Advent week 1:: Hope Thursday

All quotes come from the ESV Study Bible Commentary

“In Isaiah 40 God provides a comforting promise of hope for the brokenhearted people of God. God is incomparably powerful over all things and promises strength for endurance to all who will wait for him.”

The book of Isaiah was written about 700 years before the coming of Jesus Christ. There are many references to the coming Messiah in the book. This is one of them. There are several things to connect with about this passage. I write about two of them at the bottom of this page. One thing to connect with before you read the passage is the 700 years of waiting and watching the people of God endured from the writing of this passage until the actual coming of Jesus.

Isa 40:1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Isa 40:2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
Isa 40:3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Isa 40:6 A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
Isa 40:7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.
Isa 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isa 40:9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
Isa 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
Isa 40:11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
“In Isaiah 40:4 These are metaphors—based on the rough terrain as one approaches Jerusalem from the east—for personal repentance and social reformation, remaking the world as a place fit for the coming King.”

Reflect on these concepts and your need for personal repentance and the social reform that needs to take place in your own heart as you prepare for this season. By social reform I mean to say engagement in the culture and making our community a better place to live.

In verses 10 and 11 see the conquering strength, gentleness and generosity of our coming king. Breathe those attributes of our Savior in deep. As you do wait with hope in this season of expectancy.