Isaiah 40:1-31

Isaiah: God controls the nations

God promises comfort to his people

Isaiah Chapter s 40 to 48

Norman Hillyer

Chapter 40

This chapter begins the second half of the Book of Isaiah.

• In Chapter s 1 to 39, God warns his people about judgement for *sins. In these Chapter s, Assyria is the enemy. Isaiah himself is living during the events of this period.

• In Chapter s 40 to 66, God promises comfort to his people. (The word ‘comfort’ appears 13 times.) In these Chapter s, Babylon is the enemy. God’s people are prisoners in Babylon. The Chapter s refer to the situation two centuries after Isaiah’s time. But unlike in Chapter s 1 to 39, Isaiah does not mention any actual events from the history of that period.

Words to encourage

v1 Give comfort, yes, give comfort to my people! This is what your God says. v2 Speak gently to the people who had been inhabitants of *Jerusalem. Tell them that their time of hard labour is over. God has forgiven them. The people from Judah have received double for all their *sins.