Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"I, even I, am He who comforts you"
Text: Isaiah 51:12
A GOD OF ALL COMFORT
Captive Israel was full of fear and dread. The LORD sent forth a strong word of encouragement and comfort!
“I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?
And you forget the LORD your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
And where is the fury of the oppressor?”
Isaiah 51:12-13
1. Fears of Israel.
a) Israel feared their captors.
b) They were in dread of the Babylonians.
2. Addressing fears:
a) To remember the LORD who speaks words of comfort.
b) To have a correct view of their captors.
i) The Babylonians are mere men.
ii) They are like the grass that will perish in due time.
c) Why should there be this dread and fear?
3. The problem of forgetting who the LORD is.
a) The LORD is the Almighty Maker (Creator).
b) The power of the Creator.
i) He stretched out the heavens.
ii) He laid the foundations of the earth.
iii) The greatness of the LORD was all but forgotten.
4. The fear that gripped Israel.
a) They feared continually.
b) They feared every day.
c) They feared the fury of the oppressors.
d) They feared that they might be destroyed.