The document provides an overview of a Sunday school lesson on Isaiah 40. It discusses the historical context during Isaiah's time, the message of comfort God instructed Isaiah to provide to Judah facing exile, and how this message still applies today. The lesson focuses on how Isaiah conveyed that God is sovereign, will fulfill his purposes, and sustain his people. It also provides biblical references on God's comfort and plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

1. Isaiah 40:1-31
God Renews
October 25, 2020
His Followers Sunday School Class
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
The glory of God!
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God.
References
• Palmer, Edwin H., The NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1985).
• MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Study Bible NKJV (Nashville, Nelson
Publishers, 1997).
• Smith, Colin, Isaiah 40: Comfort, Unlocking The Bible, Video Sermon on
YouTube.
• Wiersbe, Warren W., BE COMFORTED: Isaiah (Colorado Springs, Chariot
Victor Publishing, 1992).
Focus of Lesson Today
1. Look at the historical background when God instructed Isaiah to write
Chapter 40.
2. How did God provide “comfort” to Judah after revealing the prophecy of
a dark future and exile for the next 100 years?
3. Consider how this same message of “comfort” can also apply to our
difficult days in life.
Introduction to Isaiah the Prophet
• Isaiah’s name means “salvation of the Lord.”
• Isaiah prophesied during the time of the divided kingdom, directing the
major thrust of his message to the southern kingdom of Judah.
• Isaiah ministered in the Jerusalem area as a prophet from 739-686 B.C. (53
years) during the reigns of 4 kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
Hezekiah.

2. The Historical Setting of Isaiah 40
• The Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria in 722 BC.
• King Ahaz ruled the Southern Kingdom from 731-715 BC.
• King Ahaz tried to reshape the faith in the land to the surrounding culture
of Assyria (2 Kings 16:1-4).
• Children sacrificed in fire to the worship of Molech
• The “abominations of the nations” – 9 detestable practices of the
Canaanites listed in Deuteronomy 18:9-12.
• The people were relieved when Hezekiah become king in 715 BC after 16
years of King Ahaz.
• 2 Kings 18:3-5 NKJV
3 He (King Hezekiah) did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places and
broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces
the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children
of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the
Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings
of Judah, nor who were before him.
• In 701 BC, after 14 years as king, King Hezekiah decided to pay
Sennacherib king of Assyria the assessment for protection instead of
trusting God.
• Hezekiah said, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you
impose on me I will pay.”
• Hezekiah then gave him all of the silver in the temple and treasury and
stripped the gold from the temple doors and pillars (2 Kings 18:13-16).

3. The Historical Setting of Isaiah 40
• King Hezekiah eventually trusts God for protection and the Assyrians
retreat from Judah (700 BC).
• King Hezekiah becomes ill and prays for healing; God extends his life 15
years.
• The king of Babylon befriends King Hezekiah by sending well wishes and
gifts along with a visit.
• King Hezekiah proudly shows the Babylonians all of the treasures, armory
and wealth of Judah.
• Isaiah inquires what the Babylonians were shown.
• Isaiah 39:4 NKJV
4 So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is
nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
• Isaiah tells him that he has just lit a slow burning fuse, and these people
will take away everything he has just shown them.
Isaiah 39:5-7 NKJV (A Prophecy of Captivity)
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the
days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have
accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’
says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend
from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the
king of Babylon.’”
• This sounds like very bad news but look at King Hezekiah’s response!
Isaiah 39:8 NKJV (A Selfish Response!)
8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is
good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”
• Chapter 39 ends with this selfish response from Hezekiah.
Introduction to Isaiah 40
• Isaiah 40 was written around 700 BC.
• It reads as though the prophesied Babylonian captivity were already a
current reality, but that captivity did not begin until 605 BC.
• Charles Jennens used portions of Isaiah 40 for writing the scriptural text for
Handel’s oratorio, Messiah, in 1741.
• The prophecy of Isaiah 39 says Judah’s life is about to change for the
worse, and there is no fixing it.
• What can God say to encourage a group of people who know they have
a dark future ahead, and life will never be the same for them or their
children?
• How do you face a future when the prospects for your life have changed
for the rest of your life?

4. Isaiah 40:1 NKJV (Speak Comfort)
1 Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
• God tells Isaiah to speak words of “comfort.”
• Comfort ‒ To console, cheer, to give strength and hope.
Isaiah’s Message of Comfort in Isaiah 40
1. God is in control. (God is sovereign.)
2. God will fulfill His purposes for you.
‐ “You” in these verses represent Judah, (nation of Israel) and each
individual person.
3. God will sustain His people.
• We will look at verses of Isaiah 40 through the lens of these 3 promises.
1. God is in control. (God is sovereign.)
Isaiah 40:12 NKJV (Omnipotent)
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
Isaiah 40:13-14 NKJV (Omniscient)
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 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?
Isaiah 40:15 NKJV
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

5. 1. God is in control. (God is sovereign.)
Isaiah 40:18-20 NKJV (Nothing Can Compare)
18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
Isaiah 40:21-22 NKJV (Omnipresent)
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Isaiah 40:25-26 NKJV (Creator)
25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And 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.
God says to Isaiah, “Tell them I am in control!”
• Faith is established when we recognize that God is as much in control
through the disasters as He is in our deliverance.
• Our faith is fed on the sovereignty of God.
• God was just as much in control when Judah went into exile, as He was in
control when they returned 70 years later.

6. 2. God will fulfill His purposes for you.
Isaiah 40:2 NKJV (Forgiveness)
2 Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
• Israel will be forgiven and return to her land in peace and in the glory
of the Messiah’s kingdom.
Isaiah 40:3 NKJV (The Redeemer)
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
• The OT is about God’s promise of the Redeemer through Abraham.
• These verses of prophecy affirm this will happen even with dark days
ahead.
Isaiah 40:4-5 NKJV (The Redeemer)
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:6-8 NKJV (Humanity is transitory)
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

7. 2. God will fulfill His purposes for you.
Isaiah 40:9 NKJV (The restoration of Israel)
9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O 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!”
Isaiah 40:10 NKJV
10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
• At His Second Coming, Christ returns with power to defeat His enemies
and gather Israel to her land.
Isaiah 40:27 NKJV
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
• God has not forgotten you.
Isaiah 40:28 NKJV (The mysteries of God)
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
• Even though you do not understand it, God has a purpose for your exile
(problems in life).
Summary
• Every one of God’s purposes will be realized.
• God has not marginalized you, forgotten you, or put you off to one side.
• God has made you for a purpose and He will fulfill that purpose in your life.

8. 3. God will sustain His people.
Isaiah 40:11 NKJV (The Good Shepherd)
11 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.
Isaiah 40:29-30 NKJV (Strength)
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
• Hard situations in life can make you weary, but God promises to give
strength.
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Summary
• There is a general principle that patient, praying believers are blessed by
God with strength in their trials.
• The Lord also expected His people to be patient and await His coming in
glory at the end to fulfill the promises of national deliverance, when
believing Israel would become stronger than they had ever been.
Paul experienced God’s sustaining grace.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NKJV
8 Concerning this thing (thorn in the flesh) I pleaded with the Lord three times that
it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for
My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather
boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
• God’s grace, through Jesus, will be continually supplied to us to endure
the difficulty and sustain us.

9. Tell them I am in control!
• There is not a day in your life when God is not in absolute and complete
control.
• No one can fully understand the sovereignty of God, but we can “rest” in
God’s sovereignty.
• Jesus gives us the reason we can remain cheerful in every circumstance
in John 16:33.
John 16:33 NKJV
33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the
world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world.”
The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16-17 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me.”
Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to
pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death” explained in
Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral,
sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation 21:8,
will experience the “second death,” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn
away from sin and believe in Jesus.

10. Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be
My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explain to us how to be overcomers.
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
https://www.firstbaptistjackson.org/contact-us/