God of Jesus Christ,
give us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Christ,
so that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened.
Help us to know the hope to which you have called us,
the riches of the glorious inheritance in the saints,
and the immeasurable greatness of your power at work in us.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
—based on Ephesians 1:17-19, NRSV
29 begins with the name “Ariel.” This is the only place I can find this name for Jerusalem. It is the same word as “altar hearth” at the end of verse 2. Verses 9-16 are a horrifying vision of what happens when people’s hearts are hardened to God’s Word. Jesus quotes from this passage in Matthew 15:8-9. May this not be us as we read God’s Word! And then comes hope again in verses 17-24. Isaiah alternates between judgment and hope very quickly!
I periodically quote Psalm 33:17, “A horse is a vain hope for deliverance.” That is my abbreviated way for reminding myself (and others) that our own little fixes amount to nothing if we don’t keep our lives turned to God (see the rest of Psalm 33). Isaiah 31 is another example of the same thing, and the horse imagery appears in the same context.
I love the story of Sennacherib, which is a real life example of the “horse is a vain hope for deliverance” principle. This must be a key story for us, since this is the third time we are reading it (also 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 32)!
Isaiah 40 marks a big jump in time. In 39:5-7 Isaiah prophesies the Babylonian captivity, and in chapter 40 he speaks words that are meant to comfort those captives. We see at least three words of comfort: one for the Babylonian exiles, one in reference to Jesus’ birth, and another as we look forward to Jesus’ return.
I absolutely love the grace that is found in Isaiah. God acts on behalf of his people. God saves. Isaiah 40 is yet another vivid picture of that.
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