Day 261

Isaiah 43:1-44:23, Galatians 3:26-4:20, Psalm 108:1-5

One of the things we didn’t pick up at the start of the Isaiah was some of the history of the book. It is pretty much accepted now that Isaiah was not written in one go, it was actually written over a period of time in three or four blocks by different people. Although that  moves away from the idea of one prophet called Isaiah, it is clear that there is unity in the book and as such we can see that the people who followed on from the original prophet were his disciples and people who followed his word closely.

Why is this important? Because a couple of days ago you probably found a real shift in the tone of what was being written, things got a lot more positive. That is because chapter 40 is one of the break points, everything up to the end of chapter 39 was trying to get the people to repent and change, trying to warn of them of what would come if they did not return to the Lord. In the middle between the last verse of 39 and the first verse of 40 it all went a bit wrong and they were taken into Babylon (remember this is Judah, the southern Kingdom, where Jerusalem was).

Chapter 40 onwards and what we’re now reading in these two chapters are all words of comfort to a people who are now in exile. Jerusalem has been ransacked and the people are starting to think that God has deserted them. Through second Isaiah, God is trying to tell the people that He is still there, that he will not leave them completely and that one day they will be back where they belong.

Some of the prophecy is how the Babylonians will be carried away one day, how they will not always be strong. A recent conversation about persecution of Christians led to a discussion about the fate of Christians in China and a number of other counties where people are not free to worship Christ. When you are in prison, especially as political prisoners in a culture that condones violence to prisoners, the power and might of the prison guards and the authorities can be overbearing. This would have been the same for the people of Judah as they were in exile. When you are in this position you can’t imagine singing the words of the psalmist, of praise and glory to God. What God is promising through the prophet is that one day the people will be able to sing this song, one day their hearts will be steadfast.

Whether the picture is all rosy for you or whether you are feeling under pressure, oppressed by the system of exams or work pressure, know that the day will come when your hearts will be steadfast and you will be able to sing to the Lord.