Bible Study for February 5, 2012 Sermon

Imagine yourself in the midst of Isaiah 40's setting:  You and other survivors of your people are in exile in Babylon, hundred of miles away from home.  Your leader is gone.  The Temple is in ruins.  Jerusalem walls are knocked down.  Wild animals roam the streets.  Members of your family and most friends are dead or missing.  Everything you hold dear is uprooted.  You look around and wonder, "Where is your God?"  You understood that your God, the God of your people and of your ancestors, would protect you from all this destruction and death.  You wonder "if the other gods are indeed more powerful than your God."  All kinds of questions continue: do the other gods control the natural world and the destiny of nations.  You ponder!

And then your remember the warning that the prophets proclaimed loud and clear, that God would bring judgment upon people who worshipped other gods but claimed to be God's people, upon immoralities, injustices, and especially upon all who failed to trust God.  You ponder!

Where is God now in the God-forsaken land?  If this is the consequences of ignoring the prophets warning, if this is the consequences of not trusing God, does God still care for the nations?  You grieve!  You are discouraged!  You are weary and tired in body, mind and spirit.  You anguish over what you see and what you ponder.  You cry big tears and fear for yourself and for all that you hold dear.

And then you feel in your heart of hearts, and hear in your mind of minds these words:  "Comfort, O comfort my people.  Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.  They shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint." 

Great news!  God has not forsaken his people, but did what was warned of.  And now, God forgives the people!  Those taken into exile and those left behind around Jerusalem have been forgiven.  God is a forgiving God! 

In our day we need to hear again the words of Isaiah.  The defeated, downtroddened people will become God's Good-News-Spreaders.  That is what Isaiah was, what Jesus was, what the church is to be, what we are to be.  The rebellious can be forgiven/  The destroyed can be restored.  The crushed will become the Good-News-Spreaders.  Who better than they?

The content of this good news seems to be bad news.  People are but grasshoppers to the transcendent, sovereign God.  People are short lived like grass and flowers that quickly wither away in the scourching wind of God.  Even so, the Word of the Lord will stand forever!  This good news is the Good News.  The awesome heavens worshipped by others is but a gauzy curtain-like tent where God lives.  The great leaders of nations who are feared by ignorant people are mere lightweight trifles to God, who quickly plucks them up by their shallow roots and blows them away as though they are nothing, like tumbleweeds in a windstorm.

God then asks the listener, "To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal?"  The Lord is the incomparable one!  The Lord God is the Creator, the lone God.  The sun, moon, stars, and planets were all made by God.  The Milky Way is created by God.  God knows how many stars there are and names them.  Nothing is lost to God.  God can have roll call.  Everything is part of God'ss creation and will work in harnomy with all parts.  If not, then God will make corrections.  God is God!

Like in Isaiah's days, people became arrogant and began to disregard God and abandon God's design for creation, visible and invisible.  The sinful people began to pout and suggest and state that God does not know them or care about them and their situation.  Of course this is silly thinking but very dangerous.  God's design and warnings are not negated by pouty childish, rebellious people.

But there is one condition!  It is those who "wait for the Lord" will be renewed; those who trust the Lord will become strong, run and not be weary, walk with vigor, and even fly like eagles.  God does not grow weary and thereby will not let faithful people either.  Therefore, by our faith we keep working in new and effective ways in being "Good-News-Spreaders".  We look to the future with anticipation.  We don't know what the future will bring, nor how our "Good-News-Spreader" contribution will effect the future, but we journey with confidence and trust.  We take one step at a time.

Verses 21 and 28 associate hearning with knowing and understanding. And if we understand, we will experience God's comfort and again trust God alone.  We are forgiven and will come to know and understand this.  We, also, are restored and reinvigorated.  The majesty of God the Creator will strengthen us, will being us home.  The Lord will feed his sheep, carry his lambs, hold all close to his heart.  He will gently lead all. 

And so, we look around and see what is happening!  We know God is making all things right!