Monday: Presence, Word and Roadwork
Isa: 40:3-8
How do God’s people receive comfort? Isa: 40:1-8.
An unnamed herald announces that God is coming to reveal His glory (Isa: 40:3-5). Another voice proclaims that although humans are transient like foliage, “the word of our God will stand forever” (Isa: 40:8, NRSV).
Image © Kevin Carden from GoodSalt.com
After the exile, God’s people gain back what they had received at Mount Sinai and then rejected all through their apostasy, for which they were punished: God’s presence and His word. These are the basic ingredients of God’s covenant with Israel, which were enshrined at His sanctuary in their midst (Exod: 25:8, Exodus 25:16). Because they had violated His word, God had abandoned His temple (Ezekiel 9-11), but He is coming back. His presence and His eternally dependable Word bring comfort, deliverance, and hope.
What preparation is necessary for the Lord’s coming? Isa: 40:3-5.
It is not fitting for a king to be jolted by a rough road. So his coming is preceded by roadwork. The more so for the King of kings! His coming, apparently from the east, where He has been in exile with His people as a sanctuary to them (Ezek: 11:16), would require major rearrangement of the terrain. Construction of a literal, level superhighway through the rugged hills east of Jerusalem would be daunting, even with dynamite and bulldozers. God is the only One who can do the work; it is He who turns “the rough places into level ground” (Isa: 42:16, NRSV). But He doesn’t need a literal road for transportation because He has an airborne chariot of cherubim (Ezekiel 1, 9-11).
The New Testament explicitly applies Isaiah’s prophecy to the spiritual roadwork accomplished through the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt: 3:3). His message was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt: 3:2, NRSV) and the baptism that he performed was “of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4, NRSV). So, the roadwork was repentance, willingness to turn away from sin, in order to receive the comfort of God’s forgiveness and presence.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 proclaimed the same spiritual message in plenty of time for the exiles of Judah to understand the spiritual nature of roadwork for God. In this passage, the Lord promises those who are willing a fresh start: a “new covenant” in which He puts His law in their hearts and pledges to be their God. They know Him and His character, because He has forgiven them.
| Read carefully Isaiah 40:6-8. What hope can you, who fade away as does the grass, derive from what these verses say? What should they warn us against putting our trust in? |
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Last year we travelled up to Queensland on the Pacific Highway to visit Carmel’s aging parents. COVID had meant that interstate travel was simply not allowed, so when they opened the Queensland border to NSW we quickly drove up the coast to bring a bit of cheer and happiness to Carmel’s parents. This time around we were in for a pleasant change. For the last few years the road authorities had been working on about 150km of new road between Grafton and Ballina. Up until now the old highway was a simply two-lane road that followed the banks of some large rivers with floodplains. Further, the road passed though several small towns, which, although rather picturesque, slowed the traffic to a crawl. The new dual carriage highway was open and took a completely different route. Furthermore, long low bridges crossed the floodplains. The road was almost straight and I reckon that it saved us at least 30 minutes of travel time. We came back home a week later amid some really heavy rain. The old highway was cut in several places and I admit to having a little smile to myself as we passed over the floodplains without having to worry about water depth.
The new straight road made driving a delight compared to the crooked flood-prone road that we had put up with for many years.
The New Testament quite rightly applies this passage to the work of John the Baptist, but it should not be overlooked that it applies to us as well. And I don’t just mean in the sense that we are to prepare people for Jesus Second Coming. There is a work to be done in preparing folk to meet Jesus now. We are called to be road-builders for the present, not just the future. Sometimes, we fall into the trap of arguing about who has the right to operate the bulldozers, but nothing should detract from the responsibility God has given us.
If straightning the highway saved you 30 minutes. If only we straighten the pathway to the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ how we can hasten the coming of the Lord.
What does the straighten of the pathway for our king look like?
Confess and Repent of your sin. No longer need to run and hide from his presence. (Romans 10:9)
New Creation – Live according to the Spirit of God who gives discernment of right and wrong (Romans 8)
Prepare – Prepare the people around you with awareness of His coming (Matthew 28:18-20)
Matthew 24:14
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
Jesus said, "Behold I come quickly."
He is waiting on us to get on the straight and narrow highway.
It's our duty to prepare the way for the second coming of our messiah. We as Christian of nowadays we are the one to stand like John the Baptist deed in his time. He didn't wait for the second thought but he just stand on his feet and started shouting everywhere around the whole nations and to every people. So even us let's stand up for the truth we have about our Lord is enough for us to proclaim the message to the world by all means. Let our Theme be like of prophet Isaiah when he said" I WILL GO"LORD send me. Isaiah 6:8. God bless us as we prepare the way for our Lord Jesus Christ so that His second coming must be not delay.
Amen
I see Isaiah 40:3-8 in the story of Jairus. Reading from Mark 5:
Jairus was at his wit's end. His young daughter was about to die. It probably took some deliberation with his wife and finally he decided to leave his responsibilities as a synagogue ruler for the journey, to risk losing his job as a result of going to Jesus, to admit that he was needy, to humble himself to seek out Jesus for healing. Jairus had to get over some mountains of pride to reach Jesus.
Then after he contacted Jesus, he had to wait for Jesus to heal someone else first! (Some more mountains, the "me first" mountains of Ego.) When the news reached Jairus that his daughter had indeed died during the wait, he must have plunged into a deep valley of despair. He had to trust Jesus to continue on and allow "the Teacher" to come back home with him anyway.
When they arrived home at the scene, there was a group there who made fun of Jesus for saying that the little girl was only sleeping. They could see with their own eyes, and they had heard the doctors pronounce, that she was dead. It was obvious. Jesus was crazy. So Jesus put all of these people out of the house and they never witnessed the miracle. Jesus gave strict orders to the parents to not even tell anyone what happened. Don't share the details with these mocking friends.
We don't get to see Jesus, our Messiah, by remaining in a curious crowd full of unbelief. The only way the people of Jerusalem could recognize and welcome their Messiah was with a changed heart. Mountains of religious pride would need to be leveled. Those in the valley of despair and depression because of their broken lives would need to be lifted up. Our lives are a barren landscape without Jesus. People seek fulfillment on dead-end roads - material prosperity, education and degrees, amusement (the road the Prodigal son took), relationships, jobs, projects, religion that that is self-satisfied and self-centered.
We can't even get to Jesus without Him drawing us. Repentance is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts showing us these mountains and valleys and dead ends, convicting us of not only how much sin hurts us but also how much it hurts God, and pointing us to Jesus. The Spirit gives us the divine road map of His Word "that shall stand forever" (Is. 40:8). We hear Jesus say, come off your mountain of pride, “Don't be afraid, only believe.” We hear Jesus say, here's my hand reaching to you down in that valley of pain, “.... I tell you to get up!”
May we accept Jesus' invitations so that the glory of the Lord is revealed through us for everyone to see and receive God's healing (Is. 40:5).
Two points that impact my thoughts in today's study guide:
Firstly the issue the LORD had with His people was not so much breaking the rules but worshiping themselves or other gods. In other words deciding whom they loved and who made their rules.
Secondly the way to understand Jer 31:31-34 is given to us in other passages like Eze 16 and the book of Hosea where the LORD's relationship with His people is likened to a marriage. The tribes of Judah & Benjamin "divorced" the LORD, but He is offering to re-marry them on the same terms as the first time - His Law in their hearts.
Presence, Word and Roadwork
Isaiah was a human who was sent with the message about deliverance but the Lord did not used Isiah to delivered the people. Those passages to me have a triple meaning.
1. While we can be looking back to Isiah present day/time about the deliverance of the children from physical slavery, he is also pointing them to Christ first and second coming.
2. Isa 40:3. Matt 3:3. Mark 1:3. Luke 3:4. John 1:23. How ironic it is that the same message is repeated in all four of the gospel.
The question for me is; what were the state of the people who called themselves Israelites and Christians were/are in that the voice came with stern rebuke. Isiah had a strong message for the people to remove from sin. John the Baptist did not mixed his words either. He spoke out openly about sins and what was going on both in the temple and out of the temple. As a result he paid for it with his life. In our time, are we preparing to speak the truth as it is coming from the word like John the Baptiste or are we softening up on what is truth.
As a result of speaking the truth we must be prepare to die. Are we preparing to die or do we want to live to enjoy the sins of this world and be destroyed when Christ return?
Many times I heard we should not be preaching certain things from the pulpit because of what can happen. One of the problem can be when state and church join hands together, the water becomes muddy.
I do my part to tell men and women about the gospel. I know I will be sold out someday or die someday so I don't claim ownership to anything.
John the Baptist condemned the leaders and called them generations of vipers. We don't hear those strong words being preach these days. Matt 3:7-12. People wants to hear the smooth message and to cont. living in sins. If we have a message, we must preach in love but we must let people know they are living in sins.
Humbly accepting God’s Word when it comes to myself, there’s no way I can ignore the fragile nature of my existence.
This is especially true when I accept His description of Himself and the promises of hope for a spiritual change. I can no longer place my hope in myself or others like me.
God is my Comfort, my hope and His Word is the determining factor in my lifestyle and actions.
Lyn seems to be saying that we must loudly point out the sins of the society. I agree but at the same time we must point out that God is willing to forgive their sins not willing that any should perish. I once confronted a dear friend who was always ready to condemn but seldom mentioned the willingness of God to forgive. Loving parents punish when necessary but prefer to forgive. This attribute they receive from God.
In everything God does, I have learned to always keep the bigger picture in mind. In modern times, the quality of the electronically displayed picture is enhanced based on how many pixels are present – the more pixels the better the clarity of the picture. I see this to also be true of the communication picture we ‘see/have’ with the God who holds all things in His hands; the more pixels, the better the clarity of the picture. To help with this, prophets were sent to enhance the ‘clarity’ of the ‘Word of God’, because the ‘inner man’ could not see it clear enough with his spiritual eyes.
God is omniscient and omnipresent, He is not bound to/by time and space. He transfers to the faithful believer understanding through His Holy Spirit, revealing Himself through communication with our mind and heart as well as through acts of loving righteousness and justice. In everything we experience, God relates to man in the context of His Spirit's ultimate goal - adding pixels to enhance the understanding of the bigger picture - Salvation.
I believe, the greatest need for the Christian community is to learn to identify the Father’s voice which He uses when communicating with us – the Holy Spirit’s voice. Then, Prophets and Priests where appointed to bring the Father’s message to the people; to enhance its clarity, definition, depth and with that, increase the ‘comprehension-quality’ of the bigger picture of the Word of God - Salvation. Today, we benefit from gifted people like Ellen White and others who help clarify the spiritual and practical application/meaning of the Word of God; though nothing is as all-inclusive and effectual as the Word of God revealed by the Spirit of God directly.
The time will come when the adversary makes one last, worldwide attempt to deceive all nations; to scramble/interfere with the clarity of the message of the ‘Word of God” – Christ Jesus. Yes, the spiritual roadwork is done in our hearts and minds, but the road’s foundation is FAITH.
Every good road receives its stability from a good foundation. Its layers are carefully prepared, including excavation to remove unstable soil and building up the roadbed with new material to improve stability and flexibility – assuring integrity; the better the road’s foundation, the better the road holds up under heavy traffic!
What are the layers of our spiritual ‘road’s’ foundation; how do we prepare the heart and mind to stay strong, not get worn down in the time of the ‘rush-hour’ designed by the adversary to overwhelm the capacity of our heart and mind’s ‘highway’ – Isa.40:3KJV; Matt.7:24-27KJV?
Each faith-based act of spiritual/practical communication with the Father provides an additional pixel to help enhance the clarity of the bigger picture of our Salvation; with ever increasing spiritual clarity, our Faith and Trust in His living Word Christ Jesus and His everlasting Promises will withstand any type of traffic designed to destroy the stability of the living soul's heart and mind.
"The time will come when the adversary makes one last, worldwide attempt to deceive all nations; to scramble/interfere with the clarity of the message of the ‘Word of God” – Christ Jesus. Yes, the spiritual roadwork is done in our hearts and minds, but the road’s foundation is FAITH.
Every good road receives its stability from a good foundation. Its layers are carefully prepared, including excavation to remove unstable soil and building up the roadbed with new material to improve stability and flexibility – assuring integrity; the better the road’s foundation, the better the road holds up under heavy traffic!
What are the layers of our spiritual ‘road’s’ foundation; how do we prepare the heart and mind to stay strong, not get worn down in the time of the ‘rush-hour’ designed by the adversary to overwhelm the capacity of our heart and mind’s ‘highway’ – Isa.40:3KJV; Matt.7:24-27KJV?"
What a blessing to my weary soul!
Blessings, my sister!
Thank you, Norma - how nice to receive your kind comment. I pray and hope that God's joy will replace the weariness in your soul soon.
The question at the end of today's lesson asks - Why is it good to recount in your mind the way the Lord has led you?
Recounting helps us to reflect on, and assimilate our experiences. Recounting how the Lord has led us, should result in us growing more in Christ because He has led us perfectly. If we are honest, we will accept that the bumps along the way are sometimes a result of our own waywardness. If we are honest we would appreciate that our strength is renewed daily ...like eagles at times even. Many times we run in this race of life; because He is leading us, we do not feel tired & weary. We walk daily; fainteth not.
Let us heed Isaiah 40:31. Continue to wait upon the Lord, because He has been good; the best is waiting.
The word of God, and His “exceeding great and precious promises” bring comfort to the believer. The Psalmist writes: “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me”. What does that mean? In some instances, these represent the protection of the Lord against the enemies of His people. In others, it represents His correction of a son He loves. In another place, it describes a means for measuring and examining in order to understand(Rev 11:1). God Himself is the comfort of His people by the means He has ordained.
Jesus' coming will affect every soul. The proud will be abased, the meek and lowly of heart will be lifted up. We can understand why Jesus said "Blessed are the meek" can't we?