Bible Study: June 14, 2023

We started. Okay, so tonight we are going to look at Isaiah 40. We're beginning a new section in Isaiah. We've been through, oh, I don't know, about four sections in Isaiah already. Last week, we completed the sort of inset historical comments on Hezekiah. And so tonight, we begin a new section. And these are these, when you look at the commentary, some of them call them the next eight chapters are the comfort, the comfort section. And it plays off of what the first word in Isaiah 40 verse 1 is there. They are prophecies of comfort. They're talking about a time when Jesus Christ returns and what will be set up at that time. You know, in the last, before we were talking about Hezekiah, we were in the section that had kind of the recurring theme of there was destruction, there was devastation because of the sins of Judah, sins of Israel, sins of the nations who when they did have them punish Judah, the pride would get in their way. And then always following that destruction was the salvation of God. There's always that. There is the destruction, the punishment, but there's always the salvation of God. That's the hope. That's the hope that's there. But beginning here in chapter 40 through chapter 48, these are hopeful, very hopeful and very positive chapters in Isaiah that talk about what will be when Christ returns. And there in verse 1, we see what the theme of this section is. It says, comfort. Comfort? Yes, comfort my people. Now we know that as we talked about the time leading up to the end time, Judah will be punished and go into captivity. The house of Israel will go into captivity. There will be the punishment that is there. But God says they will not be completely destroyed. And over and over we read, he will bring them back to their promised land. So here is a prophecy of comfort. Comfort? Yes, comfort my people, says your God. Speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. She's paid a high price for the sins that she's committed. It is not a pretty picture. It's not just a slap on the wrist what's going to happen in the times ahead of us. And the great tribulation is absolutely daunting. God is there and God will deliver in the end and he will comfort his people. And here in the opening verse, he says, you know, she has received double. And it's interesting that, you know, it's comfort is listed twice there in verse one. Comfort, yes, comfort my people. And then she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. So, you know, God has, you know, he is the God of comfort. We're told that in 2 Corinthians 1, he is the God of all comfort. He comforts us that we can learn to comfort, comfort others, it says in that chapter. So in verse 3, we have a verse, you know, some words here that I'm sure you're very familiar with. And you can tell me where else in the Bible these words are written. It says, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Now where, where anyone venture a guess as to where that is said and about who that was said? John the Baptist. John the Baptist, yeah. You know what chapter that's in?

Go ahead. No, go ahead. Okay, okay. Matthew 3. Matthew 3. Why don't we go, go back and look at Matthew 3 or go forward and look at Matthew 3.

Because it quotes directly from Isaiah here, John the Baptist.

And the chapter, verse 3 of chapter 3 of Matthew says, for this is he who was spoken by the prophet Isaiah saying, speaking of John the Baptist, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. So here he was, you know, preparing the way. He was the one for the six months before Christ began his ministry. He was, he was preaching a gospel of repentance. Repents for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

He was baptizing people. He was paving that way so that when Jesus Christ began his ministry, John the Baptist sort of, sort of stepped back. Hello. Okay. Yeah, John the Baptist, you know, his, his job was pretty much done and Jesus Christ took over from there. But here at the end time, you have the same, you have the same words that are being spoken here. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. He is returning. He is going to establish his kingdom. There will be those who prepare the way of the Lord, make straight to the desert a highway for our God.

And here in verse 4, well, let me see, let me look at my notes. Yeah, you can also, if you're taking those, Malachi 3.1 quotes that as well. Let's, let's look at Malachi 3.1.2. It's always good to see where these, the same thoughts are, are voiced. Yeah, Malachi 3 verse 1 says, Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight.

Behold, he is coming, says the Lord, of hosts. So, and of course, then, as you go on in chapter 3 there, you can see, you know, the turmoil that precedes his coming at that time. So there is, there is a way that for Christ to, there will be a way that's prepared for, for Christ. And verse 4 is an interesting verse, interesting verse, because it talks about how this road, this, this straight, this straight road, this highway for our God, you know, and one way you can look at this as a very physical, a very physical construction of a road, if you will, to make straight the highway for God says, every valley shall be exalted, you know, kind of elevate the low places, every mountain and hill brought low, bring down that so it's a straight, straight level road, the crooked places will be made straight, no curves, no twists and turns, this way the highway to God is a straight shot, and the rough place is smooth, no, no pavement that's going to mess you up or throw you off your course or anything like that.

So, you know, in our lives today, we know that God has us on the path to the kingdom, and sometimes it can be a bumpy path, and sometimes it takes twists and turns that we didn't expect, just like when God brought Israel out of Egypt, you know, they didn't take just the straightest path to the promised land, they took twists and turns, and for 40 years they wandered in that desert before, in that wilderness, before God brought them in there, but here this highway is going to be straight.

It's just a straight shot, no obstacles at all, and I think that that speaks toward what it will be like in the kingdom when Christ returns. You know, we've read verses like Joel 2 verses 28 that says, in that day, He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and when God pours out His Spirit on the people that are there in the kingdom, they will understand God. They'll understand what you and I do. We don't understand anything apart from God's Spirit.

If we didn't have God's Spirit, this Bible would be as much as a puzzle to us as it is to the people of the world. So it's a crooked path, crooked, crooked. It's a straight, narrow path, but also takes twists and turns, but not in the kingdom when all flesh will have a highway to God. Let's look at a few verses on that. Just a few weeks ago, we were in Isaiah 35, and it talks about this highway as well, so let's go back there for a moment.

Let's see, at 35...

yeah, verse 8.

There's five. A highway will be there and a road. It'll be called the Highway of Holiness. You'll remember that the unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No danger on that road. A straight path, a straight path to God. We go forward to Jeremiah, the next book, Jeremiah 31. Remember that Jeremiah prophesied some hundred years later than Isaiah, but he says the same words here in Jeremiah 31, beginning in verse 31.

Jeremiah 31, 31, it says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Eternal, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. That will be when Christ returns. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, and the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant, which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Eternal. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin, I will remember no more. Everyone will know God's way. In that day, it says that the knowledge of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. We can't even imagine how good you feel when you go to church, or even here on this Bible study, you're with people of like mind. We all understand God's truth. He's called us. We have his Holy Spirit. It binds us together. It helps us to understand so we can have discussions on the Bible. That will be like everywhere. Your next door neighbor, the people that you encounter, wherever you're walking around, everyone will have that knowledge. Everyone will be living according to this. We have tremendous, tremendous time at Luke 3, written down in my notes too. Let me see why I wrote that one down. Luke 3.

Hmm, okay, yeah. This is, this is, yeah, this is repeating, repeating again what I think we saw in Matthew 3, but it adds, it adds in about every, every valley shall be filled again. Just a repeat of what Isaiah said here in, in, in Luke 3 verses 3 through 6.

Every valley filled, every mountain and hill brought low. The rough ways made smooth.

So we have this, we have this, your, your God is showing what, when Christ returns, comfort, comfort my people. They've been through a lot, but He will be there to comfort them and to guide them and to, you know, to help them establish themselves in this, this kingdom that He is going to set up in that time. And they're going to, and they're going to, they're going to know God. They're going to know God. That's straight. There will be a straight path. Everyone will know God. It won't be any, any twists and turns. It's kind of like Isaiah 30, when they, when the people that, because you and I, if we follow God until the end, we will be, we will be, you know, with Christ at that point, spirit beings. And remember, when someone is about to sin or, or has a bad attitude, tap them on the shoulder and say, this is the way, walk you in it. So there's going to be that people learning the way of God. You can only imagine how great that's going to be in the world when everyone, everyone is living by that way. So, you know, that's, that's verse four. You know, I wonder sometimes in verse four is that's also, you know, that, that, that people, their, every valley will be exalted. Though humble, you know, humble will receive their, will receive their, whatever God has for them. Every mountain and hill brought low, the pride will be gone. Everything will be straight to everyone will be, everyone will be, you know, following God's God's way as they have their spirit in Him. So verse five, the glory of the Lord will be revealed.

I mean, that, that it will be, it will be revealed. We read Isaiah 35 that talks about as that world takes form under Christ's, under Christ's domain, under His reign, deserts bloom.

There's just a beautiful paradise. The glory of the world, Lord, will be revealed and all flesh will see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. The whole world will see it, not just one nation, all flesh will see it together. Now, that also could be referring to, you know, Jesus Christ as He returns to earth, you know, tells us in Matthew 20, 24, all flesh, all flesh will see Him returning as is He makes a, you know, as we say, a circle around the earth as He, as He comes back with His armies behind Him. All flesh will see it for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Then in verse six, you know, we have a voice. The voice said, cry out, and He said, and, and, and really when you look at, at your margin, like mine, it says that the Masoretic text and the Septuagint really are, that really that should be I, you know, that would be Isaiah, similar to what, similar to what in chapter six, the voice said, cry out, and I said, Isaiah speaking, well, what shall I cry? And then God, for the next three verses, talks about, He compares you and I, this, this physical life that we have as, as a flower, as a flower, as the plants of the field. All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. You know, I look, looking at my window here and I'll, I'll have to say, you know, at the, Florida's a really green state, but I have really appreciated how green the grass is in Cincinnati. It is really, really green. Right now it's a little, we're needing some rain, but it's really, really green. But all flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades.

And that's true, isn't it? You know, back in this yard, we, we haven't really planted anything, but the people who lived here before, I mean, buds, bud, they have these budding flowers, I guess, that, that go on buds, and we have, I don't know if everyone knows what a peony is, but there's these peonies that, that showed up, right, in our yard, and they really are beautiful flowers, big and full. They're beautiful, but they only last a couple weeks, and then all the petals are falling off, and everything's just gone. It's exactly what this verse says. Grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it. It's just there for a short while. You enjoy it while it's there, but, but it just disappears, and God is comparing human life to that. We're here about a short time, whether we live a hundred years or a hundred fifty years, it's nothing compared to the time that God has lived, nothing compared to eternity. And so he's, he's saying that, you know, we grow, we grow, we're strong, we begin to fade, just like the flowers begin to fade, lose their petals. Surely, he says in verse seven, surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. And that's a beautiful thought. You know, you and I will come and go. You and I will live however long it is that God wants us to. You know, but God's word stands forever. You and I have our time that God has allotted to us, but God's word stands forever. So how important is it that we embed that and let God embed it into our hearts and minds? And that's what we live by, because that's what eternity is. It'll be by His word and by His spirit that we live forever. Now, one of the things we're going to see in this chapter, as we're in this positive chapter that talks about the things that God will do, is when you praise God, because there is a lot of praising God in this chapter, and we'll see that in the chapters going forward, too. One of the books you might think of that praise God a lot is Psalms. So we're going to be turning back to Psalms, because some of the same comments that are in here are we find back in the Psalms. So as we just read about fading grass, fading grass and withering flowers, let's go back to Psalm 103. You can keep a bookmark in the book of Psalms. We'll be back there a few times tonight.

Psalm 103. And you know the beginning of that chapter, it talks about all the benefits of God that He provides for us. But down in verse 15, He talks about this as well. It says, As for man, Psalm 103.15, As for man, his days are like grass, as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it's gone, and its place remembers it no more.

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him and His righteousness to children's children, to such as keep His covenant and to those who remember His commandments to do them. Man is like a flower, man is like grass, he will fade away, but God's mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. Here in this Psalm of David, he says that in Isaiah 40, man is like a, land is like grass, man is like a flower, but God's word stands forever. Okay, so let's go back. Again, if anyone has any comment or anything you want to add into it, into anything that we're saying, feel free to just, you know, either raise your hand or just start talking and, you know, you can cut in, you can cut any time that you want. So let's go back to Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40 verse 9. Oh Zion. Now this is a call to praise God loudly and boldly.

Oh Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain. Oh Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, be not afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, behold your God. Look what he has done. Look how he has saved us. Look how he has comforted us. Look what he's going to do for us.

Yes, there's time, but mankind at that time, they're going to understand what it is and why they had to suffer the way they did. They're going to understand that it was departing from God that brought upon them the suffering and the misery that they have, and turning to God, just like you and I learned, brings the blessing, the happiness, the joy that all of mankind seeks. God's people know where that is. They have yet to learn this, but he's like, praise God.

Praise him loudly. Praise him boldly. Behold, sin, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. You know, when you see that, we've talked about that before, when you see arm, when you see arm in the Bible referring to God, it talks about his strength. Behold, his arm shall rule for him. It's his strength. This is another one where, you know, we can go back into Psalms, the Psalm, and read about that mighty arm that God has.

In fact, when we read that Psalm, you're going to recognize a hymn that we sing often. So let's go back to Psalm 98. And I think we'll just read the entire Psalm because it has the same, it's in the same context of what we're reading here. Christ is returning. God comes with strength. He delivers his people. Psalm 98, verse 1, O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.

His right hand and his holy arm have gained him the victory. The Lord has made known his salvation, his righteousness he has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his mercy and his faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. So we see that this is a Psalm for the future, not something that's been fulfilled yet. Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth.

Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn. Shout joyfully before the Lord the King. You can see the same sentiment. Praise him. Praise him for what he has done. Let the sea roar in all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness he shall judge the world and the peoples with equity. I hope you recognize the hymn in that. Sorry. You can see the praise that's there of that. That's what God is saying. In that day, people will want to praise God.

He is the one who just delivers. You can imagine the sentiment there when Judah and Israel have been in captivity, and God comes and releases them. We've talked about that at the time that they are freed from their captors, and God brings them back. What joy and what rejoicing there will be at that time. Let me check my notes here. Let's go back to Psalm Isaiah 40.

We're going to turn right back to the Psalms here in a minute. The Gospel of John as well. Isaiah 40 verse 11. God has returned. His strong arm is one of the victory. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. We know the analogy there. We are the flock. He is the shepherd. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young.

Maybe we don't even have to turn back to Psalm 23 because you know what those opening verses are. Our shepherd leads us to green pasture. Our shepherd leads us beside the still water. He feeds us. He keeps us calm. We trust in him just like sheep. Learn to trust their shepherd completely. We learn to trust God completely and know that as long as we follow him, as long as we stay with the flock, as long as we're with him, that he will take us and he will completely feed us and he will watch over us and he will make us lie down in safety.

That's what he's saying here. You can read Psalm 23. You know those verses, but let's go to John 10 because that's where Christ talks about him being the shepherd, the great shepherd. And of course, you know, the ministry today is called shepherds as well, but here in John 10, in John 10, I didn't write down a verse here. Yeah, verse 11. John 10, verse 11. Christ says, I am, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Verse 14. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and I'm known by my own.

You know, sheep, he says earlier on, you know, sheep get to know their shepherd's voice and they will follow them and they won't follow a stranger. I mentioned last week when I was in Toronto, there's a book by Philip Keller called about the, it's about Psalm 23. I don't remember the title of the book exactly, but it talks about shepherds and it talks about the nature of sheep and the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. And it is exactly what God is talking about when he's talking about you and me and Jesus Christ as our shepherd. And some, you know, we have shepherds as pastors who God says, you know, you take care of those sheep. You make sure that you're doing what I do. I'm watching over them, but it's your job to be taking care of the sheep and making sure that they're fed, making sure that they're taken care of, making sure that they know the truth, making sure that you're giving them the vision of the kingdom, that they know that. All the mess that we see in the world today, it does end. It does end in a very beautiful world that is beyond the imagination, even of us. We can think about how wonderful it will be when Christ returns. But, you know, God, 1 Corinthians 2 and 9 says, eye hasn't seen, it hasn't. Eye hasn't seen, ear hasn't heard, it hasn't entered into the hearts of man. The wonders of God is prepared for those who love Him. I know that's beyond even the millennium, but to just live in that environment and to see what the world is going to be, to see how people will be, is going to be absolutely incredible. So, if we go forward to John 21, you know, you have that before Christ ascends into before Christ ascends into heaven after He's resurrected, He has this little discourse with Peter in verses 15 to 17. And, you know, we'll just read that because what He's doing there is showing Peter how to be a shepherd. You know, what you need to do with the people that God gives you, Peter, that the people that God gives you, you need to take care of them. So, he says in verse 15, Christ says, Simon, Son of Jonah, do you agape me more than these? And Peter answered, yes, Lord, you know that I, and he uses filio instead of agape. And Christ said, feed my lambs. Make sure that those little ones, those young ones, are fed. They're important to God. Children are important to God. Young people that God calls into the church, it's all of our responsibility to see that they have a home, that they can be nourished, that they can be nurtured, that they can grow, and to have that environment in our local churches that they can grow. But the pastor, the pastor needs to, you know, be feeding solid, good food that's going to encourage and to provide that growth that they need. In verse 16, Christ said to Peter a second time, Simon, Son of Jonah, do you agape me?

And Peter said, yes, Lord, you know, that I filio you. And he said, tent my sheep. Take care of them. Feeding them is one thing. That's great. But you know what? They need to be taken care of.

What? They need to be taken care of. Make sure that you know who they are. Make sure you know those sheep. Make sure you're taking care of their needs. Keep them in the flock. Keep them moving in the direction toward Jesus Christ. That's the job of every shepherd, just like Jesus Christ. He was the great shepherd who leads us to God, who leads us to the kingdom. And so shepherds lead to Jesus Christ. They don't lead to themselves. They lead to Jesus Christ. They're not, you know, this is God's people. All of us are. And we have that responsibility. And then in verse 17, this, you know, he says it again a third time, Simon, do you? And this time, Christ says, filio, because Peter's not yet getting agape, right? Do you filio me? Peter, you know, grieved. Then, because he's asked the third time, do you love me? And he said, I do. And Christ said, feed my sheep.

There's a big responsibility. He gives the outline there of what a shepherd does later on in his life in 1 Peter 5. Peter expounds that pretty well. In 1 Peter 5, 1 through 3, I won't take the time to go there now, but he talks about how a shepherd works, and it's the way that Jesus Christ worked with his people. So we see the shepherd here, and this is what God is talking about in Isaiah 40. And that's, you know, Christ is our shepherd now. He will be our great, he is the great shepherd then as well. You know what? We can look at Ezekiel 34. Let's look at Ezekiel 34, because in verse 11 there, he talks about feeding the lambs. And Ezekiel 34, Christ has certain words for shepherds who don't fulfill the responsibility they have for their flocks. And in verse 10, first down of Ezekiel 34, you know, you see some shepherds in Israel who aren't doing the job that God called them to do. Verse 10 says, Thus says the Lord God, I am in Ezekiel 34, Behold, I am against the shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand. I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more. You'd have to read the beginning verses there to understand what he's talking about. For I will deliver my flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them. For thus says the Lord God, Indeed, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep. So I will seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places that they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

Remember, Israel gets scattered, goes into captivity, they are scattered around the world.

And I will bring them out, verse 13, I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. And he repeats it again, I will feed my flock, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will comfort them, I will feed them, I will take care of them. Yeah, Xavier? Well, Shabbi, can I read? I know you asked me if there was to read verse first Peter chapter 5, 1 through 4. Can I read it? No, if you want to, yes, go ahead. Okay, it says, the elders were among you, I exhort, even as a fellow elder and an eyewitness of the suffering of Christ, and a partake of the glory that is about to be revealed. Feed the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not by compulsion, but willingly, not in fondness of dishonest gain, as we just heard, but with an eager attitude, not as exercising lordship over your own possessions, or by being examples to the flock of God. And when the chief shepherd is manifested, you shall receive an unfading eternal crown of glory. So he never forgot. He never forgot.

Very good. So yeah, Isaiah 40, that God, again, is showing what he's going to do. It's other places in the Bible. Remember, so many of these things that we read in Isaiah are there in the New Testament, other places, and the other prophecies. So by the mouth of two or three witnesses, you know, of course, God says many times in the book of Isaiah, his word is sure. So we get a very good picture of what is going to happen when Christ returns to earth and how he will care for the people because he did that when he was on earth. He gave his life. He gave his life for the flock, as he says. Okay, so we were in... Okay, so let's go back to Isaiah 40.

The next three verses there, you can kind of see that there's like little stanzas in this chapter. You know, we did the three stanzas about the flower. We did 9, 10, 11 about the God coming back, taking care of his flock. And then in 12, 13, and 14, God asks this series of questions that he's leading into later on in the chapter when he's likening himself or reminding how great he is. And this will be reminiscent of Job 39 and 40. We'll just look at that shortly, but let's read through verses 12 through 14. This is God talking, who has measured the waters of the sea in the hollow of his hand? Who has measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Who has weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

Well, no one, no man can do that. Who has directed the spirit of the eternal, or as his counselor has taught him? With whom did he take counsel? Who taught God, is what he's saying there? With whom did he take counsel? And who instructed him and taught him in the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding?

God is just showing how great he is, that he is the end all and be all. He is the font of knowledge, all wisdom, all knowledge, all everything in him.

Everything, everything in him. So you see these questions. What he's doing is, okay, here Christ has returned. Here's Christ, triumphant. Here's Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. And here he is, who is like him? Who is like him? You know, and before this, in the times of the Tribulation, you have a beast power out there. And remember, it says in Revelation, who can make war with him? Who's he? But here we have God saying, who is like him? And that should be reminiscent of the book of Job. So let's just go back here, because it's very inspiring to just read when God, you know, puts us in our place. When we think we're so smart, and we think we have so many answers, and you know, all these things that it is God, nothing compared.

Job 38. Job 38, of course. You remember Job here? He's been, he's been patting himself on the back that he's righteous, and this isn't really kind of fair what's happened to him. And so in chapter 38, God answers Job, verse 2, Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Prepare yourself like a man. I will question you, and you answer me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations passing? Or who laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.

Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst forth and issued from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, when I fixed my limit for it, and set bars and doors, when I said, This far you may come, but no further, and here your proud waves must stop? We could go on and on. You know, and anytime we feel like, you know, we feel like we're you know, really proud about who we are and how much we know and whatever. Boy, it's a humbling thing to go back and read Job 38 and 39 and 40 there and realize, wow, no, we are nothing. We are nothing. And back the next session of verses in Isaiah 40 says, all the nations are is nothing.

Looking at verse chapter 39, God goes on. Verse 1, Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Can you mark when the deer gives birth? Can you number the months that they fulfill? Do you know the time when they bear young? They bow down, they bring forth their young, they deliver their offspring. God is the one who created all of these things. So he goes on and on and on. And when he's done, Job is just a fraction of who he was. And he realizes and he can connect to God because he's humble and he realizes everything is in God. And that's the way people will be in the kingdom. And that's what God is saying here. Who do you know who I am? Do you understand who I am? They will understand who he is, and we need to understand who he is, and always approach him with humility. Approach him with humility. Go back to Isaiah 40.

Isaiah 40. So he's asking these questions in verses 12, 13, and 14. And really, when we ask those questions, we answer them, we say, we're nothing. We're not even worthy to be standing, we're worthy to be standing in front of you. And that's what he says. In verse 15, Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket. All the power in the world is nothing compared to God.

The nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the scales.

Look, he lifts up the aisles as a very little thing. To us, it's a huge thing. It's with the earth we live in, but to God, it's absolutely nothing. It's just a fraction, a tiny fraction of the universe that he's created. The nations are as a drop in the bucket. If we took the time to go back to Revelation 19, or forward to Revelation 19, we see Christ returning.

Right? In Revelation 19, all these millions, hundreds of millions of men are gathered together in Armageddon to fight against him. All the weaponry of mankind, all of his invasion, and everything is there. Christ comes, and literally in a split second, he just decimates, he just destroys them all, and there's nothing left. All the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and even he lifts up the aisles. Think of England, think of Great Britain, God could just lift it out ofbranded. Lev. 16, Lev. 16 sins. Lev. 16, and he is not sufficient to burn, nor is a beast sufficient for a burnt offering. How do we really offer to God what he's done for us? Is there anything on earth that we offer to him? Is that sufficient for what he's given us?

Lev. 16, not sufficient to burn, nor is a beast sufficient for a burnt offering.

There's not anything we can do to give God back in terms of a physical sacrifice. That's why in Romans 12 verses 1 and 12 Paul says, offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God. We give ourselves to Him and give our lives to Him because that's what He wants. He wants to give us eternal life. He wants to give us the joy, the peace, all those good things of God. If we yield to Him, that's the sacrifice He's looking for. Verse 17, all nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

David asked, what is God that He is mindful of man? What is man that you are mindful of Him?

Now vice versa there. What is man that you're mindful of Him? This is the same sentiment here that God is saying. All the nations, I mean, I've given you life. I've given you everything. I've given you this opportunity. I've given you a future. I've given you hope. There's nothing that you can give me back. What I want is your heart, your mind, your soul to be committed to Him, to be committed to God. Now, the last word there in verse 17, worthless, that's actually that word tohu. Remember, we talked about tohu back several chapters ago. It's there in Genesis 1, tohu and bohu. It means worthless and confused. They are counted by Him. Less than nothing, they're confused without God and worthless. They're just not worth anything. Just like the earth was before God, His Spirit hovered above it and then recreated it for mankind. We have the chapter building. We have Christ returning with a strong arm to give comfort to His people.

Christ says He will be the shepherd. He will take care of the people. They can rely on Him now.

He shows there is none like Him. That's the question that He put before us. The nations and mankind and all of His inventions and all these things are absolutely nothing compared to Him.

Then in verse 18, 19, and 20, he compares it to what has been the history of the world, the idols that men construct instead of worshiping God. To whom then will you liken God? Are you going to liken Him to this little image that you've been bowing down behind?

When you see who I am, when you see what I've done, when you see the goodness that I bring to the earth, to whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

The workman molds an image, the goldsmith overspreads it with gold, and the silversmith casts silver chains. So we have these idols that are being constructed that people bow down to.

And they're expensive. We read in the book of Acts when Paul casts the demon out of a girl, and the idol makers, IDOL makers, are upset because, whoops, there goes our livelihood. We made our living by making these idols and whatever. So we have these expensive idols covered with gold, covered with silver. Verse 20, for those who can't afford that, whoever's to impoverish for such a contribution chooses a tree that will not rot. So they will just, they'll make it out of wood. It might not be covered with gold or silver, but they choose a tree that will not rot, something that will last a while. He seeks for himself a skill for workmen to prepare a carved image that will not totter. So you have, you have, again, mankind through his history has been dealing with idols that God is saying, so who are you going to, what are you going to compare me to now that you know who I am? Yeah, Dardo, you've got something?

Yeah, actually, Rosalinda and I were talking about this morning about, I guess, the things that we saw in Turkey. And one of the things that sometimes is hard to understand is that these people that were so brilliant in so many aspects, you know, they were engineers, scientists, things like that, but then they believed in something, you know, frankly, so stupid as setting up a piece of wood, a piece of stone, and ascribing power over them to those things.

I mean, it is hard to understand because they were evidently smart people, they were intelligent and the things that they did, but it's just surprising that they were so blind that they don't see the stupidity of what they were doing. Again, it shows the power of God's Holy Spirit, right? Because you're right. I mean, what they did there in Ephesus is just absolutely a gorgeous place. When you look at Laodicea, the ruins, you can see that beauty that was there, and yet, they didn't know God. They bowed down between before these things that they created.

Mr. Armstrong used to say things like that, you know, that mankind just doesn't get it, and they can't get it until God's Spirit is there. So, yeah. Okay, verse 21.

This is God asks again some questions, okay, as we go through this chapter. He's going to ask these same questions again a little later on in the chapters. He comes here to the end and he goes, haven't you known? Haven't you heard? Sometimes you use questions to get people's attention, like, don't you get it? Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? Hasn't it been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It's God that's about the circle of the earth. You know, that is one of the things when you look at science and, you know, until who was it, Galileo came and they understood that their worth was a circle. There it is in the Bible. Interesting. He was a conspiracy theorist. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, there are some commentaries who are refuting what that means. As I was looking at something on that, to see if the commentaries admit, there it is, you know, they should have known this from back from the beginning of the world. It's like, well, God doesn't really mean that. He means, you know, he means that was kind of goofy stuff. Again, that we just don't want to believe what the Bible says.

But here he says it. He says, it is God who sits above the circle of the earth. Its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He looks down on the earth. We're nothing, just like when we're in an airplane and we look down, it's like how small everything is. Its inhabitants are like grasshoppers who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and stretch them out like a tent to dwell in. And there you have, you know, the Psalms again, when he talks about the heavens and he talks about the stars. You know, David, you'll remember in Psalm 19, let's go back there for just a second. David, as he, you know, as he knew God, he wondered and he marveled at how great God was and how great the creation is around us. And he appreciated, he appreciated God. That's such an understatement. But he appreciated what God, you know, did and how intricate the universe was. And it didn't happen just by accident. It didn't happen because of, you know, whatever the scientists want to believe. It was created by God. It's the only thing that makes sense. Psalm 19 verse 1 says, The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day, utter speech, night unto night reveals knowledge. Yeah, I thought that was in here where it talks about the stars being out there as a tent as well. Let me look at this for a minute. Oh, yeah, verse four. Their line has gone out through all the earth. Their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven and its circuit to the other end. And there is nothing hidden from its heat. And I'm going to read verses seven, eight, and nine because they're beautiful verses. You know, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the eternal is pure, enlightening the eyes, and the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. You know, you want to live God's way, you want to see how you become like him, please him. It's there in those three verses to build that into our lives.

Okay, that was Psalm 19.

Let's proceed. We are in verse 23, Isaiah 40, 23. Here it says God says, He brings the princes to nothing.

Well, it is God. You know, He gives people the power that they have. We read that in Daniel 2 21. It's him who sets up the rulers of the earth. Nebuchadnezzar was there. You know, God allowed him to be there. The king of Assyria that we talked about, Sennacherib, so many times in the book of Isaiah, God put him in there and God gave him the power to punish Judah and never did not allow him to come into Jerusalem. He brings the princes to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth useless.

You don't need, you know, they're nothing. When Christ returns, this is kingdom. He's king of kings and lord of lords. Scarcely shall they be planted. Scarcely shall they be sown. Scarcely shall their stock take root of the earth. So what he's saying there is, again, it's kind of like akin to what we read before about the grass withers. They're there for a little bit. You know, they rain for 20, 30, 40, 50 years and that they're going. Scarcely will they be planted. Scarcely will they be sown. Scarcely shall their stock take root of the earth, when he will also blow on them and they will wither and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. They'll be there for a short time, but their kingdom does not endure forever and ever. Like Christ's will endure forever and ever. Now, you know, I said Daniel 2, 21. Now we can compare, you know, what he says about the kingdoms of this earth, that they will be there for a short while until he blows on them and they wither and they fade. Psalm 89, in Psalm 89, he says David's throne will stand forever, right? David's throne will stand to all generations and that is the throne to which Jesus Christ will return. So God's throne lasts. Mankind comes and goes. Verse 25, to whom then will you liken me? So God's built this case here in Isaiah 40. I comfort you. I'm doing everything you need. To whom then will you liken me? Or to whom shall I be equal, says the Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things.

Open your eyes is what God is saying. Look who I am. I'm the one who created all this that you live in. See who has created these things, who brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one is missing.

You don't have to turn to Psalm 147 for there, but there again it talks about, you know, all these stars. And remember there's more stars than there are grains of sand on earth. And with this web telescope, we begin to get just a small group of the universe that God has created. Psalm 147 verse 4 says, he counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by name.

I mean, it's incredible what God can do and what God knows. He knows every part of this universe, every part of the earth, every part of you and me, every part of a universe that's so vast that we don't have any clue how big it is. Now, I'm reminded also when Christ says in Matthew 10, and he says, you know, sparrows. God knows every sparrow that falls to the ground. And sparrows are, you know, kind of seeing this kind of like the most common bird, but he knows every sparrow that falls to the ground. How insignificant is that in our life? We don't even notice if a sparrow, you know, if a sparrow falls in our backyard. But God knows every one of them. He knows every hair on our head. That's how detailed he is. So when God is saying in Isaiah 40, how do you compare me to anyone? Who are you going to compare me to? Who? Who? What God? What person? What group of people? Who can even possibly begin to compare to God? Because he can call everything by name. He knows every single aspect of this earth we live in on so much more, and every star, and every universe, and every galaxy that's up there. How can you compare him to anything? He's showing what his power and his might is, and the power he has to do what he says he will do. Verse 27, after he says all these things, why do you say, Jacob, and speak, O Israel? My way is hidden from the Lord. God just doesn't understand me, and my just claim is passed over by my God. God's not fair. I don't think he understands what's going on with me. I don't think he gets what I did. You know, it reminds you probably of Ezekiel 18. So let's go to Ezekiel 18, where Israel asks, you know, oh, God's not fair. God's not fair. God knows everything. He knows what the intent of our heart is. That's why David asked in Psalm 139, search my heart and see if there's any wickedness in me, because David wanted it all gone. He wanted to be completely yielded and submissive and surrendered to God, and he wanted just God's Spirit in him. The same thing that you and I should desire. In Ezekiel 18—let me see, what time do we have here?

Well, let's read verse 24 and 25, and I won't make a whole lot of comments, but this is an interesting set of scriptures here. When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, that would be like if you and I went back into the world and didn't, you know, no longer were following God's way. When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed because of them he shall die. So, Jesus Christ said, endure to the end. It doesn't count if you live all your life until you are age 60 in God's way because if you at the end of your life you're not living God's way, that's the end of your life is where you will be, endure to the end. Yet you say, verse 25, the way of the Lord is not fair.

God says here now, O house of Israel, isn't my way which is, is it not my way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it's because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. And when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive because he considers and turns away from the transgressions which he committed. He shall surely live, he shall not die. That's what God wants. Turn to me, repent, repent, right? Turn to me, God says. Yet the house of Israel says the way of the Lord isn't fair. O house of Israel, isn't my, is it not my ways which are fair, and your ways which aren't? Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways.

We do it to ourselves, right? Repent, he says. Repent and turn from all your transgressions so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed. Get yourselves a new heart that God is willing to give you and me, and a new spirit for why would you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies. Therefore turn and live. God is ultimately the just God. I mean, we've read that over and over in Isaiah, and as we look at what's going on here in the United States and in Canada as well, you know, justice is no longer there. It's not the impartial justice that's there, but God is absolutely just according to what we do. We do it to ourselves, right? So here in verse 27, if we go back to Isaiah 40, you know, he says, hold on a minute, let me see what we got here in Romans 11. I wrote down that too. Oh yeah, here in verse 33 of Romans 11, Paul is saying, the death of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways fast binding out? God is ultimately just. No one. God's not fair. Absolutely God is fair. We will reap what we sow.

So in verse 28 then, verse 28, here's these questions again. As God continues to build the case here and show who he is, haven't you known? Haven't you heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, he doesn't faint, nor is he weary. His understanding is unsearchable. I was back in Psalm 147 verse 4. I didn't read verse 5, but verse 5 in Psalm 147 says that thing. His understanding is unsearchable. So there in the Psalms again, God doesn't slumber, he doesn't sleep. His understanding is unsearchable. You can write down if you want. Psalm 121 verse 4 says, our God never slumbers, he never sleeps. He's always got the watchful eye on us. We have to slumber and sleep. God does not. He's always got his watchful eye on us.

Verse 29, he gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might, he increases strength.

God gives us whatever we need. You know, reminded of what Paul said, in my weakness, if I find strength, God, when we're weak, we become strong. When we rely on him, we can speak boldly, we can act boldly, we can stand in the gap, we can stand up, we can even allow others to take our life when we rely on God and the strength he gives us. Even the youth, verse 30, shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Over and over, you remember in Isaiah, you know, we've talked about waiting for God, building the patience, building the strength to know that what he says is sure. It won't happen immediately in most cases, but it will happen. Endure to the end, keep your eyes on him, keep your faith in him, and it will happen. Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, and they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. This is a beautiful, beautiful way that God ends this chapter. It's very hopeful and very positive chapter, where he's talking about Christ coming back to earth, setting up his kingdom, the love he has for mankind, the care that he will take for them, the whole new world that will be there, and it is so completely different than the world that you and I live in today. He does it all. He does it all. So let's just stop there, and then we'll pick up chapter 41 next week, but let's open it up for any questions, comments, or anything that anyone wants to talk about. Mr. Shaby, did we ever get anyone on Rick Beam? Rick Beam. I haven't heard anything yet. He was having his surgery today. Okay. Yeah, he's having a surgery. I haven't heard anything yet, unless something has come through while we've been on this. So it's a pretty long surgery, though, so I'm probably not done yet. Okay, thank you.

Anything anyone?

Okay, like I said, either you understand it or I put you all to sleep. So, so, so, um, then we will, Mr. Shaby. Yes. Hey, Fred. I would like to make a couple of comments.

One, that last part of Isaiah 40, it was read in the movie Charites of Fire in 1984, and it was, I found it very touching because it was done very well. The, uh, the, uh, the film, I do recommend to see that film if you haven't seen it. There's very little, uh, not, uh, fences in it. It's one of the cleaner movies. I'll put it like that, and that's a true story. And the second thing is, in 1995, when worldwide collapsed, right? I include myself in this, and I've met others. We were told, stay in the church. So, I, me personally, I hung around for a couple years, and then I got discouraged or shipwrecked, and it was not just me, but there's a number of people, as I said. And then years later, this is speaking about how God's, uh, how Jesus Christ is, is the Good Shepherd. He searched us out, and we came back. And I've met a number of people that were gone. I mean, I'm not talking about monsters, I'm talking about years. Like me, I was gone about around 15 years, and then it just happened, you know. And I know some other people, too. But it shows that when, when we were unfaithful for a period of time, Christ was still faithful to us. So, that's basically it. That's a very good thought, though. But you know what, there, yeah, we have seen people come back into the church that have been gone for a while, and you're right. God never walked, never lost track of them, right? And, and, and people respond. Now, what we find is when they come back, they are dedicated. When they found it, when they back in again, they are just really, really sound and dedicated. They're not going to let go of it, like you. And that's a beautiful thing. That's a good analogy. So, hey, Jolene. Hey, John and Angie. You have your hand up?

Okay, we can't hear you, John or Angie, if you're talking.

Okay, then. Any, anyone else?

Okay, then let's, those of you in Cincinnati, we'll see you this, we'll see you this Sabbath. The rest of you have a very good rest of the week in Sabbath. We will look forward to seeing you next Wednesday. Okay. Bye. Bye, everyone. Take care. Take care. Thank you.

Bye, Dave. Good night.