NL 214: Isaiah’s Comfort

Image: Flickr

Isaiah 40:1-11

Initial Thoughts

  • Captain quotable: “Comfort ye”, “Prepare the way” Grass may wither, flowers may fade”, “Here is Your God”

Bible Study

  • Second Isaiah - Move from Bad News to Good News!

    • Roughly 150 after 1 Isaiah - Judean exile and anticipated homecoming (as opposed to impending exile, destruction of Israel and the first attack of the Assyrians against Israel)

    • Theological Themes:

      • God’s promise of redemption

      • Words of Hope for an exiled people

  • Images of God

    • Holy and Transcendent - able to lift valleys and level mountains

    • Personal and Intimate - a shepherd who hold us close and carries us

    • Don’t conflict but inform one another (dialectic)

      • God transcendent power and judgement are only known through the intimacy of God’s grace and God’s grace is what informs God’s judgement

    • “Her gentle nurture is indeed mighty, and her might is her gentle nurture.” George Straup, Feasting on the Word – Year B, Volume 1: Advent through Transfiguration.

  • Comfort

    • Like the εὐαγγέλιον (euaggelion) of Mark 1:1- totally unexpected

      • More wrath and judgement

      • We are receiving what we deserve-judgment/exile

      • But we are about to receive comfort

    • “The contrasting images serve to highlight the chasm between Yahweh and the people. They have sinned, but God has stayed true. They are fragile, but God is powerful. The poem focuses on the declaration of the human condition: grass withers, flowers fall, a reality too well known by the ancient audience. Their own inter-generational experience of exile has demonstrated that God does not care whether they live or die. They are no more than blades of grass crushed by the warrior rushing to glory. Ah, but no. Comfort. That’s what this poem is about. That divine warrior, with arm outstretched to slay an enemy, instead bends down and scoops the little lambs into the divine bosom.” - Corrine Carvalho (workingpreacher.org)

    • Does not deny “Jerusalem’s” sin, but acknowledges “her penalty is paid” - How can we model this radical forgiveness?

  • Judgement and Grace

    • God’s message of grace and forgiveness (Chapter 40) cannot be separated from God’s judgement against human sin (chapters 1-39)

    • Saved from

      • See first Preaching Thought: We need to walk the fine line between total depravity and cheap grace. Only by taking human sin seriously can we truly see the miracle, width and depth of God’s grace - but how to communicate that without declaring we are all worthless worms?

        • Acknowledge the fine line of faith between judgement and grace and their connection

        • Too often we ignore judgement in favor of grace- the two must be linked

  • Prepare the Way of the Lord

    • Both literal way (back from Babylon) and metaphorical way (see below)

    • Great leveling? Not physical but social leveling? Isaiah is not talking about socialism, but is advocating that God’s view of God’s people is being “reset” that all the rough places in our relationship with God will be made smooth, they those of us walking in the valley will be brought into the light and some of us need to come down off the mountaintop

    • Invitation into relationship the “gap” between valley and mountain will be made smooth

    • See Preaching Thought 2: Isaiah envisions a great leveling in preparation of God’s indwelling. Advent is a time for us to “prepare the way” for the Kingdom of God - how will that leveling look? This is a message of hope for those in the valley and those whose relationship with God has been a “rough place”. What about those who have been living on the mountain top? Perhaps it is time for them to invited into relationship with those walking in the valley...

  • Word of God lasts forever

    • An argument against anthropomorphizing God - people are unfaithful (see Gen. 9) God is not

    • God’s word (love, grace) lasts forever- it outlasts all judgment and separation (cf Exodus 34:6-8

    • Despite the fickle nature of people’s faithfulness, God’s word of grace is eternal- even beyond God’s word of judgement

Thoughts and Questions

  • We need to walk the fine line between total depravity and cheap grace. Only by taking human sin seriously can we truly see the miracle, width and depth of God’s grace - but how to communicate that without declaring we are all worthless worms?

    • Acknowledge the fine line of faith between judgement and grace and their connection

    • Too often we ignore judgement in favor of grace- the two must be linked

  • Isaiah envisions a great leveling in preparation of God’s indwelling. Advent is a time for us to “prepare the way” for the Kingdom of God - how will that leveling look? This is a message of hope for those in the valley and those whose relationship with God has been a “rough place”. What about those who have been living on the mountain top? Perhaps it is time for them to invited into relationship with those walking in the valley...

Year 2Eric FistlerIsaiahComment