Isaiah 40:9-11 | Our Sovereign Shepherd

C.S. Lewis wrote a series of books titled, The Chronicles of Narnia. In the book Prince Caspian: The Return of Narnia Lucy is able to see Aslan the Lion again.

“Aslan" said Lucy "you're bigger". "That is because you are older, little one" answered he. "Not because you are?" "I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

Isaiah 40 is about the bigness of God.

That’s why our sermon title is, Behold Our God.

I would like for all of us to grow our understanding of how great our God is.

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus to be able to say, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while Jesus talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

Isaiah 40 is about the bigness of God - Behold our God!

Let us read Isaiah 40:9-11 “9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The prophet Isaiah wrote chapter 40 during a very dark hopeless time in the history of the people of Israel. In the previous chapter we read that doom had been pronounced on king Hezekiah.

Isaiah 39:6-7 “6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.””

Despite God warning them and calling them back to repentance the nation of Israel went their own way and pursued life without God.

The consequences: life in exile

As you can imagine there was a lot of questions.

Is God done with us? Does he want to deliver us? Is he able to deliver us? What about the promises given to king David?

It is at this dark moment in the history of Israel that God sends the prophet Isaiah to speak words of comfort to God’s people:

Your sins are forgiven (v.2)

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed for the whole world to see (v.5)

God’s word and promises are reliable and trustworthy (v.8)

God is mighty to save his people (v.10)

Isaiah 40 - God is coming to get his people back from exile and there is nothing that can stop him.

Let’s look at vv. 9-11

Isaiah 40:9-11 “9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

Pray! Lord please open our eyes. We want to behold you as you are.

I love the powerful imagery of v9:

Zion is addressed as the herald of good news (one Heb. word). Gk translation“evangelist” (i.e. messenger of the gospel)

Zion, The messenger of good news is instructed to go on a high mountain and lift her voice with strength, i.e. “shout at the top of her lungs” for all the cities to hear. Everyone needs to hear this!

Acts 1:8 “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

Isaiah & OT prophets, Good news: Behold the Lord comes… (v10)

The Church in the NT: Good news: Behold the Lord has come!

Behold your God. What do you see? Look at his arms!

v.10 - His arm rules for him

v.11 - He will gather the lams in his arms

Behold your God: He is mighty and gentle

He is strong & tender

He is an unstoppable shepherd

Behold His Might

Isaiah 40:10 “10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”

God’s arm is a synonym of his mighty power to save.

Deuteronomy 26:8 “8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders.”

Isaiah 33:2 “2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.”

The prophet Isaiah draws attention to God’s mighty arm by stating, “Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him.”

“The synonyms reward & recompense describe what he has ‘earned’ by his victory.” (Alec Motyer)

“These words [reward & recompense … refer to the spoils of victory; but in this case the spoils are the rescued exiles.” R.N. Whybray quoted on The Expositor’s Bible Commentary

What we see here is the Lord Jesus bringing back his people back home from exile.

Nothing can stop Jesus from achieving his redeeming purposes. Not even death.

John 10:11 “11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

John 10:17-18 “17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. ”

Hebrews 13:20 “20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep.

Behold our God: Through his death and resurrection, Jesus delivers sinners from the power of sin and death (gospel).

Notice something else about his arms. Not only are they powerful to rescue but also gentle and tender like a shepherd.

Behold His Tenderness

v.11. “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

Throughout the Bible, God’s people are referred as sheep and God as shepherd.

Sheep need constant care and guidance (we are prone to wonder). When I read v.11 I wrote, “You need a lot of gentleness and patient to be a shepherd.”

Let me show you a video of me and Jesus the shepherd.

I want you to remember one phrase this morning.

Jesus your Shepherd knows your situation, he cares, and he will provide.

He tends his flock like a shepherd

The reason why Jesus the shepherd feeds and watches over the sheep is because they are HIS. He purchased them with his own blood.

Jesus your Shepherd knows your situation, he cares, and he will provide.

Psalm 23 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

He gathers the lambs in his arms

What a powerful imagery: Jesus the Shepherd calls us to find rest and safety in his arms.

He is our sovereign Shepherd. That means that no matter how far we’ve gone we are only at arm’s length of our Shepherd.

He rescues those who cry out.

Jesus your Shepherd knows your situation, he cares, and he will provide.

He carries the lambs in his bosom

He is carries them close to his heart. He comforts them in their pain and sorrow.

Jesus the Shepherd is gentle and tender.

Don’t forget his also mighty. He will guard you and protect you.

John 10:28-29 “28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

The hand of Christ is beneath us, and the hand of the Father is above us. Thus we are secured between the clasped hands of Omnipotence - A.W. Pink

He gently leads those that are with young.

NLT, “He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.”

Jesus, the good Shepherd is a compassionate and patient.

A-Sheep-Like-Faith blog

When a shepherd calls to the sheep that it is time to move the herd, sometimes the new moms will not or cannot follow.  While her new lamb is often fast enough, even immediately after birth, to keep up with the pace of the adults in the flock, little lambs still do tire more quickly.

Leading a “mother sheep”, “gently” means the Shepherd is not only aware of the mother’s concern for her babies, and her torn desire between keeping up with the herd, and keeping up with a baby that needs time, but that He is also sensitive to it and willingly takes action to help her with her concerns. 

Have you ever felt torn in some way between “following your Shepherd” and all your responsibilities?  Have you ever wondered if God is just waiting for you to “get with it”, blind to all you are trying to juggle?  Do not worry!  Your Shepherd is not frustrated with you!  He is not a judge, sitting back, criticizing you for all you cannot keep up with, for all you feel like you “fail” to do.  He understands your responsibilities He Himself has entrusted you with. He leads you gently.  He is not demanding you “keep up” with Him, with any particular demands for service or performance “in spite of” all you have going on.  He wants to give you rest and support.  He looks at you with understanding and compassion.  He understands the unique needs of your particular circumstances far better than you do, and likely He is not nearly as hard on you as you are on yourself.

Jesus your Shepherd knows your situation, he cares, and he will provide.

Conclusion:

Behold your God! He is mighty and gentle. He came down from heaven to deliver you from the power of sin and death. He longs to pick you up and carry you close to his heart.

Will you let him?

Where in your life do you need comfort? Where do you need provision? Where do you need guidance? What makes your heart feel restless?