Three Weeks Before...
Open your Trip Bible , mark it with your
trip highlighter, Isaiah 40:1-31
Open your Trip Bible , mark it with your
trip highlighter, Isaiah 40:1-31
Personal Bible Study - Just three weeks before our trip to Israel & Egypt...
“It Is Well with My Soul”
Please look up, and mark in your Trip Bible, Isaiah 40:1-31
So, how can all be "well", especially the times in life when things sure doesn’t seem very “well” to me?
A. The Announcement of Comfort (40:1-5)
The announcement from God in heaven (40:1-2)
Three promises of God here foreshadow the three main themes of Isaiah 40-66.
1. "Her warfare is accomplished" - Israel's deliverance from Babylon (Isaiah 40-48)
2. "Her iniquity is pardoned" - looks to Israel's redemption from sin (Isaiah 49-57)
3. "She has received . . . double" - looks to Israel's double portion of blessing in
the future (Isaiah 58-66) [For this use of "double" see also Isaiah 61:7.]
The announcement from a voice in the wilderness (40:3-5)
The "wilderness" being described in this passage is the rugged Judean
wilderness that lies between Jerusalem and Jericho and along the western edge of the Dead Sea.
v. 4 is a perfect picture of this land, offering hope by showing that God can "change the unchangeable."
1. The call to preparation (v. 3)
2. The removal of all obstacles (v. 4)
3. The appearance of God's glory (v. 5)
B. The Causes for Comfort (40:6-26)
1st. The certainty of God's Word (40:6-8)
1. People are temporal (vv. 6-8a)
Prophet Isaiah describes the grass and flowers that grow in the Judean wilderness during the
winter rainy season. Once the rains end and the hot east wind blows in the from the Arabian desert,
the grass and flowers wither and die.
2. God's Word stands forever (v. 8b)
People, problems, and circumstances come and go just like wildflowers in the wilderness.
But we can find hope in God's Word of promise that will never fail.
2nd. The security of God's character (40:9-26)
1. God's power and love are constant (vv. 9-11)
Isaiah challenges the people to look closely at the character God who offers them comfort & deliverance.
a. God has the might of a conquering hero (vv. 9-10)
b. God has the compassion of a tender shepherd (v. 11)
2. God's strength is mightier than any enemy or opposition (vv. 12-26)
Isaiah asks and then answers a series of questions to show that God is superior to any possible enemy we might face. Wow! Our God is bigger than any of our problems! Let’s see…
First: God is superior to nations (vv. 12-17)
(1) The questions (vv. 12-14)
(2) The application to God (vv. 15-17)
Second: God is superior to idols (vv. 18-20)
(1) The questions (v. 18)
(2) The application to God (vv. 19-20)
Third: God is superior to human leaders (vv. 21-24)
(1) The questions (v. 21)
(2) The application to God (vv. 22-24)
Fourth: God is superior to all cosmic forces (vv. 25-26)
(1) The questions (v. 25)
(2) The application to God (v. 26)
C. The Requirements for Receiving His Comfort (40:27-31)
1st. Remember God's goodness (40:27-28)
1. The complaint: God doesn't know or care for me (v. 27)
2. The solution: Realize God's awesome character and power (v. 28)
God made all
God sustains all
God understands all
2nd. Wait upon God to solve your problems (40:29-31)
1. Human strength will fail (vv. 29-30)
2. Those who depend on God's strength will succeed (v. 31)
The Bottom Line:
We’ll be driving through the Judean wilderness on our way south from Galilee, then turning west when we leave Jericho to go up to Jerusalem. We'll be there again as we drive southeast from Jerusalem down to Masada and the Dead Sea – the lowest spot on earth. This rugged terrain served as an object lesson to the people of Israel.
Standing as an obstacle between Jerusalem and Jericho - harsh, foreboding, and unchangeable, it symbolized their problems that often seemed unsolvable, overwhelming, and downright discouraging. God's reminder to them and to us in troublesome times is to focus in on Him and not ourselves, on His power & not our problems.
Everywhere we go on our pilgrimage, and if we look carefully here at home too, we will see reminders of God's power, provision, promises and faithfulness. He IS more powerful than our problems, much stronger than our struggles, and He wants to bear us up on wings as eagles!
God who can change the craggy wilderness into a smooth plain is the very One who can cause us to say, even when facing our trials,
"It is well, it is well with my soul!"
“It Is Well with My Soul”
Please look up, and mark in your Trip Bible, Isaiah 40:1-31
So, how can all be "well", especially the times in life when things sure doesn’t seem very “well” to me?
A. The Announcement of Comfort (40:1-5)
The announcement from God in heaven (40:1-2)
Three promises of God here foreshadow the three main themes of Isaiah 40-66.
1. "Her warfare is accomplished" - Israel's deliverance from Babylon (Isaiah 40-48)
2. "Her iniquity is pardoned" - looks to Israel's redemption from sin (Isaiah 49-57)
3. "She has received . . . double" - looks to Israel's double portion of blessing in
the future (Isaiah 58-66) [For this use of "double" see also Isaiah 61:7.]
The announcement from a voice in the wilderness (40:3-5)
The "wilderness" being described in this passage is the rugged Judean
wilderness that lies between Jerusalem and Jericho and along the western edge of the Dead Sea.
v. 4 is a perfect picture of this land, offering hope by showing that God can "change the unchangeable."
1. The call to preparation (v. 3)
2. The removal of all obstacles (v. 4)
3. The appearance of God's glory (v. 5)
B. The Causes for Comfort (40:6-26)
1st. The certainty of God's Word (40:6-8)
1. People are temporal (vv. 6-8a)
Prophet Isaiah describes the grass and flowers that grow in the Judean wilderness during the
winter rainy season. Once the rains end and the hot east wind blows in the from the Arabian desert,
the grass and flowers wither and die.
2. God's Word stands forever (v. 8b)
People, problems, and circumstances come and go just like wildflowers in the wilderness.
But we can find hope in God's Word of promise that will never fail.
2nd. The security of God's character (40:9-26)
1. God's power and love are constant (vv. 9-11)
Isaiah challenges the people to look closely at the character God who offers them comfort & deliverance.
a. God has the might of a conquering hero (vv. 9-10)
b. God has the compassion of a tender shepherd (v. 11)
2. God's strength is mightier than any enemy or opposition (vv. 12-26)
Isaiah asks and then answers a series of questions to show that God is superior to any possible enemy we might face. Wow! Our God is bigger than any of our problems! Let’s see…
First: God is superior to nations (vv. 12-17)
(1) The questions (vv. 12-14)
(2) The application to God (vv. 15-17)
Second: God is superior to idols (vv. 18-20)
(1) The questions (v. 18)
(2) The application to God (vv. 19-20)
Third: God is superior to human leaders (vv. 21-24)
(1) The questions (v. 21)
(2) The application to God (vv. 22-24)
Fourth: God is superior to all cosmic forces (vv. 25-26)
(1) The questions (v. 25)
(2) The application to God (v. 26)
C. The Requirements for Receiving His Comfort (40:27-31)
1st. Remember God's goodness (40:27-28)
1. The complaint: God doesn't know or care for me (v. 27)
2. The solution: Realize God's awesome character and power (v. 28)
God made all
God sustains all
God understands all
2nd. Wait upon God to solve your problems (40:29-31)
1. Human strength will fail (vv. 29-30)
2. Those who depend on God's strength will succeed (v. 31)
The Bottom Line:
We’ll be driving through the Judean wilderness on our way south from Galilee, then turning west when we leave Jericho to go up to Jerusalem. We'll be there again as we drive southeast from Jerusalem down to Masada and the Dead Sea – the lowest spot on earth. This rugged terrain served as an object lesson to the people of Israel.
Standing as an obstacle between Jerusalem and Jericho - harsh, foreboding, and unchangeable, it symbolized their problems that often seemed unsolvable, overwhelming, and downright discouraging. God's reminder to them and to us in troublesome times is to focus in on Him and not ourselves, on His power & not our problems.
Everywhere we go on our pilgrimage, and if we look carefully here at home too, we will see reminders of God's power, provision, promises and faithfulness. He IS more powerful than our problems, much stronger than our struggles, and He wants to bear us up on wings as eagles!
God who can change the craggy wilderness into a smooth plain is the very One who can cause us to say, even when facing our trials,
"It is well, it is well with my soul!"