Seeking comfort? Are you looking in all the wrong places?

Seeking comfort? Makes sense, but have you tapped into the only true source or are you looking in all the wrong places?

Introduction: God is the Only source of lasting comfort for the human race.

We are not the first, nor will we be the last people of God living with troubling times. The fact of the matter is other believers have faced greater difficulties. I admit this past year was a most troubling time for me, perhaps the most troubling I have ever experienced. It was easy for me to feel overwhelmed with the sheer number of problems all converging at one time upon me.

The nature of the trouble has been so disturbing as well. We appear to be fast departing from being “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for.” Our nation, states, communities, churches, and families are being torn apart. It feels at times like I perceive it felt through the Civil War Era in our history. as a nation. My observation is that those who attempt to bear the weight of these troubles without real hope find themselves stepping through the open door leading to despair, discouragement and depression. I here the mention and talk with people experiencing “panic attacks” regularly.

The words to a Casting Crowns redo of the Christmas Song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” run through my mind like a record player that has a vinyl disc with a scratch and every time the needle hits the scratch it jumps back to repeat these following words:

And in despair I bowed my head;

There is no peace on earth I said;

For hate is strong and mocks the song;

Of peace on earth, good will to men

So, how do we live above our circumstance and experience comfort instead of drowning in sorrow? Where is “real hope?” What or who holds the key to the door of hope, which leads to comfort even as the carnage continues? The answer is “real hope is to be found in God. I want to take you to a text in the Old Testament, which shows us the way to COMFORT.

The prophet Isaiah was a contemporary of both Daniel and Jeremiah. He was earlier on the scene than the others. His God given assignment is recorded in Isaiah 6. It was to call Judah to judgment for ignoring God.

Isaiah authored a book of the Old Testament bearing his name. The first 39 chapters warn Judah that their rebellious sinful ways would come back to haunt them unless they repented. They did not heed his warnings. Isaiah, as well predicted they would not repent and because they would not change their ways they would be overthrown as a nation, Jerusalem would be destroyed and the promising youth of the nation would be dragged away as hostages to Babylon.

He also wrote that God would judge the Northern Kingdom with the army of the Assyrians before the destruction of Judah. As well he wrote of the Babylonian captivity when the defeated Southern Kingdom lost the bright youth to Babylon being taken as prisoners and taken into Exile. Sprinkled within these 39 chapters are signs of “hope”, meaning God’s Judgment was not final, but necessary. God was and is not done with the nation, Israel.

Chapters 40-66 are filled with “hope” for the nation. And the “hope” is based on God’s work in the hearts of the people as they respond to the Rescuer/Messiah who will come to establish a righteous Kingdom like the one God promised to Abraham and His descendants.

Isaiah 41

God is the One to turn to for facing any difficulty that comes your way. Studying God’s covenant faithfulness to His people is what has convinced me about His comfort giving nature. It draws me to Him when the proverbial bottom drops out of my life because I can see from His Word the way He rescued His children from trouble through the ages. God offers hope which in turn brings peace.

In particular, it always amazes me how gracious God was dealing with the descendants of Abraham. I want you consider a period of time I mentioned already called the exile. It was a period of seventy years of captivity placed on the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah by the conquering nation Babylon. Assyria in 722 BC overtook the Northern Tribes of Israel leaving the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to be the remnant tribes of the once great nation of Israel. Thanks to the faith of Hezekiah the fate of Judah was postponed for about 100 years.

The Assyrians were overtaken by Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar. As the new super power, the ruler of Babylon had in his mind to expand the geographical boundaries of his kingdom. Judah was next in line of the nations to fall as dominoes in the line-up under the advancing army of Babylon. Three sieges were made on the capital city of Jerusalem (605 BC, 597 BC and 586 BC). Each siege resulted in a deportation of bright Jewish youth to Babylon to be trained as administrators over the vast wealth being amassed.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed Nego are well-known since God writes about them in the book Daniel. Daniel experienced the 70 years of captivity. He not only survived the captivity, he thrived under the circumstances and served in the throne room of several Babylonian Kings and the Persian authorities as well.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, not only called for Judah to repent or else face exile, but he also was eyewitness to the destruction of Jersualem. He writes of it in Lamentations. In Lamentations 1:2, 16, 17, 21 he remarks several times that there was “no comfort” and no one “to bring comfort.” It is a very sad read. But in the midst of the tearful laments is “hope”. Lamentations 3:16-33 illustrates how God comforts with His mercies, which are new every morning, and His faithfulness, which reaches into the lives of His children bringing “hope”.

Isaiah also starting in chapter 40 wrote of hope for the nation. Hope would be for those who though not exiled yet, would be soon and yet they would be released and allowed to return. He also prophecy's of the first Coming of the Redeemer as the suffering Servant (Isaiah 53). And then the hope the nation recognized most often was the Second Coming of the Conquering King.

Hope for Facing Troubling Times

Comfort for God’s people (Isaiah 40:1-31).

Isaiah was instructed by God to speak comfort to Jerusalem. But the discomfort or time of trouble is not clearly identified. It no doubt was a reference to a future time of trouble they would experience. Nevertheless, these words would bring comfort to any of His people for any time or situation they could face because they describe the nature of God. God is exalted above any human, any prince or any nation; any idol whether made of precious medal or durable wood. The central promise from this chapter is “But those who wait (place their hope) on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).

What is comfort? To be comforted is to be alleviated from sorrow or distress; to be given emotional strength. To be comforted is not to have the source of discomfort necessarily removed immediately, but to lessen or relieve the distress through the assurance of an end to the trouble. And at the core of the comfort is the certainty that God is in control and His guarantee is certain that the momentary light afflictions experienced during life on planet earth will pale in light of the eternal weight of glory.

What was the trouble being referenced in Isaiah 40? I believe there are actually three troubles in God’s mind. All three troubles were yet to happen. Isaiah was writing prophetically so future readers facing any one of the three troubles would be able to find comfort. Let me explain the three troubles.

The first trouble was not far into the future from the time in which Isaiah wrote. Verse 2 describes Isaiah was to speak comfort to Jerusalem. He was to cry to her “that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins “(Isaiah 40:2). Isaiah 5:13 mentions “captivity” as a portion of the judgment to come upon the nation for there perpetual idolatry. 2 Kings 24:13-16 identifies clearly an exile and captivity to Jerusalem by Babylon. Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah of this captivity. He records it in Isaiah 39:5-7 and 2 Kings 17-19 records it as well.

He is the comfort for a future generation from Jerusalem/Judah who would be taken captive by the Babylonians as judgment from God for the nation’s unrelenting and unrepentant idolatry. (The Babylonians in three waves 605 B.C, 597 B.C., and 586 B.C. deported the best and the brightest Jewish youth to Babylon along with many other Israelites).

How would the comfort come?

I like how one author words the comfort for those living in the time of exile.

“Jerusalem was to be addressed tenderly (lit., “to the heart,” i.e., in gentle, encouraging words; cf. Hosea 2:14) as a mother would speak to her child. The 70-year Captivity was seen as almost over. Hard service translates the Hebrew word for “warfare” and “time of enlistment in war.” Judah’s captivity was like the hardships of war. That time of trial had come because of her sin. But now her sin had been paid for so that God’s blessings could begin. As stated in the Mosaic Covenant, God would bless His people if they lived according to His Word. However, if they disobeyed Him, He would curse them and eventually cast them out of the land of Israel (Deut. 28:15–68, esp. vv. 49–52, 64). Now that cursing was seen as almost accomplished, Israel could have a new start. To receive double for all her sins does not mean to be punished beyond what she deserves but in keeping with what she deserves. The point is that she has now received “full” or “sufficient” punishment for all her sins (cf. “double” in Isa. 51:19; 61:7).”

Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1091). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

From whom would the comfort come? Verses 3-5 describes the preparation for the coming comforter. “The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed” And the glory of God was revealed such that the predicted 70 years of captivity would be accomplished by the judgment of Babylon, the judges, by the Medes and Persians, the new judges. (Jeremiah 25:8-14; 2 Chronicles 36:15-21).

Daniel, reading the prophet Jeremiah in the first year of Darius, the Medes king who ruled over the Chaldean Empire, realizes the seventy years of captivity was about to end. He prays and repents on behalf of all Israel (Daniel 9:1-19).

Cyrus the replacement to Darius ordered the decree that ended the period of captivity for the citizens from Jerusalem, as they so desired. See 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4. The most significant statement concerning Cyrus is not about him at all. In fact the words that echo the comforting words of Isaiah 40:5 - “The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed” are these words, “The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given to me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God) which is in Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-3).

The second trouble for which comfort was being offered through the words of Isaiah in chapter 40 was a lingering problem of when would the Messiah come because life under the oppression of large autocratic empires is very burdensome?

Even before there was a Chosen people (the nation of Israel), God had promised the serpent who had deceived Eve in the garden, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Abram was chosen by God to be the one from whom the Seed would eventually come. He languished with the Promise because he and Sarah were not able to have a child born. Finally, when Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 86 they gave birth to Isaac. Isaac begot 12 sons and they became the 12 tribes of Israel. Judah was given the promise of having the Seed. King David, of the tribe of Judah became the first King of the line of Judah to perhaps be the Messiah, but God Promised David one of His Seed would become the Messiah (2 Samuel 7:14-17).

Kings came and went, the Exile happened, the people returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple, but being under the authority of first Babylon, then Assyria, followed by the Medes and the Persians, then the Greeks and finally the Romans they had no autonomy and were not technically a nation. The people for 5 centuries awaited the coming Messiah. They live oppressed lives.

The Comfort they had was the Promise of the Messiah. And that Promise is being reiterated by Isaiah in Isaiah 40:1-5.

40:3–5. A voice (probably Isaiah’s, different from the voice in v. 6) called out to the people to prepare the way for the Lord (v. 3) and His glory (v. 5). True prophets were “voices,” for their messages were from God. They were calling the nation to get back into a proper relationship with Him. Each Gospel writer applied Isaiah 40:3 to John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1–4; Mark 1:1–4; Luke 1:76–78; John 1:23). John was a desert prophet who prepared the way for Jesus Christ, and who in the wilderness made a highway for Him (cf. Matt. 3:3). However, here in Isaiah the entire nation was in a spiritual wilderness, and each Israelite needed to get ready spiritually for the appearing of the Lord and His glory.

40:6–8. A second voice (cf. v. 3) spoke. This voice, probably God’s, gave the command, probably to Isaiah, to cry out. The voice told him to contrast the difference between people and God. People are temporary and they change. They are like wild grass and flowers that come up in the springtime only to fade and fail when the weather gets hot (cf. Pss. 37:2; 102:11; 103:15–16). By contrast, God never fails for His Word endures forever. This fact would greatly comfort and encourage the people in exile who read these words. Because God’s Word stands, His prophecy that the people would be restored to their land was sure to be fulfilled.

40:9–11. Perhaps the one who was to take good tidings to Jerusalem was someone who was passing on Isaiah’s message. The messenger was to tell loudly to the towns of Judah that God was coming (v. 9) to Jerusalem

Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1091–1092). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.To see it turn to Matthew 4 and recognize the words of verse 3:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.”

Luke 1:76 - Zacharias, father of John the Baptist filled by the Holy Spirit declares his son would “be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.”

Luke 3 as well marks out clearly that the comforter had come as marked out by the voice of John the Baptist preparing the way.

And again the “Glory of the Lord was revealed.” Galatians 4:4, 5 says, “But when the fulness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

The third trouble to which comfort is being offered is the trouble faced by all of us today. When will the righteous rule predicted in the OT happen? You know, the time when Christ, the Messiah will be seated on the throne in Jerusalem and the weapons of warfare will be converted to farm implements? When will the lions and the lambs sleep together without a blood bath? When will the babies play with snakes and not a one will end up at the emergency room with an allergic reaction? When will nations get along and neighbors enjoy each other all the time? When does the social justice and equity for all happen?

All these things and more happen with the Second Coming of Christ. Isaiah wrote and spoke what God instructed. He did not see and understand the similarities between separated by time intervals of which he was not aware.

Raising the valleys and lowering the mountains refer in hyperbole to workmen leveling or smoothing out the roads on which a dignitary would travel when he came to visit an area. Today an equivalent is, “roll out the red carpet.” In Isaiah’s day he was calling Israel to be “smoothed out” so that the Lord could come to the nation and rule. This was emphasized by all the prophets-ethically the nation must be righteous.

Eventually the nation will be “smoothed out” spiritually when the glory of the Lord is revealed (Isa. 40:5). Isaiah was thinking of the millennial kingdom when the Lord will be revealed in His glory, that is, when His unique splendor will be evident everywhere. As Isaiah wrote elsewhere, the Messiah would suffer and would also appear in glory. However, apparently he was not aware of the time interval that would elapse between these two aspects. Though the disciples saw Jesus’ glory (John 1:14), all mankind has not yet seen it, but they will see it in the Millennium. This coming glory is certain for the … Lord has spoken it (cf. Isa. 1:20; 58:14). The word of the Lord is sure and cannot be broken.

Here is the thing I want you to grab ahold of.

Daniel is just one example of a Jew in captivity who took comfort from God Word while living under the oppression of Babylon and then Persia. He had hope. His hope was in God and His Word. His 3 friends were right there with him.

Simeon in Luke 2:25-35 was the old man who was waiting for the Consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him so that when he saw Jesus in the temple when he was just 8 days old he recognized that the child Jesus was the Christ. He had hope. His hope was in God and His Word. Zacharias and Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph, the shepherd, the Magi and Anna all were being comforted by hope which they were blessed to experience.

You and I have heard about the Millennial Kingdom, that period of time when Christ comes again and establishes a righteous kingdom ruled by Christ with grace and truth. And after that the new heaven and the new earth where God will dwell with us. Perfectly perfect! We have hope. Our hope is in God and His Word.

Isaiah is called to “cry out” again, this time to emphasize the superiority of God over anything.

God is our hope and therefore offers legitimate comfort because of His enduring superiority. Isaiah 40:6–8 (NKJV)

6 The voice said, “Cry out!”

And he said, “What shall I cry?”

“All flesh is grass,

And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.”

God is our hope and therefore offers legitimate comfort because of His Shepherding Nature, He is both powerful to protect and gentle to nurture. Isaiah 40:9–11 (NKJV)

9 O Zion,

You who bring good tidings,

Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,

And His arm shall rule for Him;

Behold, His reward is with Him,

And His work before Him.

11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arm,

And carry them in His bosom,

And gently lead those who are with young.

God is our hope and therefore offers legitimate comfort because He possesses incomparable knowledge.Isaiah 40:12–14 (NKJV)

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,

Measured heaven with a span

And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?

Weighed the mountains in scales

And the hills in a balance?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His counselor has taught Him?

14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,

And taught Him in the path of justice?

Who taught Him knowledge,

And showed Him the way of understanding?

God is our hope and therefore offers legitimate comfort because the nations altogether are as a drop in the bucket compared to His authority and wealth. Isaiah 40:15–17 (NKJV)

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,

And are counted as the small dust on the scales;

Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,

Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.

17 All nations before Him are as nothing,

And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

God is our hope and therefore offers legitimate comfort because He is God not a manmade idol. Isaiah 40:18–20 (NKJV)

18 To whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

19 The workman molds an image,

The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,

And the silversmith casts silver chains.

20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution

Chooses a tree that will not rot;

He seeks for himself a skillful workman

To prepare a carved image that will not totter.

God is our hope and therefore offers legitimate comfort because He is The Everlasting, Sovereign, Never Tiring, Creator and Sustainer of the world. Isaiah 40:21–28 (NKJV)

21 Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,

Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

23 He brings the princes to nothing;

He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,

Scarcely shall they be sown,

Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,

When He will also blow on them,

And they will wither,

And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me,

Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high,

And see who has created these things,

Who brings out their host by number;

He calls them all by name,

By the greatness of His might

And the strength of His power;

Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,

And speak, O Israel:

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

And my just claim is passed over by my God”?

28 Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

God is our hope and therefore offers legitimate comfort. Is God your hope? Isaiah 40:29–31 (NKJV)

29 He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.