Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"The word of our God stands forever"
Text: Isaiah 40:8
THE MESSAGE OF THE FORERUNER
The prophecy was that God would send a forerunner to prepare the way of the LORD. The question was what would constitute the content of his message?
“The voice said, ‘Cry out!’
And he said, ‘What shall I cry?’
‘All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.'”
Isaiah 40:6-8
1. “The voice said”
a) Whose voice is this?
b) This “voice” instructed the forerunner to “cry out”.
i) To speak boldly.
ii) To speak clearly.
c) The “voice” in this context refers to the LORD.
i) Psalm 29 was written to describe the power of God’s voice.
ii) This “voice” commanded the forerunner to cry out
and to proclaim the message concerning the coming of the Messiah.
2. “And he said”
a) This was the forerunner asking for further instruction.
b) What should he focus on?
c) What should he cry out exactly?
3. The Content of the message.
a) The forerunner must speak about Man and his frailty.
i) Man is simply described as “flesh”.
ii) And all flesh is compared to mere “grass” or “the flower of the field”.
iii) Man’s existence is transient and frail.
iv) The grass in all its freshness soon fades.
v) The flower in all its beauty fades away all too soon.
b) The forerunner must also proclaim the nature of God’s word.
i) The nature of the Word of God is everlasting.
ii) Man will fade away, but the Word of God will stand forever.