Isaiah 40:1 Komentář

We have here the commission and instructions given, not to this prophet only, but, with him, to all the Lord's prophets, nay, and to all Christ's ministers, to proclaim comfort to God's people. 1. This did not only warrant, but enjoin, this prophet himself to encourage the good people who lived in his own time, who could not but have very melancholy apprehensions of things when they saw Judah and Jerusalem by their daring impieties ripening apace for ruin, and God in his providence hastening ruin upon them. Let them be sure that, notwithstanding all this, God had mercy in store for them. 2. It was especially a direction to the prophets that should live in the time of captivity, when Jerusalem was in ruins; they must encourage the captives to hope for enlargement in due time. 3. Gospel ministers, being employed by the blessed Spirit as comforters, and as helpers of the joy of Christians, are here put in mind of their business. Here we have, I. Comfortable words directed to God's people in general, Isa 40:1. The prophets have instructions from their God (for he is the Lord God of the holy prophets, Rev 22:6) to comfort the people of God; and the charge is doubled, Comfort you, comfort you - not because the prophets are unwilling to do it (no, it is the most pleasant part of their work), but because sometimes the souls of God's people refuse to be comforted, and their comforters must repeat things again and again, ere they can fasten any thing upon them. Observe here, 1. There are a people in the world that are God's people. 2. It is the will of God that his people should be a comforted people, even in the worst of times. 3. It is the work and business of ministers to do what they can for the comfort of God's people. 4. Words of conviction, such as we had in the former part of this book, must be followed with words of comfort, such as we have here; for he that has torn will heal us. II. Comfortable words directed to Jerusalem in particular: "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem (Isa 40:2); speak that which will revive her heart, and be a cordial to her and to all that belong to her and wish her well. Do not whisper it, but cry unto her: cry aloud, to show saints their comforts as well as to show sinners their transgressions; make her hear it:" 1. "That the days of her trouble are numbered and finished: Her warfare is accomplished, the set time of her servitude; the campaign is now at an end, and she shall retire into quarters of refreshment." Human life is a warfare (Job 7:1); the Christian life much more. But the struggle will not last always; the warfare will be accomplished, and then the good soldiers shall not only enter into rest, but be sure of their pay. 2. "That the cause of her trouble is removed, and, when that is taken away, the effect will cease. Tell her that her iniquity is pardoned, God is reconciled to her, and she shall no longer be treated as one guilty before him." Nothing can be spoken more comfortably than this, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. Troubles are then removed in love when sin is pardoned. 3. "That the end of her trouble is answered: She has received of the Lord double for the cure of all her sins, sufficient, and more than sufficient, to separate between her and her idols," the worship of which was the great sin for which God had a controversy with them, and from which he designed to reclaim them by their captivity in Babylon: and it had that effect upon them; it begat in them a rooted antipathy to idolatry, and was physic doubly strong for the purging out of that iniquity. Or it may be taken as the language of the divine compassion: His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel (Jdg 10:16), and, like a tender father, since he spoke against them he earnestly remembered them (Jer 31:20), and was ready to say that he had given them too much correction. They, being very penitent, acknowledged that God has punished them less than their iniquities deserved; but he, being very pitiful, owned, in a manner, that he had punished them more than they deserved. True penitents have indeed, in Christ and his sufferings, received of the Lord's hand double for all their sins; for the satisfaction Christ made by his death was of such an infinite value that it was more than double to the demerits of sin; for God spared not his own Son.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 40 This chapter treats of the comforts of God's people; of the forerunner and coming of the Messiah; of his work, and the dignity of his person; of the folly of making idols, and of the groundless complaints of the church of God. The consolations of God's people, by whom to be administered, and the matter, ground, and reason of them, Isa 40:1. John the Baptist, the harbinger of Christ, is described by his work and office, and the effects of it; it issuing in the humiliation of some, and the exaltation of others, and in the revelation of the glory of Christ, Isa 40:3, then follows an order to every minister of the Gospel what he should preach and publish; the weakness and insufficiency of men to anything that is spiritually good; their fading and withering goodliness, which is to be ascribed to the blowing of the Spirit of God upon it; and the firmness and constancy of the word of God is declared, Isa 40:6, next the apostles of Christ in Jerusalem are particularly exhorted to publish fervently and openly the good tidings of the Gospel; to proclaim the coming of Christ, the manner of it, and the work he came about; and to signify his faithful discharge of his office as a shepherd, Isa 40:9, the dignity of whose person is set forth by his almighty power, by his infinite wisdom, and by the greatness of his majesty, in comparison of which all nations and things are as nothing, Isa 40:12 and then the vanity of framing any likeness to God, and of forming idols for worship, is observed, Isa 40:18, and from the consideration of the divine power in creation and upholding all things, the church of God is encouraged to expect renewed strength and persevering grace, and is blamed for giving way to a distrustful and murmuring spirit, Isa 40:26.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. The Babylonish captivity being predicted in the preceding chapter, for the comfort of God's people a deliverance is promised, expressed in such terms, as in the clearest and strongest manner to set forth the redemption and salvation by Jesus Christ, of which it was typical. Here begins the more evangelical and spiritual part of this prophecy, which reaches to and includes the whole Gospel dispensation, from the coming of John the Baptist to the second coming of Christ. It begins with comforts, and holds on and ends with them; which consolations, Kimchi observes, are what should be in the times of the Messiah; and the word "comfort" is repeated, he says, to confirm the thing. It is God that here speaks, who is the God of all comfort; the persons whom he would have comforted are his "people", whom he has chosen, with whom be has made a covenant in Christ, whom he has given to him, and he has redeemed by his blood, and whom he effectually calls by his grace; these are sometimes disconsolate, by reason of the corruptions of their nature, the temptations of Satan, the hidings of God's face, and the various afflictions they meet with; and it is the will of God they should be comforted, as appears by sending his Son to be the comforter of them, by giving his Spirit as another comforter, by appointing ordinances as breasts of consolation to them, by the promises he has made to them, and the confirmation of them by an oath, for their strong consolation; and particularly by the word of the Gospel, and the ministers of it, who are Barnabases, sons of consolation, who are sent with a comfortable message, and are encouraged in their work from the consideration of God being their God, who will be with them, assist them, and make their ministrations successful; and to these are these words addressed; which are repeated, not to suggest any backwardness in Gospel ministers, who are ready to go on such an errand, however reluctant they may be to carry bad tidings; but rather to signify the people's refusal to be comforted, and therefore must be spoken to again and again; and also to show the vehement and hearty desire of the Lord to have them comforted. The Targum is, "O ye prophets, prophesy comforts concerning my people.'' And the Septuagint and Arabic versions insert, "O ye priests", as if the words were directed to them. The preachers of the Gospel are meant, and are called unto; what the Lord would have said for the comfort of his people by them is expressed in the following verse.

God did not approve of Hezekiah’s proposal. The fact that he mentioned only himself in his prayer and not the people was blameworthy. That is why the prophet says in what follows, “Comfort my people, says the Lord.”

Hezekiah offered prayers to God because he had been told that death was imminent, but he failed to pray that evil should be averted from his descendants. Hence Isaiah says, “Comfort, comfort my people, you priests.”

(Chapter 40, Verses 1 onwards) Console, console my people, says your God: Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her; for her wickedness is complete, her iniquity is forgiven. She has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. LXX: Console, console my people, says God. O priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem; console her, for her humility is fulfilled. His sin has been forgiven, for he has received from the hand of the Lord double for all his sins. According to other interpreters, others are commanded to console the people of God and Jerusalem together. According to the Hebrew text, the people themselves are commanded to console, speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and advocate for her. Speaking to the heart of Jerusalem is the language of the Scriptures. For one who speaks to the mournful and soothes is called a consoler who speaks to the heart. Let us be taught by Sichem, the son of Hemor, who spoke corruptly to his heart about the defiled Dinah, and comforted her (Genesis XXXIV). And wherever you find something similar, it has this meaning. The reason for consolation is the forgiveness of sins, and the cause of forgiveness is that he received double from the hand of the Lord for all his sins. For whoever knows the will of his Lord and sins, will be beaten with many stripes (Luke XII). And everyone who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, whom the Savior promised to the Apostles, saying: I will ask my Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever, the Spirit of truth (John XIV, 16); and again: But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes forth from the Father, he will bear witness about me (John XV, 26); and: It is profitable for you that I go away: for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you (John XVI, 7); the Comforter is the one now commanded to console the people of God. Wherefore also the Apostle Paul was speaking to believers: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God: for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ (2 Corinthians 1:1-6); and again: And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation (2 Corinthians 1:7). But who is this people, who through the Apostles and Ecclesiastical men is consoled, not Israel, and Jacob and Juda, as the Scripture mentions in other places, but the people of God, as the Prophet Zacharias testifies saying: Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. And many nations will flee to the Lord in that day, and they will be His people, and they will dwell in your midst, and they will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you (Zach. II, 10, 11). By this testimony, it is clearly demonstrated that many nations are to be turned into the people of God. And this is what the Lord, sent by the Lord, whose name is Almighty, says. And it should be noted that our sins are not forgiven unless we receive them from the hand of the Lord. And it is not the same thing to have sins forgiven as to have them pardoned. For those to whom they are pardoned, there is no need for forgiveness, as it is written in the Gospel: Believe, my child, your sins are forgiven you (Matthew 9:2). But those who are released are released because they have been cleansed and freed through punishments. According to history, Jerusalem received its sins twice from the hands of the Babylonians and secondly from the Romans. And what is added by the Seventy, the Priests, must be noted.

Hezekiah was at a loss for a defense. Since he could offer no excuse for his crimes, he said that God’s word was good, even though it foretold things that should have made him shed tears. Then he asks for peace in his own days, bidding goodbye, as it were, to those who were to come after him and thereby neglecting his native land, his own city and his own race. But it would have been better for him to be sorry for the things that had been predicted and to ask God for mercy and happiness (not temporary and restricted) on behalf of those to come after him.

Observe, you who are our beloved sons, how merciful yet righteous the Lord our God is; how gracious and kind to me. And yet most certainly “he will not acquit the guilty,” although he welcomes returning sinners and revives them, leaving no room for suspicion to those who wish to judge sternly and reject offenders entirely, refusing to promise exhortations to them that might otherwise bring them to repentance. In contradiction to people like this, Isaiah says to the bishops, “Comfort, comfort my people, you priests. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem.” It therefore behooves you, on hearing those words of his, to encourage those who have offended and lead them to repentance. Give them hope that it is not in vain that you enter into their situation of sin, because you love them. Readily receive those who are penitent and rejoice over them. Judge the sinners with mercy and compassion. For if somebody was walking beside the river and ready to stumble, and you pushed him and threw him into the river, instead of offering him your hand to help, you would be guilty of murdering your brother or sister. Instead, you should lend a helping hand when they’re ready to fall. Otherwise they will perish without anyone to help. And you do this so that the people watching are warned and so that the offenders may not utterly perish. It is your duty, O bishop, neither to overlook the sins of the people nor to reject those who are penitent so that you may not unskillfully destroy the Lord’s flock or dishonor his new name, which he has imposed on his people. And you yourself should also be above reproach as those ancient pastors were of whom God speaks to Jeremiah and others.

This the second principle part of this book, in which he principally intends the comfort of the people through many promised benefits. And it is divided into two parts: in the first, he leads them to the expectation of promises; in the second, he describes the promise of divine benefits, below: thus says the Lord to my anointed (Isa 45:1). The first of these is divided into three parts: in the first, he comforts them with the power of the one who promises; in the second, with his love: let the islands keep silence (Isa 41:1); in the third, with the weakness of the idols who might be believed to resist: and now hear, O Jacob (Isa 44:1). Concerning the first, he does three things: first, he leads them to comfort; second, he promises the comforter: the voice of one crying in the desert (Isa 40:3); in the third part, he shows the power of God who comforts: who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? (Isa 40:12). First, he leads the people to comfort: be comforted, in spiritual goods, be comforted, in the temporal goods granted you: he comforted the mourners in Zion (Sir 48:27); and the Lord answered the angel, that spoke in me, good words, comfortable words (Zech 1:13).

This and the four following chapters contain a distinct account of what passed in the land of Judah from the taking of Jerusalem to the retreat of the remnant of the people to Egypt; together with the prophecies of Jeremiah concerning that place, whither he himself accompanied them. In this chapter we have an account of the enlargement of Jeremiah by Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, who advises him to put himself under the jurisdiction of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land of Judea, Jer 40:1-5. The prophet and many of the dispersed Jews repair to Gedaliah, Jer 40:6-12. Johanan acquaints the governor of a conspiracy against him, but is not believed, Jer 40:13-16.

Comfort ye, comfort ye - "The whole of this prophecy," says Kimchi, "belongs to the days of the Messiah."

SECOND PART OF THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. (Isa. 40:1-31) Comfort ye, comfort ye--twice repeated to give double assurance. Having announced the coming captivity of the Jews in Babylon, God now desires His servants, the prophets (Isa 52:7), to comfort them. The scene is laid in Babylon; the time, near the close of the captivity; the ground of comfort is the speedy ending of the captivity, the Lord Himself being their leader. my people . . . your God--correlatives (Jer 31:33; Hos 1:9-10). It is God's covenant relation with His people, and His "word" of promise (Isa 40:8) to their forefathers, which is the ground of His interposition in their behalf, after having for a time chastised them (Isa 54:8).

In this first address the prophet vindicates his call to be the preacher of the comfort of the approaching deliverance, and explains this comfort on the ground that Jehovah, who called him to this comforting proclamation, was the incomparably exalted Creator and Ruler of the world. The first part of this address (Isa 40:1-11) may be regarded as the prologue to the whole twenty-seven. The theme of the prophetic promise, and the irresistible certainty of its fulfilment, are here declared. Turning of the people of the captivity, whom Jehovah has neither forgotten nor rejected, the prophet commences thus in Isa 40:1 : "Comfort ye, comfort ye may people, saith your God." This is the divine command to the prophets. Nachămū (piel, literally, to cause to breathe again) is repeated, because of its urgency (anadiplosis, as in Isa 41:27; Isa 43:11, Isa 43:25, etc.). The word יאמר, which does not mean "will say" here (Hofmann, Stier), but "saith" (lxx, Jerome) - as, for example, in Sa1 24:14 - affirms that the command is a continuous one. The expression "saith your God" is peculiar to Isaiah, and common to both parts of the collection (Isa 1:11, Isa 1:18; Isa 33:10; Isa 40:1, Isa 40:25; Isa 41:21; Isa 66:9). The future in all these passages is expressive of that which is taking place or still continuing. And it is the same here. The divine command has not been issued once only, or merely to one prophet, but is being continually addressed to many prophets. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," is the continual charge of the God of the exiles. who has not ceased to be their God even in the midst of wrath, to His messengers and heralds the prophets.