Thus the prophecy about coming destinies turns into consolation for the very people to whom so many rebukes had been addressed. Their sins have now been atoned for, and twice over; in this connection it is usually recalled that...
Thus the prophecy about coming destinies turns into consolation for the very people to whom so many rebukes had been addressed. Their sins have now been atoned for, and twice over; in this connection it is usually recalled that under the Law a thief had to repay twice the amount stolen. Of course, far from all sinners were thieves in the literal sense, and theft is not the only vice. But that is unimportant at this point: no one has the right to exalt himself above robbers, for other sins, often considered “permissible,” are no better. Now, however, forgiveness comes, and with it the hope of a new, qualitatively different life in accordance with the Creator's will.
Quite naturally, after the promise of hope, the prophet begins to speak of the Lord's greatness, of how He cannot be compared with anything or even imagined. Here Isaiah's words are somewhat reminiscent of the closing chapters of the Book of Job, whose questions fall away after the Creator reveals His incomprehensibility to him. The situation here is different, of course: unlike Job, the people of Israel did not suffer without cause. Yet even now, when the sinners seem to have repented of their sins and at last to “understand everything,” the Lord again shows that both He Himself and His mercy surpass every degree of our understanding.
40 The prophet having now foretold the Babylonish captivity, chap.Isa 39:6-7,
does here arm his people against it by the consideration of their certain deliverance out of it, and their blessed condition after it, as in other things so especially in the coming of the Messiah, and the great and glorious privileges conferred upon God's church and people in his days. The preaching of the gospel by John the baptist and the apostles, Isa 40:1-11.
The power and wisdom of God in governing the world, Isa 40:12-17.
The folly of idolatry, Isa 40:18-26.
God knows the state of his people, and both can and will protect them, Isa 40:27-31.