The Prophecy of Isaiah - Lesson 31: “God’s People Are Coming Home!” (Isaiah 40:1-31)

The Prophecy of Isaiah: A Bible Study
Lesson 31: “God’s People Are Coming Home!” (Isaiah 40:1-31)*

1) God Will  Lead  His People Home (Isaiah 40:1–11)

a) Comfort, Comfort My People (Isaiah 40:1–2)

¹ Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. ² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1–2, NIV)

b) God Will Show His  Glory  (Isaiah 40:3–8)

i) He Will  Prepare  a Way (Isaiah 40:3–5)

³ A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. ⁵ And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3–5, NIV)

ii) He Will  Encourage  the Discouraged (Isaiah 40:6–8)

⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. ⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. ⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:6–8, NIV)

c) God’s  Coming  Will Be Amazing (Isaiah 40:9–11)

⁹ You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” ¹⁰ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. ¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. (Isaiah 40:9–11, NIV)

2) Description of God’s  Wisdom  and  Power  (Isaiah 40:12–31)

a) God Is a Wise  Creator  (Isaiah 40:12–17)

i) Ten Rhetorical  Questions  Make the Point (Isaiah 40:12–14)

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? ¹³ Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? ¹⁴ Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? (Isaiah 40:12–14, NIV)

ii) God’s Power  Dwarfs  the Nations’ Power (Isaiah 40:15–17)

¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. ¹⁶ Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. ¹⁷ Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. (Isaiah 40:15–17, NIV)

b) God Is beyond  Comparison  (Isaiah 40:18–20)

¹⁸ With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? ¹⁹ As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. ²⁰ A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple. (Isaiah 40:18–20, NIV)

c) God Is the  Sovereign  (Isaiah 40:21–26)

²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? ²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. ²³ He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. ²⁴ No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. ²⁵ “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:21–26, NIV)

d) God Is Israel’s Source of  Strength  (Isaiah 40:27–31)

i) Jacob Has  Forgotten  God’s Strength (Isaiah 40:27)

²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? (Isaiah 40:27, NIV)

ii) The  All-Wise  God Never Tires (Isaiah 40:28–29)

²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:28–29, NIV)

iii) Israel Must  Hope  in the Lord (Isaiah 40:30–31)

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; ³¹ but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30–31, NIV)

*This lesson outline is adapted from Bryan E. Beyer, Encountering the Book of Isaiah: A Historical and Theological Survey, Encountering Biblical Studies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007).