The Greatness of God on Display (Isaiah 40–48)

What if comfort wasn’t a mood but a promise strong enough to carry exiles home and lift the tired off the ground? We journey through Isaiah 40–48 and trace a line from “Comfort, comfort my people” to the soaring image of eagles’ wings, then into the startling precision of a named deliverer, Cyrus, long before he steps onto the world stage. Along the way, we meet the Servant who brings justice without breaking bruised reeds, the God who never grows weary, and the Creator who formed life in the womb and shaped the earth to be inhabited.

We talk through why waiting on the Lord is not passive endurance but an exchange of weakness for strength. We consider how Isaiah’s servant songs illuminate a Savior who brings light to the nations and opens blind eyes, and why the claim “Besides me there is no Savior” shuts the door on every rival. History becomes more than dates and dynasties when God calls the end from the beginning and topples Babylon’s idols that cannot carry their worshipers. The fall of empires sits alongside the rise of hope, and the thread holding it all together is the Lord’s steady, personal care.

Creation frames the conversation: the universe stretched out by God’s hands, the earth uniquely designed for life, and human dignity rooted in being formed and known. We share a story that drives the point home—foretellers may guess the future, but the living God knows your name. If you’ve felt worn down or uncertain about what’s ahead, this exploration of Isaiah’s Book of Consolation offers clarity, courage, and a fresh reason to keep walking.

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Transcript

Comfort And The Coming Messiah

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Through the centuries, Jewish rabbis have called Isaiah chapter 40, now through the end of the book, the Book of Consolation. That's because this section contains some of the most encouraging passages in all the book of Isaiah. And that's because really we're about to see the greatness of God on display. Beginning here now at chapter 40, Isaiah reveals the greatness of God in his compassion. Verse 1 says, Comfort, comfort my people, says your God, speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended and that her iniquity is pardoned. Well, the immediate application of this prophecy is the return of the Jewish people to their land following their exile. But there's also now a future application to the coming Messiah whose sacrifice will pardon his people forever. Isaiah gives his readers a sign of the coming Messiah here in verse three, and it might sound familiar to you. A voice cries, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. You know, all four Gospels in the New Testament will quote this verse from Isaiah in relation to John the Baptist, who was preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah. Now, can God's compassion last seven hundred plus years from the time of this prophecy in Isaiah all the way to the arrival of John the Baptist? I mean, isn't God going to grow a little weary of Israel? Oh no. In fact, Isaiah says here in verse 28, The Lord does not faint or grow weary. This same truth, by the way, enables you and me to walk with God today. How? Well, Isaiah tells us here in the next verse. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength. They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. That Hebrew verb for renew means to exchange. We're going to exchange our weakness for God's strength. And when we do that, watch what happens here in verse thirty one. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Four times, by the way, in verses twenty eight to thirty-one, the word faint is used. Neither God nor those who wait upon the Lord will faint. That is, grow weary. Now you might get weary as you walk with God, but you're not going to grow weary of your walk with God. That's the point. Now here in chapter 41, we see the greatness of God in his sovereign control. God's going to judge these unbelieving nations, by the way. He's going to judge them through the one he raises up. In fact, in chapters 44 and 45, Isaiah gives us the name of this man who's going to be the agent of God's judgment, Cyrus, king of Persia. And I want you to get this, beloved. Cyrus hasn't even been born yet. It's going to be 160 years before Cyrus rises to crush the Babylonian Empire and bring an end to Judah's captivity. So this is a stunning prophecy. It reveals the precision of God's knowledge, but also God's control. He already knows by name who's going to set his people free. Well, here in chapters 42 and 43, now we're shown the greatness of God in his condescension. What you have here are the first of four servant songs they're called in Isaiah. Isaiah is now giving us a description of the coming Messiah. For instance, Isaiah tells us here in chapter 42 that the servant Messiah will bring forth justice, here in verse 1. He'll bring the light of God's revelation to the nations, here in verse 6. He'll open the eyes of the blind, here in verse 7. He'll also be our God and Savior. In chapter 43 and verse 11, God says, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. See, this is God condescending, that is, he's humbling himself. God the Son became a man, a servant, in order to save us. Now, chapters forty-four and forty-five reveal the greatness of God in his creation. See, God has his hands all over the future. In fact, he's been involved in your past and mine all the way back to when your life began at conception. Chapter 44 and verse 2 reads, Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb. Verse 24 says, Thus says the Lord your Redeemer who formed you from the womb. Let me just say something here about these verses. You know, when a woman is carrying a child, she isn't just making decisions about her body. In fact, that baby ultimately doesn't even belong to her. That newly formed life in her belongs to, owes its very existence to God who is creating and crafting it. In fact, my body doesn't even belong to me either. We're ultimately responsible to God, our creator. Now on a much larger scale here in chapter forty-five, God says here in verse twelve I made the earth and created man on it. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their hosts. Well, what do you know? This is God's uniquely designed planet as well. Have you ever noticed how the Bible speaks of the universe and then focuses on the earth, even though the earth is a small dot in the universe? Genesis 1 1 says it this way, in the beginning God created the heavens, that is the universe, and the earth. Well, why this focus on the earth? The earth is part of the universe, the heavens. Well, because the earth is unique. It's the focus of God's creation and redemption. In fact, Isaiah says even more here in verse 18. For thus says the Lord who created the heavens, who formed the earth and made it, he established it, he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited. Don't miss that. God uniquely formed the earth differently from the rest of the universe. He made it earth to be inhabited. Beloved, that should settle all the theories. Frankly, it should settle all the fear of, you know, some alien race out there who might invade the earth and use us all for science experiments. You know, had the Bible been followed, beloved, billions of dollars could have been saved instead of searching for aliens or even another planet to live on. Why? Because God clearly tells us here that the universe He created is empty. That Hebrew word means uninhabitable. But the earth alone is uniquely custom made to be inhabited, to sustain life. And let me tell you, this gives your life, by the way, special meaning. There is a God who created you, who loves you, who made a way for you to live with him forever one day, and in the meantime created a planet uniquely designed for you to enjoy. Well, now here in chapters forty six and forty-seven, we're shown the greatness of God in his conquest. Isaiah predicts the downfall of Babylon and all her false gods. Verse 1 says, Bel bows down, Nebo stoops, they themselves go into captivity. In other words, these gods are supposed to be all great and you know powerful Babylonian gods. Well, Isaiah predicts they're not all that great. In fact, they're not even going to be able to save Babylon from Cyrus and the Persian army. Well, now here in chapter 48, uh Isaiah describes the greatness of God in his care. He's not going to forget his people. In fact, Isaiah stresses that God, God even knows the names of Jacob and Israel, not just Cyrus. He knows his people by name. And let me tell you, uh friends, God knows your name as well. Back in chapter 43 and verse 1, the Lord had said, Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, and you are mine. I remember several years ago I was in India preaching in a number of states, and one evening I was put up in a beautiful hotel, frankly the most opulent hotel I've ever I've ever been in. The contrast to the poverty outside was something I've never forgotten. I walked into this ornate marble lobby, and while my host took care of the details at the front desk, I noticed a a beautiful room off to the side. It had white carpet, white linens on the wall. I walked over and I looked inside, and a man dressed in white clothing, he was wearing a white turban, he came over and greeted me. And he said in perfect English, Sir, if you will come in, I will tell you your future. I said to him, You can tell me my future? And he he smiled and he said, Absolutely. Well, of course I told him I wasn't interested, but he pressed me to come inside, and then the thought occurred to me, and I looked at him and I said, Tell you what, I'll allow you to tell me my future if you can first tell me my name. Well, he kind of smiled and said, I can't do that. I said to him, Well, how do you know what my future is if you don't even know my name? And he looked down and just kind of remained quiet. Let me tell you something. If you're a Christian, you're not only following a God who knows your future, he's a God who also knows your name. Let's walk with him today. Well, until our next wisdom journey, beloved. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.