They That Wait Upon The Lord

They That Wait Upon The Lord

Isa. 40:28-31 “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.”

It is always good to examine the background of any passage of scripture. The text is always more clearly illuminated by the context. In this case, simple rules of Bible Analysis may help us get to the crux of the matter. Isaiah is speaking to the Jews who have gone into Babylonian captivity. They are far from home and, as might be expected, they are discouraged, downhearted and depressed. The Psalmist spoke of their dire circumstances and deep sorrow when he said, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us [required of us] mirth, [saying], Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion...” (Psalm 137:1-4) They had lost all they cherished and held dear. They yearned for the bygone days of relative freedom and prosperity in the promised land of their fathers. Their hearts cried out for their God-given heritage. They longed for a lifestyle they had come to despise and neglect before their captivity. They longed to go up to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah once more in His holy temple. They were frightened and fainthearted in a faraway land filled with strangers. Life seemed hard and hopeless and they were horribly homesick in that heathen land.

They sat down and cried and hung their harps on the willows by the riverside. They had become useless and voiceless held in hands that hung down in helplessness. How could they sing the glad and joyous songs of Zion in such a weary land? Of course, it was all their own fault. God’s divine law of sowing and reaping had finally caught up with them. The principles of their own law were being surely and severely applied, “ But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Nu. 32:23) God had another prophet to point out that if Israel sowed to the wind they would reap the whirlwind. It was now harvest time. As the old saying goes, they were reaping the wild oats they had recklessly sown in God’s field.

But the fact that their faithful God was lovingly chastening and correcting them, brought cold comfort to their hearts. Their songs in the night had been silenced and they could only sigh and sob sadly the whole day through. Just when it seems their hearts will literally break within them, their merciful God moves His special prophet to utter these tremendous words of comfort and encouragement to His downcast people. It is clear he is inspired to step outside the usual role of a prophet of his day. He does not mete out rebuke and reproof and cautionary condemnation for sin. They have confessed their sins and have received forgiveness. He is moved to express compassion and comfort to help and heal the hurt of their heavy hearts. (Verse 1)

He makes it clear that the road back from Babylon to Jerusalem leads through a dry and thirsty wilderness land, but he assures them that God is making a way for them there. Their Lord does know the way in that wilderness and all they have to do is to follow Him. (Verses 3-5) How this same truth can comfort those today who have wandered away from God and find themselves by the river of their Babylon of chastening! In the midst of His comfort, God has the prophet to remind them of the mortality of mere man and the brevity of his days and the short span of life upon the earth.

Because of this we cannot look within ourselves for any solution to the puzzles and paradoxes of life We must always look above to the immortal and eternal One who is always faithful. We need but lift our eyes to the everlasting hills from whence cometh our help. We must forever look to the One who is the author and finisher of our faith. He whose firm hand never fails. We must reach up to the One whose loving light never dims nor dies. We must learn to wait upon the Lord. (Verses 6-10) The prophet then turns to reassure the people of God that not only is their God a powerful warrior God, but He is oh so gentle in His strength. Just think how important that image is to His people slaving all day long in the hot sun; making bricks on the river banks of Babylon. Their God is not only strong enough to defeat the false pagan deities of the Babylonians, but He can snatch them from bondage and carry them away home gently and tenderly in His everlasting Shepherd arms. How we need this assurance in the weary world of woe in which we wage spiritual warfare today. How we need a strong and gentle shepherd to love and lead us in our lonely journey between here and the hereafter. (Verse 10-11)