Intro
In your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society but upward to the Great society. President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke those words at the University of Michigan on May 22, 1964. Reading them over four decades later, I ask myself, “I wonder how the Jewish captives in Babylon would have responded to what the President said?”
A rich society? They were refugees whose land and holy city were in ruins.
A powerful society? Without king or army, they were weak and helpless before the nations around them.
A great society? They had been guilty of great rebellion against God and had suffered great humiliation and chastening. They faced a great challenge but lacked great human resources.
And that is why the prophet Isaiah told them to get their eyes off themselves and look by faith to the great God who loved them and promised to do great things for them. “Be not afraid!” he admonished them. “Behold your God!”
Years ago, on the radio I heard a motto that has often encouraged me: “Look at others, and be distressed. Look at yourself, and be depressed. Look to God, an you’ll be blessed!” This may not be a piece of literature, but it certainly contains great practical theology. When the outlook is bleak, we need the up-look. “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things…for He is strong in power (v. 26)
When like Israel of old, you face a difficult task and an impossible tomorrow, do what they did and remind yourself of the greatness of God.
The Four Voices of Encouragement:
I. The Voice of Pardon (vv. 1-2)
a. The nation had sinned greatly against the Lord, with their idolatry, injustice, immorality, and insensitivity to His messengers.
b. But they were still His people, and He loved them.
c. Though He would chasten them, He would not forsake them.
i. “Speak tenderly” means “speak to the heart”
ii. “Warfare” means “severe trials”
iii. “Double” does not suggest that God’s chastenings are unfair, for He is merciful even in His punishments (Ezra 9:13)
After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have required us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us an escaped remnant as this,
iv. God chastened them in an equivalent measure to what they had done.
d. We should not sin, but if we do, God is waiting to pardon
II. The Voice of Providence (vv. 3-5)
a. The Jews had a rough road ahead of them as they returned to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, but the Lord would go before them to open the way.
b. The picture here is of an ambassador repairing the roads and removing obstacles, preparing the way for the coming of a king.
i. The image of a highway is frequent in Isaiah’s prophecy (11:16)
And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of His people who will be left, just as there was for Israel in the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.
c. Of course, the ultimate fulfillment here is in the ministry of John the Baptist as he prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus.
d. Spiritually speaking, Israel was in the wilderness when Jesus came, but when he came, God’s glory came.
e. The way back may not be easy, but if we are trusting God, it will be easier.
III. The Voice of Promise (vv. 6-8)
a. “All flesh is grass!”
i. Assyria was gone, and now Babylon was gone.
ii. Like the grass, nations and their leaders fulfill their purposes and then fade away, but the Word of God abides forever. (Psalms 37:1-2)
Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. Fr they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.
b. As they began their long journey home, Israel could depend on God’s promises.
c. Perhaps they were especially claiming 2 Chronicles 6:36-39.
“When they sin against you (for there is not man who does not sin) and you are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far off or near, if they take thought in the lnad where they are taken captive, and repent and make supplication to you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have committed iniquity and have acted wickedly’; if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been taken captive, and pray toward their land which you have given to their fathers and the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name, then hear from heaven, from your dwelling place, their prayer and supplications, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against You.
IV. The Voice of Peace (vv. 9-11)
a. Now the nation itself comes out of the valley and climbs the mountaintop to declare God’s victory over the enemy.
b. The “bring good tidings” means “to preach the Good News”
i. The good news in that day was the defeat of Babylon and the release of the captive Jews.
ii. The good news today is the defeat of sin and Satan by Jesus Christ and the salvation of all who will trust in Him.
c. God’s arm is a mighty arm for winning the battle, but it is also a loving arm for carrying His weary lambs (v. 11)
d. “We are coming home!” would certainly be good news to the devastated cities of Judah.
Closing
Just as Israel was encouraged by the voice of God thousands of years ago, we also can have that same encouragement when trials come our way. For the Lord is still here talking to his children through the voice of pardon, providence, promise and peace. We just need to listen for it.
