Year 9, Day 24: Isaiah 40

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Isaiah 40 begins with a voice of hope.  In fact, it is such a voice of hope that the passage is quoted into the New Testament and used in reference to the coming of God’s Messiah.  The amount of hope meant to be contained in this chapter is similar to the amount of hope that God desires to come to us through His Son.  Prepare the way of the Lord!

Remember what Isaiah has been talking about.  The people of Israel went into exile under Assyria.  Much of Judah was conquered by Assyria as well.  Only the people in Jerusalem were spared from the Assyrian judgment.  In the past two chapters, Isaiah has looked forward to the return from exile.  Into this context we hear Isaiah proclaim that we are to prepare the way of the Lord!

The reason that the Hebrew people went into exile was because they abandoned the ways of the Lord.  Therefore, the people returning from exile will return after repentance have occurred and the ways of the Lord have been embraced.  Forgiveness and restoration naturally follow genuine repentance.  When we prepare the ways of the Lord – when we genuinely repent and follow Him – we fid ourselves back under the protection, guidance, and provision of the Lord.  When we prepare the ways of the Lord, we are in the relationship that He intended to have with us.

This is why this chapter speaks so loudly into the story of John the Baptizer and the coming of Jesus.  John is calling people into repentance.  John is asking people to change their ways and return to the Lord.  John knows that the path to peace and hope begins with our repentance and embracing God’s wisdom.

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