are the special objects of the Saviour’s care.”
(Spurgeon, Charles [The Treasury Of The Old Testament Vol. III Psalms 113 to Isaiah; Marshall, Morgan & Scott Publishing; Edinburgh London] pg. 575)
What a great promise to those who are weary and heavy-laden!
What a great promise to those who feel as who are afflicted and persecuted!
Does it feel as though God has abandoned you?
Do you identify with the lament of these exiles, (27) “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of My God?”
THEN REMEMBER THE PROMISES OF GOD.
Who is He?
What has He promised?
• He has promised forgiveness.
• He has promised a glorious Shepherd King.
• He has promised to accept even the weak and the broken.
• And His promises never fail.
SO LISTEN TO ME NOW THIS MORNING.
Salvation is available to all who are weak and broken.
• EVEN IF your weakness and your brokenness is a result of your bad decisions.
Salvation is available to all who are in captivity and abandoned.
• EVEN IF your captivity is a result of your sin.
God promises forgiveness to His children.
SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
YOU BELIEVE THE PROMISES!
(3-5) “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
You do exactly what Isaiah said.
“Clear the way for the LORD”
You remove the idols and obstacles in your heart.
“Let every valley be lifted up”
You fill in those irreverent potholes that have eaten away at your heart.
“And every mountain and hill be made low”
You knock down those prideful mountains and hills you have erected.
Let your rough edges be smoothed
And your rugged rebellion be subdued
And prepare yourself for the coming of the King.
And if you will.
“then the glory of the LORD will be revealed”
This Shepherd King will come for you.
• Clear out those weeds that keep chocking out the word and making it unfruitful.
• Burn those idols that have polluted your front yard.
• Wash the filth of your pride off of the front porch.
• Put away the sinfulness locked away in your closet.
Prepare your heart for the coming of the King!
IT IS THAT SIMPLE:
Believe the promise.
Did the pagan Abraham do any different?
Genesis 15:5-6 “And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Abraham believed the promise of God and God justified Him.
And this is what you must do too!
Believe God’s promise.
Romans 10:9-13 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
This is the first step to solving your despair.
This is the first step to overcoming your grief.
You have not believed God’s promise
And you have wallowed in brokenness because of it.
Today believe it and you will have comfort.
And once you have believed it, get yourself up on the highest mountain
And proclaim that same promise to someone else who needs to hear it.
Isaiah 35:4 “Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”
