Family Chapel

While God's people are stuck in exile and wondering if God's done with them, God affirms that they are still His servants. As His servants, God's people are chosen by God's grace, protected by God's presence, empowered for God's mission, and sustained by God's compassion. The surprising irony in all this is that in God's Kingdom, servants of the Lord are served by the Lord. This is most exemplified by the True Servant (Jesus) who came not to be served but to serve by giving his life as a ransom for many.

Isaiah 40 is the beginning of a shift in context and tone of Isaiah's message as he is now speaking to a people of exile in Babylon. And within that context, chapter 40 is a message of God's comfort for his people. There is a lasting hope of God's comfort through his promised victory, his enduring word, his incomparable character, and his gracious strength.

With the Assyrians surrounding Jerusalem, King Hezekiah faces a crisis. Through his actions, he demonstrates that the only proper response for the people of God in the face of crisis is to humbly surrender to God. Humble surrender admits our need for God to save us and it prioritizes God's glory above all. Humble surrender is not a one-time emergency act, but should be the way of life for all God's people.

Isaiah has been encouraging the people to wait upon the Lord. But what is it that they are waiting for? They are waiting for salvation. This salvation is worth the wait because it brings abundant joy, courageous hope, newness of life, and God's holy presence. All these things are secure for us in Christ and will be fully experienced at His return.

After zooming out to see the big picture of God's judgment and salvation, Isaiah zooms back in to address the Assyrian threat facing Judah. God had previously assured Judah that He will protect them from the Assyrians, but instead of waiting upon the Lord, the people rush past the Lord. They seek after their own will carried out in their own way to fit their own timing. Nevertheless, even as God's people fail to wait upon the Lord, God graciously waits upon them.

Following the oracles of judgment upon the nations, Isaiah speaks of a final judgment that will come, the Day of the Lord. In this day, the city of man will fall while the city of God shall rise. And through this final judgment, there shall be ultimate justice, hope, peace, and victory.

Isaiah delivers a series of twelve oracles against various nations in the Ancient Near East. These oracles show that God is the God of all nations. He is sovereign over all nations and shapes history towards His good purposes. He will bring judgment on all nations on the basis of His holiness. And He will redeem a people for Himself from all nations.

God has promised a future king to establish His Kingdom and secure salvation for His people. This promised King will be filled with the Holy Spirit and marked with righteousness. And this promised King will establish a kingdom that extends peace over all creation and restores His people from all nations. As such, we are to trust in the King, proclaim the King, and rejoice in the King.

Faced with geopolitical tensions that threaten the southern kingdom of Judah, King Ahaz is faced with a crucial decision: will he trust in God for salvation or will he trust in someone or something else? Through Ahaz's decision, we learn that false hopes placed in false saviors will result in our disappointment and devastation. But true hope for salvation is found in the God who is with us.

The prophet Isaiah receive a vision of God's glory. This prompts him to receive cleansing and to be commissioned to preach to hardened hearts. Even if the message is difficult and even if the message falls on deaf ears, God's servants are commissioned for the sake of his glory. We may not have a specific vision, but we have put our faith in the glory of the cross and the risen Christ. Thus, we have been cleansed and commissioned for the sake of God's glory.