Isaiah 40:1-2: Comfort My People (publ. 2024-10-20)

"Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God.

"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."

— Isaiah 40:1-2 (NASB 1995)

The Bible describes three forms of comfort. One is the comfort of presence. The suffering soul is comforted because another one is near by to participate — to feel with her — the pain, the grief, or the sorrow that afflicts her, and providing support. This may or may not involve words. I think of Job's friend who, after they saw his misery, sat down with him on the ground silently for seven days. (A good start, at least!) Perhaps also Psalm 23:4 is a good example to list as well:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

— Psalm 23:4 (NASB 1995)

Another form of comfort is when our circumstances are reversed, so that which causes us sorrow is replaced with that which brings us joy. And so misery is replaced with happiness, and pain is replaced by delight. In Isaiah 12, after previous describing the deliverance and restoration of Israel, he prophecies:

Then you will say on that day,

I will give thanks to You, O LORD;

For although You were angry with me,

Your anger is turned away,

And You comfort me.

— Isaiah 12:1 (NASB 1995)

The third form of comfort is when we are given words of hope. That is, the misery still is present with us, but we are told that it will soon be taken away. We walk through the gloomy valley, but joy waits around the next bend. The first ray of dawn pierces the sky — a promise that soon the whole land will be filled with glorious light. This is the form of comfort which should be given to "my people" (עמי) which here refers to the people of Israel and, by way of application, all of God's children who suffer or grieve.

What the NASB 1995 translates as "speak kindly" is more literally "speak to the heart" (‏דברו על־לב).

The expression involved is almost untranslatable. It means to lay something tenderly close to the heart of another (cf. Hos. 2:14). — Leupold

The comfort given must not be superficial or token, but it must be the kind that goes deep into the heart, where the pain is.

Verse 1 does not clearly specify who is being called to give this comfort. One would natural suppose it to be Isaiah the prophet, but the word for comfort (נחמו) is plural. Rather, ʏʜᴡʜ keeps the wording general, so that all hear and have opportunity may take up the call to comfort his people.

The word warfare here (צבאה) refers to a time of hard service, usually military enlistment or service. The prophetic present is used, where something yet future is spoken of confidently, as though already accomplished. Israel's warfare, though greviously difficult today, is not unending, but rather it approaches a definite point of completion.

To all those who suffer as they follow Christ: your suffering is not a bottomless hole, in which more and more must forever be poured in. Rather, it is like a jar that is being filled up. Some of us have smaller jars, and some of us have larger jars. But once our jar is filled up, God ends the suffering and the jar is, as it were, placed in a display, to bring praise and glory to God throughout all eternity.

Verse 2 speaks of a time when Israel's "iniquity has been removed". The word iniquity (עונה) contains both the idea of the sin itself, as well the punishment for it — both ideas beings being essentially one, in the Hebrew mind (see TWOT). But I believe the emphasis here is on the consequences. That is, the chastening and discipline, which was necessary to reform Israel, and to guide her on to a good path, will no longer be necessary. All shame and ignominy will be taken away.

The statement "that she has received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins" is one that has caused difficulty for interpreters. Commentators such as Leupold and TBKC try to explain that "double" (כפלים) really means something like "ample", or "full", or "sufficient". However, I think that even if we understand "double" to be used metaphorically, this still must refer to an extra amount, rather than just enough.

My view is that God did, in a certain sense, give Israel more suffering or punishment than they deserved. This is not hard to recognize, if we consider the harsh history of the Jewish people, such as the astrocities of the pogroms and the Holocaust. Certainly they were not deserving of these miseries, at least not any more than all the other wicked nations in the world that have turned away from God. The important point is that God did not allow these sufferings because he hates Israel, but rather because he loves her. These sufferings were necessary to chasten Israel; to teach her to trust in ʏʜᴡʜ, rather than herself; to keep her distinct from all the other peoples of the world; and ultimately to lead her to repentance and the promised joys of the millenial kingdom, in which all her fortunes will be reversed.

Those of us who have put our trust in the Christ — many of us look at our lives and wonder why God gives us so much difficulty and suffering, compared to our neighbors and acquaintances who do not follow Christ. The answer is that God loves us, and he knows that trials are necessary to keep our hearts focused on him, and to purify our faith. If we are faithful and keep trusting in God, in the end the enduring benefits will far outweigh the brief pains of this life, and our faith will glitter as gold in the sunlight.

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Lockman Foundation