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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Does the phrase, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness...,” strike a familiar chord with you? To many, just that short but descriptive phrase points to the time of John the baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. As a robin is sometimes called the harbinger of Spring, so John is frequently referred to as the Harbinger of Messiah! Comfort, the subject of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, is the net effect of Messiah. Today's devotional message will look at the subject in its context as presented by Isaiah.
“'Comfort, yes, comfort My people!' Says your God. 'Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.' The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.' The voice said, 'Cry out!' And he said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.'” (Isaiah 40.1-8).
In the biblical context, there is no break between the idea of comfort and the voice of the harbinger. Isaiah moves directly from comfort to the events that will surround its arrival. What the righteous remnant of Israel wanted to see, what the righteous remnant needed to see, was an unmistakable and clear sign that the LORD would redeem them. The redemption that was most needed was not physical, though that would have been a welcome event. The redemption that was most needed was their redemption from the throes of sin. That was the first prophecy of the Bible (Genesis 3.15) and its coming must have seemed all too slow to those who looked and longed for its arrival.
Out of the blue (as we might say), the prophet sees a need to “Prepare the way of the LORD...” and the need to “Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!” All of this was needed due to the fact that “The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together!” These glimpses of the future were full of hope and comfort. They spoke of better times to come and the realization of promises that were almost too good to be true. Comfort was to arrive!
In the same breath, the prophet spoke of hard and laborious tasks. A way had to be prepared; a highway had to be built. Mountains had to be leveled, and valleys had to be filled. For those who understood the prophet, they knew that he was not speaking literally. God did not need a smooth path upon which to plant His feet; rather, He needed the hearts of men to be prepared so that He could enter them. He simply will not walk where He is not welcome! This was the task at hand – to prepare the hearts of men for the coming of Messiah. The literal figure, that of building a road fit for a king, is but a figure which shows the depth and degree of work that would be needed for the LORD's work to be effective!
Here we must end today's message but we will pick it up tomorrow. The message to take away today is this: Even the things of God which we are called upon to do are not necessarily easily accomplished! Comfort is available, but only after the prerequisite work has been accomplished. Israel had work to do in order for God to visit; so do we as individuals! Prepare the way of the LORD!
Questions:
1. What figures in Isaiah's message indicate the coming of a better era?
2. What figures in Isaiah's message indicate the need for extensive and laborious tasks?
3. According to Isaiah, what portion of mankind would be allowed to see the glory of the LORD? How does this compare with the promise made to Abraham that all nations of the earth would be blessed through his seed?
4. Was there a price to be paid for the comfort which Isaiah predicted? If yes, what was that price?
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