Prepare

 

Introduction

In the study on Mark 1:1-3, Mark told the Roman Christians about the prophecies by Jewish prophets, Isaiah and Malachi, of a message sent from Yahweh God about a Messiah He would send to the earth. He explained what this Messiah meant for them and for all people. Mark said each person must prepare the way of the Lord in their lives. They must prepare to see Him, repent, and confess, and accept Him as the Savior of their souls from sin and an eternal death separated from God. Mark referred to the one about whom God called to prepare the way for the Messiah to begin His ministries on earth. This study will lead the readers of Mark 1:4-8 to understand who God chose as the messenger “preparing the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:3).

Preparer of the Way

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4 [NASB])

Mark began his gospel writing about Old Testament prophecies. He then went linearly to the next step toward introducing the good news by showing the prophecy’s fulfillment. The first step of that fulfillment was introducing the prophesied “preparer of the way.” John the Baptist was the first man who preached to people about preparing the way. He was the forerunner to Jesus’ ministry of salvation and reconciliation. A forerunner is an announcer. He is the one who goes before the one about whom he/she speaks. Other words for a forerunner are messenger and herald. Each of these describes the person who enters a city, town, or village before the one whom he/she announces. The one whom the herald goes before is a dignitary or person who comes with an important message or important work to do. Think of a king of bygone days. When he traveled, he sent a messenger in advance telling the village or town he was soon to be with them in their town or village. A messenger/herald/forerunner prepares the way for a person of great stature. Mark told the readers/hearers of this gospel John the Baptist was the preparer of the way. John was the one who would go before the Messiah, telling people to get right with God and be ready, for the Messiah is coming imminently.

Who was John the Baptist? What made him important enough to be the herald of the Messiah? John’s parents were Elizabeth and Zechariah, both of whom were from the tribe of Levi, descendants of Aaron. The tribe of Levi was the tribe from whom the priests came. Elizabeth and Zechariah were in their old age when God informed them they would have a son. Zechariah was in the temple and did not consider it possible, so the angel of the Lord told him he would not speak until his son was born (Luke 1:9-17). This reminds us of another couple from Israelite forefathers to whom God gave a promise. Abraham and Sarah had no children and in their old age, God promised Abraham more descendants than all the stars of the sky or sand of the seas. He fulfilled that promise beginning with Isaac’s birth (Genesis 12:1-4 & 21:5). Elizabeth was the cousin of Mary, Jesus’ mother. That means John and Jesus were cousins. Like Jesus, angels proclaimed John’s birth. John grew up in the wilderness (Luke 1:80). His public ministry came after almost 400 years of silence from prophets. John was called the Baptizer because of his practice of baptizing people. When people repented of their sins, he baptized them. John was no great king, seer, or leader of the people. He did not live as most people did. Still, God used him to be the preparer of the way for the Messiah.

What else did Mark say about John in his gospel? In verse four, he said John appeared on the public stage when God gave him a word to proclaim. He lived and ministered in the Judean wilderness in the lower Jordan River valley, just north of the Dead Sea. John preached the word God gave to him to say. He baptized by submerging a person under the water. He wore clothes made of camel’s hair and a belt made from animal skin (Mark 1:6). John ate locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6). He was no one special in the eyes of man. To God, he was His child and servant, willing to do as He commanded.

What did God tell John to preach/proclaim? Verse four tells readers/hearers that he preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Baptism was commonly used by Jews when a person from outside the faith converted to Judaism. It was not an unusual act for the Jews. John used it for another reason. He used it to symbolize a person’s cleansing of sins when he/she confessed and repented of them. Sin comes from the Greek word hamartia. It means missing the mark. When one missed the mark in target practice on an archery or shooting range, it means the person did not do what was required to be perfect. The same occurs in life when you sin. You strive to do and be good, but you can never do or be good all the time. You are human with freewill. The Jewish religion became bounded by many manmade laws that each Jew must keep. By doing this, they could be in God’s presence at the temple and could enter heaven, hopefully, when they died. Yet, each Jew knew he/she was not holy. He/she was unclean daily. Because of this, God told them to offer a sacrifice for their sins each morning and night. John proclaimed to the Jews a new way to repent. Instead of using an animal as a scapegoat for their sins, the Jews could offer themselves directly for cleansing. John told them if they sincerely repented of their sins, they could be baptized for forgiveness of their sins. The Jewish religious laws never taught a permanent forgiveness of sins. The religious leaders would have spoken against what John preached. John, though, was “the preparer of the way.” He helped the people prepare their hearts to see, listen about, and believe in Jesus and what He taught. Confession and repentance are part of being a Christian. Jesus brought what only He could give for salvation, the sufficient sacrifice.

Mark noted for his readers/hearers that “all the country of Judea was going out to him (John the Baptist) and all the people of Jerusalem, and they were being baptized by Him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:5 [NASB]) John did what God called him to do. God told him to prepare the way. He told the people about the Messiah who was coming. John preached about repenting of sins and being baptized for repentance, too. Baptism for salvation is what Jesus gives to everyone who believes. This baptism is symbolized in two parts. The going down under the water symbolizes a person dying to him or herself. A person’s rising up out of the water means becoming a man/woman born anew by Jesus. The baptism John performed symbolized a person’s sincere repentance of sin. Repentance prepared a person’s heart for listening to and accepting the salvation Jesus taught about and gave through His sinless life, death, and resurrection.

In Mark 1:7, John preached One mightier than him would come after him. He said he was unworthy to serve Him by untying the straps on His sandals. The most menial work a servant could do, even John was not good enough to do this for the Messiah. Mark used the Greek word ischuros in this verse. This word means a power/might that comes from God and is greater than what a human has. John recognized his humanity and the divinity of the One who would come after him by using this word, “mightier.” He prepared the way for the people to hear about the One whom God would send to them, the Messiah about whom the prophets proclaimed. This Messiah, John realized and proclaimed, is greater in stature, being, and might than him. He, a man to whom the people of Judea flocked and held in esteem, could not be His servant because he was too low in stature.

John prepared the way of the Lord with his words and ministry. He helped the people prepare their hearts and minds to hear about the salvation God gives through Jesus. John helped them prepare to pay attention to the man all knew came from a tiny village called Bethlehem because He came to be the greatest of all. He explained in more detail how great this Messiah would be. John told his listeners in Mark 1:8, “I baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” He said the Messiah sent from God can save people from their sins, but he himself could not save them or empower them not to sin again. Only Jesus, the Son of God, could do this.. John’s baptism was for the forgiveness of sins. It was just a symbol. He knew people needed a sacrifice that was lasting to make them righteous. Cleansing from unrighteousness means cleansing a person eternally from sins and the guilt of their sins. Eternal righteousness only comes from God. Nothing a person could do would ever clean himself/herself from sins and guilt. The temple sacrifices did not give an eternal cleansing and make a person eternally righteous. For this reason, Mark told his readers/hearers that John said, “I baptize with water. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” Water just makes the outside of a person clean; it does not touch the inner person-the heart. All actions and words of a person come from the inner disposition of that person. To cleanse and change the heart requires something far beyond what humanity can do. God knows the heart of a person and only He can reach the heart. His Spirit enters a person when he/she confesses and repents of his/her sins and trusts in Jesus Christ as his/her Savior from sins. From that point, the Spirit of God lives in the person giving direction for the right way to live, think, and be. Only the baptism of the Holy Spirit that comes at the point of profession of faith, as Mark wrote, gives a person salvation from sins, guilt, and eternal death. The recounting of John’s proclamation and baptism for repentance disclosed to the readers/hearers of Mark’s Gospel that John’s baptism was nothing compared to the baptism Jesus offers. John was unworthy to untie the Messiah’s sandal, just like his baptism was not good enough to give permanent removal of sins and give salvation.

Application

The Jews considered their actions would be good enough for God to forgive them of their sins and make them righteous. This did not keep them in a close relationship with God, though. They very often lived contrary to God’s way. They sinned and ran away from God like we all do at points in our lives. God prepared a way for each person to receive salvation. He planned this from before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:17-21). God provided judges, priests, and prophets to continue to call the Israelites to stay in a close relationship with Him. He told the Israelites, when He gave them the Promised Land, that they were to be a light to the nations so that all nations would come to know Him as their God (Isaiah 49:6). Each of these people were to be the messengers of God, though the Israelites, as a nation, did not follow God consistently. After four hundred years of silence, God called a man, John, about whom His prophets foretold was to proclaim about the One whom God would send. John was God’s first New Testament messenger. He told John to proclaim, “prepare the way of the Lord.”

Today, we who are believers in Jesus the Messiah are God’s messengers. He commands us to tell people to prepare the way of the Lord in their own lives and then to tell more people. Jesus commissioned His disciples by saying,

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. God, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20 [NASB])

For people to prepare the way, they must be told about Jesus, their sin, and their inability to be good enough to earn righteousness and eternal life with God. For this reason, God sends messengers to herald Jesus’ arrival and declare, “Behold.” Added to hearing the good news of Jesus, people need to prepare to receive the salvation God offers. They do this by confessing and repenting of their sins. Unconfessed sins are like bricks stacked on top of one another, creating a wall between us and God. The more we sin, the easier it is to sin. This wall makes it harder for us to want to turn to God. Preparing the way of the Lord is confessing and repenting, as John taught. It is listening to the message of good news about God’s salvation offered to everyone who trusts in Jesus. Preparing the way of the Lord is affirming Jesus is God’s Son and accepting the salvation He provides. It then must involve preparing the way by proclaiming about the salvation Jesus gives. He gives it through His life, death, and resurrection so other people will listen to, accept, and experience salvation for themselves.

This reflects the “now and not yet” of God’s good news of salvation. We are saved at a point in time and are being saved from our sins every day until the day we arrive in heaven with God. At that time, Jesus perfects us in His image. He makes us complete; our salvation is complete because we will sin no more. The point of our salvation reflects a “now and not yet” scenario in that God’s salvation plan of humanity is not complete until His kingdom comes in its fullness. While we are alive on earth as His children, we become His messengers of His good news of salvation for each person. We become like Isaiah, Malachi, John, the disciples, and other Jesus-followers since Jesus’ arrival on earth. We are God’s messengers who prepare the way of the Lord by telling others about Jesus and the salvation He gives to each person who trusts in Him. As Jesus-followers, the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 is our command from Jesus.

As we study these verses, we should ask ourselves questions. 

1     Do you realize you are a sinner?

2.     Do you recognize nothing you do is good enough to remove the judgment of your sins and the guilt?

3.     Have you recognized Jesus is God’s Son, and that He died to save you from the penalty of your sins?

4.     Have you professed your faith in Jesus and confessed and repented your sins to Him?

5.     If you are a Christian, are you “preparing the way of the Lord” by living as God’s messenger, telling people about Jesus?

6.     Does your life point toward Jesus so that people will see your works and heed your words, then seek Jesus to be their Savior?

7.     Do your words and actions seek attention for yourself? Do they point to Jesus so other people will come to know Him as their Savior instead of admiring you as great, strong, smart, and wise?

The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36 [NASB])

Are you living life as a “preparer” called by God?

Or are you living as a ”hider” trying to avoid Him?

Behold!

 

 Before studying what any book of the Bible says, readers/hearers should look at the background of that book. Each author writes at a set point in time that coincides with certain circumstances affecting the people to whom he wrote. The author can arrange what he writes to discuss specific issues his intended readers/hearers face. Let’s consider these things about the Gospel of Mark. 

Introduction

The dating of the Gospel of Mark is highly debated. Some Bible scholars consider John Mark wrote this Gospel in the late 50s AD because Peter was in Rome during that time. Other scholars theorize Mark wrote his Gospel in the 60s because they presume Luke used Mark’s Gospel as a key source for The Acts of the Apostles. At the end of Acts, Luke wrote about Paul being in prison, hence, these scholars consider Mark wrote his Gospel before 62AD. Historic records by church fathers record Mark’s Gospel being written after Peter’s death in 64AD, during the reign of Nero. They conjecture Mark wrote his Gospel in the mid-60s, which lines up with Nero’s persecution of Christians. The consensus of Bible scholars agrees that the Gospel of Mark dates to the late 50s and early 60s.

Who wrote the Gospel of Mark? From about 125AD, important Christian scholars considered John Mark the original author of the Gospel of Mark. Eusebius wrote in 325AD that Papias, a Greek bishop in Hierapolis (modern Turkey) who lived 60-130AD, recorded that Mark was Peter’s writer and wrote all he remembered Peter teaching and preaching about the Lord. Other church fathers, like Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria, agreed with Papias. This John Mark was the cousin of Barnabas. He journeyed with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey but turned back and went to Jerusalem. Paul considered him unreliable and refused to take him on the second missionary journey. He and Barnabas disagreed about Mark, so Barnabas and Mark journeyed together while Paul went with Silas. (See Acts 15:3-16:10.) To summarize, John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin, wrote what Peter taught and preached about Jesus.

To understand the author better, one must consider what the author faced in his surroundings as he wrote. That requires knowing where the writer was physically. The best information about this comes from Peter’s own letter in 1 Peter 5:13. He wrote to the Christian churches in Rome and sent greetings from Mark at the end of his letter. Peter was with Mark, whom he called his “son.” In 1 Peter 5:13, Peter wrote about being in Babylon with Mark. He used the name Babylon as an allegory by which he meant Rome. The book of Revelation allegorically used the city of Babylon to represent Rome in Revelation 14:8, 17:18 and 18:2 & 10. Papias considered the name “Babylon” represented Rome, too, along with Clement of Alexandria. From this we recognize John Mark wrote while in Rome and most likely during the time of Nero’s persecution of Christians. He himself faced persecution because of standing for his faith in Jesus.

We understand John Mark wrote this Gospel from Peter’s teachings and sermons in the late 50s or early 60s while he and other Christians in Rome faced persecution from Nero. To whom did he write? From reading Mark’s Gospel, we realize Mark wrote it to Roman Christians, ones who came not from the Jewish faith. He wrote to people who lived and experienced the same persecutions he did while Nero reigned. How do we arrive at this? Mark explained Jewish customs to the readers/hearers of his gospel, for example, in Mark 7:3-4, where he explained the Jewish custom of cleansing before eating. Bible scholars have noted Mark used Latin turns-of-phrase that a Roman audience would understand. Based on these, we can understand Mark wrote to a Roman Christian audience.

Knowing Mark wrote to Roman Christians living under the persecution of Nero helps readers and hearers perceive the purpose of Mark’s Gospel. Mark wrote his Gospel to show the divinity of Jesus and the cost of discipleship. He affirmed this by writing about Jesus’ miracle-working power, the salvation He brought, the suffering and death He endured, and His servanthood. Mark’s telling of Jesus’ miracles shows who He is, the divine, almighty, forgiving Son of God. Only the Son of God could heal, forgive, redeem, restore, and encourage and empower His followers to spread the gospel message. Mark sought to encourage the Roman Christians. Jesus’ willingness to suffer and die gives an example to His followers the road they must walk with humility while they evangelize, suffer, and, maybe, die. (See Mark 8:34.) Mark wrote his Gospel to encourage the Roman Christians and to undergird them as they faced Nero’s persecution. He reminded them of who they followed and that He is almighty. They can rely on Jesus to be their strength and their refuge.

Mark 1:1-3

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet.

“Behold, I am sending My messenger before you, who will prepare your way:

the voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!’” (Mark 1:1-3 [NASB])

 Mark began writing this gospel by telling his readers/hearers of the promise from God that He commanded Isaiah and Malachi in the Old Testament to tell the Israelites. Later in his gospel, he wrote God fulfilled this promise when Jesus was born as a human on earth. Mark taught/reminded the Roman Christians about the prophecy and prepared them to understand Jesus’ commission of them. Jesus’ commission of believers continues the fulfillment of the prophecy, that of calling out in the wilderness of the world in which they live. This brings an understanding of what Bible scholars call “now and not yet.” Each person who professes faith in Jesus is saved from their sins at that point, “now.” That Christian continues to be saved from sins and death until he/she enters God’s presence in heaven. When Christians enter heaven, he or she will be perfected by Jesus.

 After his dynamic first verse, Mark taught Jewish history to the Roman (Gentile) Christians, a history of which they might not have known. These Christians might have heard of Isaiah and Malachi. Jews had lived many years in Rome by the time of Mark’s writing. Possibly, the Roman Christians remembered their Jewish neighbors talking and grumbling that these Gentiles could not have trusted in the Messiah. Their Messiah had not come yet. They were taught the Messiah was supposed to be just for the Israelites, based on Jewish tradition. By these overheard grumblings and conversations, the Roman Christians may have become acquainted with Isaiah and Malachi from their fellow Jewish residents of Rome. Because Mark wanted to be sure these Christians knew them, he recited the prophecy of Yahweh God that He required Isaiah and Malachi to tell the Israelites. Isaiah recorded the original text in Isaiah 40:3-4 and Malachi wrote them in Malachi 3:1.

 Mark chose his words for his audience and for the circumstances in which they and he lived. He wrote, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Mark clearly stated the topic of the gospel and its importance. He said this writing was the gospel of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah from God. With these words, the readers/hearers may/should have pondered the question of when the gospel began. Did the gospel occur only when Jesus began ministering, or did it include the day of his birth, too? What about when John leaped within his mother’s, Elizabeth’s, womb when Mary, Jesus’ mother, visited her? Since Mark quotes two Old Testament prophets, did the gospel begin at that point? The good news from God began from creation. From when God created humanity and gave them freewill, He realized they would choose to go in ways opposite of His own plans for them, plans for their good and not to harm them (Jeremiah 29:11). This turning away from God is rebellion and is called sin. Peter attested to God’s plan for salvation from the beginning of creation in 1 Peter 1:17-21. He wrote about Christ, who was foretold “before the foundation of the world,” the sinless sacrifice for sinful humanity. Paul agreed with Peter when he wrote Ephesians 1:3-4,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

God planned for each person to be saved from their sins and death. He chose, “before the foundation of the world,” each person who believes in Jesus to be holy and blameless in His sight. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus, in humanity’s mind, occurred when Jesus’ ministry began. But the truth is the gospel began before Yahweh God formed humanity and breathed life into him or her. This, too, is a “now and not yet” scenario. God planned the gospel before He created humanity. God-chosen Israelites (prophets) foretold His good news before it burst onto humanity’s timeline. John was the first New Testament messenger of this gospel. (A messenger is a person or angel sent out for a purpose.) Soon after John’s proclaiming began, Jesus burst into the timeline with His revelation on earth of “God with us.” For those who accept the gospel message, the gospel continues into the future on humanity’s timeline with themselves as messengers. The telling about the gospel did not end when the Romans hung Jesus on the cross and killed Him. It did not end when Jesus rose from death and ascended to heaven. God’s promise of a Messiah is not completed for each person (perfected/fulfilled) until His kingdom comes in its fullness. Mark began the writing of his gospel with “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Starting this way carries more weight than only being a quote from man over 2000 years ago. It carries it back in time to carry the proclamation of the good news forward until the whole world hears. 

Application and Conclusion

This prophecy did not arrive and end with its telling by John the Baptist in the New Testament and its fulfillment through Jesus’ arrival in history. Christians should consider what “the beginning of the gospel” means for him or her today, like Mark led the Roman Christians to remember and consider for themselves. The gospel is good news and good news should be shared. This good news is the ultimate of good news. It ushered the Messiah, “God with us,” into the world (Matthew 1:23). This spectacular, life-changing, world-moving news of the Messiah must be shared by each believer in Jesus! The prophecy message and fulfillment continue through Jesus’ followers until the kingdom of God comes in its fullness, so all people may come to believe in Jesus as their Savior. This understanding of “now and not yet” of God’s promise and its fulfillment (salvation) should remind Christians today of their responsibility. Each Christian is part of the “not yet” phase in this “now and not yet” of sharing the gospel. Believers have had their initial “now” of coming to faith in Jesus. It’s their turn to continue the sharing of the gospel so that those who are not yet believers can hear and respond to it. Each believer’s perfection by Jesus in heaven brings the completion of their “not yet.” When he or she lives in heaven, Jesus completes (perfects) the process of salvation for him or her. The Christian is perfected in the image of Christ. 

Christians are to be messengers heralding Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of all humanity. By doing this, each person will have the chance to hear and respond to the gospel message. Each believer will say, “Behold!” like the angel (a messenger from God) who called out “Hark!” proclaiming the Christ-child’s birth.

The prophecies from God, as recorded by Mark, proclaimed He would send a messenger before He sends the Messiah to earth to be “God with them.” The purpose for this messenger was to tell people a Messiah (Savior) from God would come to earth, so prepare the way. What must the Israelites have done before the Messiah came? “Prepare the way.” “Prepare the way” means to make ready or to remove the hindrances. The Israelites were to “prepare the way” by preparing their hearts to meet their Savior. The Israelites were fickle, like most people. They obeyed God when they found it helpful to them. They put God on the back burner when they sailed smoothly through life. These people of God only sought Him when life became shaky or frightening. For the Israelites to prepare the way for themselves, they had to renew their relationship with God by repenting of their sins and returning to a vital relationship with Him. What they did not realize is they, too, were to tell people of other nations about the coming Messiah, just as the prophets had. Their lives were supposed to be a light to the nations about Yahweh, so those nations would seek Him with their whole being, too. Preparing the way for the Lord means preparing yourself to receive Him and preparing yourself so that others will see God in your life, then ask and receive Him for themselves. 

Each believer in Jesus should proclaim the gospel regularly, like the prophets and disciples of old did. He or she should prepare the way of the Lord to restore his or her relationship with the Him each day. He or she does this by confessing and repenting of sins and seeking Him daily to guide him or her. By this, each believer becomes a messenger of God to the people in their sphere. Because of this, each person will get to hear the good news about Jesus, the Son of God, who lived as a man though wholly divine, died the death of a criminal though having not sinned, and rose from death to sit on the throne in heaven. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, any person who trusts in Him will receive pardon from sin and the cleansing of guilt that sin leaves. Each believer will receive eternal life with God in His kingdom in its fullness and will live with the Spirit of Jesus in his or her heart now, another “now and not yet” scenario.

 As we study these verses, we should ask ourselves six questions.

1.  Do you know who Jesus is?

2.  Do you trust the gospel more now that you know Jesus is the Son of God prophesied thousands of years in advance by two prophets?

3. Has the messenger’s proclamation to you affected and caused you to make the way straight by thinking about and acting based on the prophecies, sermons, and teachings regarding Jesus the Messiah by men who lived during His time on earth?

4. Have you heard the prophecy, prepared the way in your heart, mind, body, and spirit, and heard the gospel? Has it stirred your heart with the conviction of its truth?

5. What keeps you from to professing faith in Jesus as your Savior and confessing your sins for forgiveness and cleansing from Him?

6. Are you living the life of a messenger of Jesus and preparing the way so that other people get to listen to and come to know Jesus as their Savior? 

Time does not stop until God’s kingdom comes.

But your time stops when your heart is done.

Don’t wait too long. 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you.

You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 29:11-14a [NASB])

Following the Leader (part 2) Deuteronomy 18

Deuteronomy 18

INTRODUCTION

            God created the nation of Israel from the smallest of people groups and took them from out of one of the largest people groups in the world around 1440BC. He established this nation and set up its codes of moral, spiritual, and civil law. God taught through Moses about the leaders the people would need to appoint and follow, too. Last week, we read about the judges, officers, and kings. This week our reading tells us about priests and prophets. In our present day and age, a distinct difference between civil and religious judges and kings exists. In the time of Israel’s foundation, judges and kings presided over the people using God’s laws to guide the moral, civil, and spiritual aspects of society. Today, we rarely find out about a country that does not separate church and state issues. From the current separation of church and state, judges and kings only rule on issues of civil law. In this study, the position of prophet will be considered again, as in Deuteronomy 13, but it will be juxtaposed with the secular form of prophets at the time – witches, sorcerers, et.al. Let us now look at Deuteronomy 18.

LEADERS

Priests

            Eight verses in Deuteronomy 18 speak of priests, but we know more about them from 245 other references in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible). Verse 1 begins, “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel.” The word for priest is kohen. It means priest, principal officer, or chief ruler. The word kohen came to mean, over time, the line of priests descended from Aaron, the grandson of Levi. Yet, when  Moses taught the Israelites before crossing the Jordan River, kohen meant every Levitical priest. Moses denoted it with the dependant clause in verse one. No distinction is obvious between kohanim and levi’im (the other tribes of Levi not from Aaron’s line) during the early days of the nation of Israel. The people of Israel recognized, in time, Aaron’s line as the high priests in the house of God.

            God did not give the Levitical priests an inheritance of land as He did the other eleven tribes of Israel. He said, in the latter half of verse one, “They shall eat the LORD’s offering by fire and His portion.” The Levitical priests received the burnt offering the Israelites offered at the sanctuaries and later at the temple. The “portion” of which Moses spoke was their inheritance or share of the bounty for the year that the Israelites took to the temple or sanctuaries. Deuteronomy 10:9 says, “Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance.” 1 Corinthians 9:13 says, “Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?” Moses reiterated Deuteronomy 10:9 in 18:2. God promised the Levitical priests an inheritance from His portion. He said this to Aaron in Numbers 18:20, too. God was specific in verse three about what part of the burnt offering and sacrifices the priests received. In the first part of the sentence of verse three, Moses spoke of the priests’ due. “Due” comes from the Hebrew word mishpat and means proper, fitting, measure, and plan. He said they received the shoulder, two cheeks (jaws), and the stomach (see Leviticus 7:32-34). Other passages in the Pentateuch speak of what is due to the priests. Leviticus 7:32-34 says food was to come from the peace offering (the thigh) and from the wave offering (bread). In Numbers 18:11-12, the priests received from the wave offering the best of the fresh wine, grain, and first fruits. Deuteronomy 18:4 speaks of first fruits, new wine, oil, and the first shearing of their sheep, too. (The first shearing was most often the softest.) God ensured the Levitical priests had enough to eat, a place to live, and wool from which to make cloth.

            Why did the Levitical priests get the first and best of what the other Israelites grew and raised? The main answer is because the LORD chose and set them apart to serve Him alone. Because of Aaron’s faithfulness to God, God chose the tribe of Levi to serve Him. Exodus 29:9 says that God chose them as priests by a perpetual statute. The priests’ service to Him was to be single-minded. For priests, serving God was their sole duty whether they lived in Jerusalem or in an outlying town serving in the tabernacles/sanctuaries (pre-temple). God provided for the priests who journeyed/moved from towns to Jerusalem to serve in the temple, too. He considered no one priest or group of the priests any better than another. He did, though, give priests from Aaron’s line a more sacred duty, that of being chief priests. Whether the priests came from outlying towns or Jerusalem, God told them they each would eat equal portions (18:8). He, too, allowed the priest whose father’s estate had value to receive and keep the money from that estate. Since they did not own land, the estate value came from the animals and personal property his father owned. The important point is that one person was not greater than another was. Service to the LORD was different for just a small few.

            God created each person equal to the others. None of them had more worth than any other. The difference lay just in the service God had them offer. Their service to Him did not make him have more worth. Even today, one person is not more worthy than another based on their humanity. Each person deserves food, shelter, and clothing. For God, this meant life. When the Israelites kept their covenant with God, God kept His covenant to them and gave them prolonged life in the land of Israel. When the people did not keep their covenant with God, His promise of a curse fell upon them. The curse was death - immediate or delayed. By keeping covenant with God, the Israelites kept His laws (the Ten Commandments), statutes, and ordinances.

Spiritism

            Moses began the next section with negative commands reminding the Israelites of earlier commands and teachings he gave them. He began with the command to serve the LORD alone by not doing specific abominable acts (Deuteronomy 18:10). God said doing abominable things was rebellion against Him. The Israelites should remember He rescued them from slavery, brought them to the Promised Land, and promised to be there for them if they kept their covenant with Him. God cared about them so they should love Him and be obedient to His laws.

            Moses did not speak in generalities, but in specifics in verses ten through eleven. He said,

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. [NASB]

When he told them not to pass their child through fire, he alluded to the religious ritual of neighboring nations of appeasing Molech/Baal (see Deuteronomy 12:31). The people of the nations thought offering a living sacrifice to this god ensured a fruitful harvest. Since God cherishes human life, humankind should, too. Besides this, burning a person has no effect on a harvest. God determined the harvest based on the Israelite’s faithfulness to His covenant. Faithlessness led to death – no harvest, starvation, and death – and faithfulness led to life, the opposite of death.

            Since Moses recognized the sanctity of life and the importance of remaining faithful to God’s covenant, he spoke of seven acts/roles involved in spiritism that God called abominable. He spoke against divination, witchcraft, omens, sorcerers, casting spells, mediums, spiritists, and calling up the dead. To understand this better, let us define each of these. Divination is seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown through supernatural means. Divination is interpreting omens - observing signs and taking them as omens. A sorcerer is one who uses magic or witchcraft to do spells or enchant. The attempt to influence nature or people through magic (being a sorcerer or witch) is what Moses called casting spells. A medium is a person who mediates between the dead or a deity to a living person to communicate with them. A spiritist is similar a medium and is a person familiar with the dead. The final act, witchcraft,  is the practicing of magic, divination, spiritism/being a medium, sorcery, conjuring (doing tricks), and casting spells. As you realize with this list, witchcraft encompasses each of the six of the other acts of spiritism on which Moses spoke. Moses spoke earlier in Exodus 22:18 and in Leviticus 19:26, 31 and 20:6 against these practices. He said they would defile the person who did them and the LORD would find them abominable. God would turn His face from them, Moses said. Jeremiah 27:9-10a spoke on point when he said,

Do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who speak to you saying ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land. [NASB]

If God removed a person from the Promised Land, that meant the person or people were unfaithful to their covenant with Him. So if a person did something to be removed, then the one who instigated their unfaithfulness - Satan and his followers - was the antithesis to God. Hence, these seven things of which Moses spoke against and God considers abominable are from Satan.

            What is the punishment for doing these detestable things? Separation from God - death. Moses stated it for the Israelites in verse twelve. He said God would drive out from the Promised Land those who did these detestable things. Moses gave this as the reason God removed the Canaanites’ from Canaan when the Israelites moved into the land in Leviticus 18:24. On the positive side, Moses said in verse thirteen, “You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.” God encouraged them to stay faithful to their covenant with Him, which would make them blameless. The word “blameless” is the Hebrew word tamiym. It means to be complete, perfect, and innocent. As we know, though, the Israelites and the rest of humanity through the ages were never blameless. The writer of Genesis used the word “blameless” to describe Noah in Genesis 6:9 and Abraham in Genesis 17:1. They rebelled against God, as humankind does, but they repented and returned to God. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that people are to be perfect (blameless) just as the heavenly Father is perfect.

            As we comprehend from the reading of our Bibles and as Jews and Christians realized, nothing a person does can make him or her perfect. Only the perfect sacrifice can make that happen. God offered the perfect sacrifice through the life, death, and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ. For the Israelites 1400 years before Christ’s birth, the means God gave them to be blameless was to follow His commandments and be faithful to their covenant with Him. God said the Israelites would dispossess the nations who practice these detestable things. He did not allow the Israelites to follow them (18:14-15). God had something better planned for them.

Prophets

As the alternative for following the practices of the surrounding nations, God promised to “raise up” a prophet for them, similar to Moses, from within their nation. God had this same requirement for the leaders He allowed the people to have in Deuteronomy 16:18-17:20. Moses commanded in Deuteronomy 18:15 that they listen to the future prophet. “Listen” comes from the Hebrew word shama, which comes from the same root word as shamar. It means to hear, listen, and follow. The Canaanites attempted to get advice by speaking with their gods, dead leaders, and dead loved ones by using witchcraft and sorcery. The people of Canaan did what these prophets of Satan required instead of what God required. God promised to give the Israelites a prophet who would be like Moses. Moses was their leader, mediator, intercessor, judge, and prophet. In Matthew 21:11, Luke 2:25-34, 4:19, 7:16, and John 1:21, 25, and 4:19, people speak of the prophet of which Moses spoke. The Israelites feared God when they heard His voice and saw the fire on Mount Sinai/Mount Horeb. Because of that, they requested Moses as the mediator between them and God (Exodus 20:18-19, Deuteronomy 5:23-27). God said they spoke well when they asked Moses to be their mediator with Him (Deuteronomy 18:17, 5:28). The Israelites awe and fear of God continued through history and they still required a mediator to go between them and God. God fulfilled Moses’ prophecy in verse fifteen about the future prophet many times through Old Testament prophets and through Jesus Christ. Moses was a foretaste of Jesus Christ. He was a visible representation of what Jesus Christ would be for humankind.

In verse 15, Moses spoke to Israel while in verse 18, Moses reminded the Israelites of what God said in Deuteronomy 13. He proved the appointment of prophets in chapter 18 came from God by referring to what He said in chapter 13. In verse 18, Moses recalled God said, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all I command him.” Many prophets came before Jesus speaking for God. They reminded the Israelites what God required of them, what His condemnation would be, and their need to return to their covenant with Him. Verse 18 ultimately alluded to Jesus Christ.

Moses said in verses 19-20 God had one requirement for the people of Israel and two for His prophet. The first of the two rules for the prophet was he had to speak what God required of him (vs. 19). The second requirement God gave was he speak just what God commanded and not speak for himself or other so-called gods (vs. 20). The one requirement God gave the Israelites about prophets was they listen (shama – hear, listen, and obey) to what the prophets told them. God demanded their obedience and promised life if they obeyed and death if they did not. This harkens back to the law of the ban earlier in Deuteronomy when God told the Israelites to remove every trace of the Canaanites and their worship.

            With this warning in the Israelites’ minds, Moses realized the people might question how they could tell if a prophet spoke for the LORD. He reminded them that if a prophet prophesied something in the name of the LORD and it did not occur, then the LORD did not speak it (vs. 22). From Deuteronomy 13, we learned other ways to decide if a prophet is from God. If a prophet, friend, or family member says to serve other gods, that person is not from God (Deut. 13:6-8). In Deuteronomy 13:12-15, Moses said if a person in another town or city says to the town’s residents, “Let us go and serve other gods,” you shall not believe him or her, but shall put them under the law of the ban. So if a person says to follow and serve other gods or if what the prophet says does not come true, the person is not a prophet from God. To the Israelites’ fear of being punished by God if they do not listen to and obey a prophet, Moses told them, they need not be afraid (vs. 19, 22) of not following a false prophet.

CONCLUSION

            God established the new nation of Israel. They were a religio-political state. Their judges gave verdicts based on God’s laws, statutes, and ordinances. The kings read and lived by God’s laws. The officers ruled under the leadership of the judges. The priests were the intermediaries between the people and God. They were the role models and enforcers of what God required of the people in their spiritual lives. The prophets were the voice of God calling people to obedience, to return to God, and telling of His punishments on the people. Because God established this nation from a people He called His own, His laws for governing society were moral and spiritual. When people transgressed a moral/civil law, they disobeyed God. Disobedience is rebellion against God and the breaking of covenant with Him. The people knew in advance what the blessing and curse of faithfulness and unfaithfulness to the covenant would be. They acknowledged it when they pledged themselves to God.

God provided these five different leaders to remind the people of their covenant and call them back to Him. He wanted everyone to be in relationship with Him. He did not and does not want anyone cursed with death. Death is eternal separation from God. When Moses said, “The LORD will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you,” he meant ultimately the LORD would send His perfect prophet, mediator, leader, priest, and sacrifice – Jesus Christ (Deut 18:15). Isaiah spoke of this prophet, Jesus, in Isaiah 40:3-5.

God’s hand is visible to everyone. People do not have an excuse to say they did not know about God. At Jesus’ birth, wise men and shepherds noticed He was God’s Son. At his death, some soldiers, Jews, and one of the thieves noticed He was the Son of God. At Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples, women, and a multitude of people saw Him and noticed He is the Son of God. Since then, millions across the ages and the world recognized and called Him the Son of God. Moses was the precursor of the future High Priest, Prophet, Savior, and Son of God. He was the precursor of Jesus Christ. God gave the Israelites a glimpse of the perfect Savior, Priest, and Salvation through Moses’ life. We in the 21^st century have more than a glimpse. We have the testimony of eyewitnesses, Christians for twenty centuries, and our own experiences of God. We know Him firsthand. Can we turn our backs on this evidence? Can we say no to the perfect sacrifice who came to make us blameless similar Noah and Abraham (Deuteronomy 18:13)? Jesus can and wants to make us perfect, complete, and whole again. What keeps you from seeing and giving Him your imperfect life? What keeps you from abundant life?

           

Great and Good is Our God

Isaiah 40

As we begin this study of Isaiah 40, we must note a few things. First, we know that Isaiah was a prophet for the Israelites. Most theologians consider Isaiah prophesied 60 years, but according to Jewish tradition, as reported by chabad.org, he prophesied for God for 90 years. In Isaiah 1:1, we find that Isaiah was the son of Amoz, who was also a Hebrew prophet. Jewish tradition says that Amoz was the brother of King Amaziah, who was a king of Judah, the southern kingdom. We must also remember that God used prophets repeatedly to call His people back to Him from worshipping the idols and gods of other nations. By the time Isaiah began prophesying, the northern kingdom's (Israel) punishment from God via conquering by the Assyrians and their subsequent dispersion was almost upon them. Assyria captured Israel in 712 BC. The Assyrian king, Sargon II, chose to disperse the Hebrews of the northern kingdom among people of other nations. These became the “lost ten tribes” of Israel. It began the times of the Diaspora.

Another fact we need to note and is commonly taught is that Isaiah 40 is the beginning of Isaiah’s heralding of their eschatological hope, their hope for the Messiah and life after His arrival. Isaiah 40 through Isaiah 66 not only speaks of the gross idolatry of the current time, but refers back to the past times of all the prophets of God, and goes forward speaking of the future of the Israelites with Yahweh in His kingdom. It is believed that the first thirty-nine chapters are historical, Isaiah’s pleading with/prophesying for God to the Israelites to turn from their wicked ways back to the one true God, Yahweh. The second section of Isaiah, from chapter 40, is filled with hope for the future of Israel, that God would redeem them and would provide for them a home in His promised land, His kingdom.

Upon my reading of Isaiah 40 this time (and, yes, I did sing some of it since it is a very famous song of hope for Christians and Jews), I was struck for the first time on the obvious statements about God. I know the first part well because of the song made from this chapter. I know the last two verses, “Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary” (40:30-31 [NASB]). Many of us have harkened back to these two verses when we were going through hard and trying times. This time, upon reading the chapter anew, God’s attributes jumped out at me. All of His attributes appear in this one chapter. I do not know how often that occurs in the Bible, but in Isaiah 40, every one of God’s attributes show.

Maybe this whole concept of God’s attributes is new to some of you. Let me tell or remind you what we know and see are God’s attributes/characteristics. They have been categorized under different titles by different theologians, but the two titles I want to use because I have found these easiest to understand is God’s greatness and God’s goodness. His attributes of greatness are seen in who He is. His attributes of goodness are His greatness reflected through His actions in relationship with His creation. If you are like me, this makes more sense in a list.

Attributes/Characteristics of Greatness	Attributes/Characteristics of Goodness
Spirituality – He is spirit and not composed of matter and does not possess a physical nature.	Moral Qualities: Holiness – He is unique, totally         separated from creation, and absolutely pure. Righteousness – Because God is holy, His laws are right and just; thus, they are the standard for moral living. Justice – God acting in accordance with His laws and administering His laws
Personality – God is personal. He is an individual being with the self-consciousness and will, capable of feeling, choosing, having a reciprocal relationship with other personal and social beings.	Integrity: Genuineness – He is real, not made up, and true. Veracity – God represents things as they really are. What He says is accurate and true. Faithfulness – God’s faithfulness means He proves true; He keeps His promises.
Life – His name, I AM, indicates that He is a living God. He is existence.	Love: Benevolence – God’s concern for the welfare of those He loves. His concern is unselfish. Grace – God gives based on what people need, not what they want, not because of what they have done or will do. Mercy – This is God’s tenderhearted compassion. It is pitying concern. Persistence – God’s endurance and faithfulness. He endures and withholds judgment while continuing to offer salvation and grace.
Infinity – God is unlimited and He is illimitable. He is all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), and always and everywhere present at the same time (omnipresent).
Constancy – He is unchanging. There is not quantitative or qualitative change in God. He cannot increase because He is perfect and His nature does not undergo modification.

            With these characteristics in our tool belt, let us look now at Isaiah 40 and see it through a different window.

Is. 40:1-2 [NASB]–

1 "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. 2 "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins."

            What we most obviously understand in these two verses is God’s justice. He sees that the punishment of His people (Jerusalem in particular, but metaphorically, all His children over all time) is sufficient. His children have been disciplined enough according to His just, perfect, and righteous laws. He speaks through His prophet Isaiah as the voice of all the prophets to all God’s children that His people not only should take comfort now because their dispersion and captivity are over, but because, eschatologically (regarding the end times) speaking, He is drawing them to Himself for all time as His children. Their disciplining is over because He has provided the adequate redemption for their and our sin. This speaks from the prophets of all times, past and present, and it speaks to the future for all God’s children, “You are to be comforted because I have removed your sins once and for all. You have paid for your sins doubly and I have provided the adequate sacrifice once and for all.”

            The attributes of God we see in these verses are God’s personality; He is capable of having feelings for His people and for choosing to stay in a relationship with us. He is life; He was, is, and will always eternally exist. We know this and that is why we can derive such hope from His statements regarding our future with Him. If He were not eternal, we would get no hope from this statement. God is also constant; He cannot and will not change. These are His characteristics of greatness shown in these two verses. His characteristics of goodness are: holiness, righteousness, and justice; faithfulness; benevolence, mercy, grace, and persistence. He is holy and requires holiness in His presence. To that end, He has provided a way for His loving relationship with us to continue. His righteousness follows on His holiness and His righteousness requires justice. He shows His faithfulness by neither giving up on Israel then, nor His children over the ages. He keeps holding out hope for us to turn from our ways and receive the salvation He has provided through His Son, Jesus Christ. His love is shown to us in all the categories of His attributes.

Is. 40:3-5 –

3 A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; 5 then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

            This voice calling are the voices of all prophets past and present. It is also a foretelling of the one calling out to the people before Christ’s ministry began, John the Baptist. Many times before a prince or king arrived in a province, city, or town, criers/messengers went before him proclaiming his arrival so that the way would be prepared for him – palm branches lay on the ground as a carpet or “pot holes” filled in so his horse would not stumble. It was also for the people to prepare themselves – removing from the mind any thoughts that were in the way of worshipping/revering a king - anger, annoyance, anxiety, and trials. This is the same way the prophets were telling the people to be prepared for the coming Messiah.

            In these three verses, we see the God who is seen by the prophets. He is seen as holy. As holy, He is to be revered and all things must be made ready for His arrival so that nothing, internal or external to ourselves, keeps us from worshipping Him.

Is. 40:6-8-

6 A voice says, "Call out." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when 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.

            The voice calls out again, the voice of the prophets, messengers. In case you do not know or have forgotten, says the voice of the prophets, here is who God is. He is the One who does not die or fade away. Here is the One who holds life and death within His breath. He brings beauty and life to plant and people. Though these fade and die, God and His Word will never fade away; they stand forever. Isaiah says this twice for emphasis so the people will know without doubt that God is the everlasting God.

            God’s attributes in these verses are His attributes of greatness. His might and power are seen by His ability to give and take life. His greatness is seen in His infinity and constancy. He does not die because He does not have a perishable body. He is I AM. He is existence. It is from Him that anything else receives the blessing of existing, in all its loveliness.

Is. 40:9 –

9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!”

            This is an anxious, anticipation-creating verse. After reading this, I cannot wait to hear what is coming next. The messengers, the prophets, are calling from a hilltop to Jerusalem, be prepared and do not fear. The messengers tell them to go tell the other cities of Judah, God is here. After they failed God and He sent them into exile, to have their hope restored that God had not forgotten or left them, the prophets brought this word of the Lord to them. In Isaiah, this prophecy of God’s presence took on a long-term role of heralding the coming awaited Messiah. John the Baptist was His herald. He tells them not to keep it to themselves, but to tell all the children of God to renew their hope, for God is here. For the times after Christ’s ascension, this passage also gives us hope that God is still with us and He is still in control and awaits our arrival in His promised kingdom.

            God’s attributes here are His life, infinity, and constancy. Without this understanding of God, His promises would hold no effect. Because we know that He is, has been, and always will be, we know we can hold onto this promise of being with Him in His kingdom. He has not left us or forsaken us.

Is. 40:10-17 –

“10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him. (Spiritual Power) 

11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. (Personality/Personification – Fatherly love) 

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? (Infinity - Omniscience and Creation) 

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD or as His counselor has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding? (Infinity – knowledge and wisdom) 

15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. 16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.” (Greatness – comparison between God’s greatness and creation)

            The voice speaking for the Lord, Isaiah, other prophets, and John the Baptist, spoke of the greatness of God. God puts these words in their mouths and quills to remind all people and us just how magnificent He really is. In these eight verses, His attributes become obvious. God shows His spiritual power in verse 10. He shows His personality and love in His personification as the shepherd caring for the sheep in verse 11. He shows His knowledge and wisdom, omniscience (attribute of infinity), in creation in verse 12. To make matters more clear through verse 13, He rhetorically asks from whom did He consult or ask advice. Who taught Him justice and gave Him understanding when He is the Holy One. His righteousness is the standard for laws. Finally, just to make sure we understand, verses 15-17 remind us who created whom and tells us there are not enough trees to build an altar of worship for Him nor enough cattle to offer as a sufficient sacrifice to Him for His greatness. These final three verses return us to rhetorical question of verse 10: who is greater than God, the One who created all things by His knowledge and in His strength because of His love.

Is. 40:18-20 -

“18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? 19 As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, a goldsmith plates it with gold, and a silversmith fashions chains of silver. 20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering selects a tree that does not rot; he seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter.”

            Should we try to capture the image of God, what in all of the earth that God created is glorious and magnificent enough to represent Him? What image would capture His essence? None God says, and, God told us in Exodus, we are not to worship an image, an idol. Nothing is great enough to represent God, not even the things we consider in our greatest thoughts can capture the image of God. God is superlative to all we can think of or imagine. In case we do not understand, God has these next things to say in verses 21-25.

Is. 40:21-25 –

“21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to 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. 23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. 24 Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, but He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like stubble. 25 ‘To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?’ says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.”

            Here God, through His prophets Isaiah and all His prophets in time, asks another rhetorical question leading to the same answer. He says think on these things and tell me your answer. He is the one who is great enough to sit in heaven, who is big enough that creation seems like mere grasshoppers. God is the one who created the heavens and stretched them out like a tent. He is the one who shows the strength, power, and wisdom of rulers is like foolishness and folly. They are nothing compared to His wisdom and might. These rulers think they have great plans. God is greater still and can confound their plans or completely make their plans come to a standstill by removing the rulers. His breath that created them will make them wither and blow away. These rulers to whom you look, would you like God to them? Our obvious answer is I think not. In addition, in case you cannot imagine someone that great, look up to the sky and try to count the stars. God not only created and counted them, He named them and knows them all.

            God’s attributes of greatness abound in these verses. He is creator of everything – grasshopper to king. He is not just Creator, but also ender of all things. It only takes His breath to create and to end life. God’s might and knowledge is greater than that of our highest earthly authority, kings. His might and knowledge are infinite. What can compare to Him? He is no man’s equal nor is He equal to anything man could imagine and create.

Is. 40:27-31-

27 “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God’? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. 29 He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not get tired; they will walk and not become weary.” 

            God gets to the end and He, in essence, says, “Since I am greater than all these things, you have no reason to think I have disregarded you. You know I am greater than all creation or what man can think or imagine. You know I love you and have not only provided what you need on earth, but have promised to prepare a way for you to me with me in My kingdom forever. You know I am faithful and will fulfill My promises. What would make you think I would not care about you when you are living - your strength, power, and energy?” God is not so great that He would overlook/miss the needs of humankind, nor of His children of the covenant. For those who wait for the Lord (those who are conscious of their responsibility to the Lord because He is God), God cares enough to carry you through life, to give strength and power. The youthful men who are chosen by kings for their vigor will be weaker than those who wait for the Lord; He will give them His strength. He will keep His children strong to run the race of life on earth. God will not fail those who wait on Him. They will sail upwards toward God, swiftly and strongly. They will press forward running without wearying toward heaven following God’s commandments. They will walk in the ways of God in the name of the Lord and not be weary because they are leaning on and trusting in Him.  

            God’s greatness in all areas fathomable is uncontestable. He is spirit, not matter, so does not and will not die. He is personal - has a name and communes with us. He is life, existence Himself and the cause of existence of creation. He is infinite – in knowledge, wisdom, power, strength, time, space, and measure. He is constant; he never changes but is always the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

Isaiah gives us all the attributes of God in one place. This is the answer to “why” we should clear a way for the Lord from verse 3. He spends twenty-nine verses telling us and/or reminding us who God is and what He has done, is doing, and has provided for us in the future. These encompass the attributes of His greatness and goodness. Lest we become busy battling life or seeking our own greatness and importance, Isaiah provides for us today the remedy for battle-weariness and self-importance. He provided a voice for God’s hope to the desperate Israelites during their dispersion and captivity and a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His promises of a place in His kingdom.  

For those of us who follow after these Israelites, Isaiah continues to offer these same promises to those who are children of God through His covenant. There is the catch – to God’s children through His covenant. You have to decide whom you will follow and Isaiah has laid it out nicely for each of us. None of us is greater or better than God. Each of us must decide whether we will follow God through His plan of salvation for humanity, the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. If you say, “Not now,” you are saying no and these promises are not yours to hold. If you say, “Yes” to God’s gift of salvation, these promises by the faithful one true God are yours for now and always.  

We each must come to this point of decision-making. What will you decide? Whom will you worship and praise? That is really what it is all about, a love relationship between God and humanity, individually. Who is your god, you or the only true, never-changing, infinite, life-giving, personal God? It really is your decision.