Isaías 40
John MacArthur · Citado em PreceptAustin
Isaías 40:31
MacArthur writes and I agree with him that ultimately this passage will be fulfilled in the Millennium) "My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait (Hebrew = qavah; ) for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly. (Isaiah 51:5)
Isaías 40:31
MacArthur: To wait for God entails an ultimate trust in Him, not becoming impatient when His timetable for final salvation differs from ours (cf. Is 26:8; 33:2; 40:31). (Ed: A corollary thought is that willingness to wait on the Lord is a barometer of our trust in His faithfulness to keep His Word. What's your spiritual "barometric pressure" reading in regard to patience… is it rising or falling?) (Isaiah 26:8) Indeed, while following the way of Thy judgments, O LORD, we have waited for Thee eagerly (qavah); Thy Name, even Thy memory, is the desire of our souls. Comment: The Septuagint translates waited for… eagerly with the verb elpizo which means to hope for something with assurance it will come to pass (not like the world's "hope so"!) (Eg, see Ro 8:24, 25-note) MacArthur: The future remnant divulges the key to its redemption—their complete dependence on the Lord, not humanly devised schemes. Motyer: The Lord’s people wait for him, exercise believing patience till the Lord performs his final act. They do not long for altered circumstances but for fuller experience of him. To desire his name means that true experience is controlled by revelation (the name of the Lord is what he has revealed himself to be) John Oswalt: Waiting is very difficult for most people, for it is an admission that there is nothing we can do at the moment to achieve our ends. Yet that admission is the first requirement for spiritual blessing. Until we have admitted that we cannot save ourselves, God cannot save us. (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament Series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986) (Isaiah 33:2) (Context: Assyria was threatening invasion of Judah. What "Assyria" is threatening you at this moment beloved? What fear has gripped your heart so that you are almost incapacitated, "frozen with fear" as they say? Then memorize Isaiah 40:31ESV, NASB so that you might be able to meditate upon it beloved, "chewing" this great truth until it becomes part of your very soul [God's Word - the best "Soul food" for growing our faith, cp 1Pe 2:2-note, Job 23:10, 11-note, Job 23:12-note, Josh 1:8-note, Ps 1:2-note, Ps 1:3-note]) O LORD, be gracious (in the form of a command. By faith [cp He 11:1-note] and that faith manifest by prayer these Jewish believers were "claiming" the promises or truths that Isaiah just spoke Is 30:18,19 - Beloved are you pleading with God based upon His precious and magnificent promises? 2Pe 1:4-note) to us (the believing/faithful Jewish remnant); we have waited for Thee (this proves this refers to believers for unbelieving Jews would not wait for Jehovah, because waiting takes faith - to walk by faith not by sight). Be Thou their (If this is the correct translation, it suggest that Isaiah says a prayer for the remnant. Most versions have "our" instead of "their" which would reflect the faithful remnant praying for God's salvation from their enemy) strength every morning, our salvation also in the time of distress. Comment: Waited is the same Hebrew verb qavah, and as in Is 8:17, the Septuagint (LXX) translates qavah with the verb peitho [word study]) .emphasizing that waiting for Jehovah equates with trusting in Jehovah, placing one's confidence in Him to undertake on our behalf (in His perfect timing, not our proposed timetable!) (Listen to Ron Kenoly sing "We Will Wait") Time of distress - This is the identical phrase (and identical Hebrew words) which is found in Jer 30:7 and is commonly known as the "time of Jacob's distress" which the more literal, conservative expositors interpret as a description of the coming Great Tribulation. This phrase certainly could have a near (Assyria) and far fulfillment (Antichrist). (see KJV Commentary note below). Motyer: Long (qavah), ‘wait’; (Is 8:17) is a mark of the remnant, combining the restfulness of waiting with the confidence of sure expectation. Our strength/‘their arm’ is the organ of strong personal action (Is 52:10), strength for life. (Motyer, J. A. The prophecy of Isaiah: Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press) The KJV Commentary sees a definite eschatological intent: While the passage certainly has some parallels to the Assyrian invasion, it extends so far beyond it that even Young (II, p. 421) admits the messianic nature of the king in Is 32:17 and in the closing verses of the chapter. To fail to see the invasion of the Antichrist as the subject of the opening verses of the chapter is to miss its entire point! While he is not named as such in the passage, we should remember that he is only called by that designation in a few passages (1Jn 2:18,22; 4:3; 2Jn 7). Compare the “man of sin” (2Th 2:1-12) with the “woeful king” (Da 11:36-45). (Dobson, E G, Charles Feinberg, E Hindson, Woodrow Kroll, H L. Wilmington: KJV Bible Commentary: Nelson) The prophet Habakkuk understood waiting on the LORD writing… For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3) The prophet Isaiah like all good teachers is not calling his readers to do something that he himself had not practiced for earlier he stated… I will wait (chakah; Lxx = meno = I will abide, tarry) for the LORD Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob (clearly a sign of God's disfavor); I will even look eagerly for (qavah) Him. (Is 8:17, note context = written Word in Is 8:16 - which grows our trust and willingness to wait on the LORD's timing - cp Ro 10:17-note) Comment: Look eagerly is the same Hebrew verb (qavah) which in Isaiah 40:31 is rendered wait for a translation which gives one a sense of what waiting for Jehovah entails. The Septuagint translates look eagerly for with the verb peitho [word study] which speaks of firm persuasion and pictures Isaiah as so convinced that he puts his confidence in Jehovah. In a sense Isaiah is looking with eyes of faith, much like Moses when "he endured as seeing Him Who is unseen." (He 11:27-note, see the translation in He 11:27NLT) Motyer: Faith is made for the dark day. John MacArthur: The speaker is Isaiah whose disposition was to await the Lord’s deliverance, the national salvation promised the faithful remnant (Is 40:31; 49:23) New Living Translation Study Bible: Waiting for the Lord requires submission, prayer, hope, and faith (see Is 25:9; 26:8; 33:2), resulting in a quiet spirit and a renewal of inner strength (Is 40:31). WAITING IN THE PSALMS The psalmist David who had learned about waiting on Jehovah in the wilderness wrote… (Context = Ps 25:2 = a prayer) Indeed, none (How many?) of those who wait for (qavah - Lxx = hupomeno) Thee will be ashamed (humiliated, disgraced, disappointed). Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed… 5 Lead (command) me in Thy truth and teach (command) me, For Thou art the God of my salvation; For Thee I wait (qavah - Lxx = hupomeno) all the day… 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for Thee. (Psalm 25:3, 5, 21 - Psalm of David)
Isaías 40:31
MacArthur commenting on Isaiah 40:31 writes that… There is a general principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials (cf. 2Co 12:9- note, 2Co 12:10-note). The Lord also expected His people to be patient and await His coming in glory at the end to fulfill the promises of national deliverance, when believing Israel would become stronger than they had ever been. (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word) MY WEAKNESS FOR HIS GRACE AND POWER Paul's experience of being taken up to the third heaven (2Co 12:1, 2, 3, 4) and his subsequent abasement and importuning (2Co 12:7, 8) was met with the paradoxical (to the natural man 1Co 2:14) reply from the Lord Jesus Christ… "My grace (charis - word study) is sufficient (present tense = continually enough - listen to Your Grace Is Enough - Chris Tomlin) for you, for (My) power (dunamis [word study] - inherent power) is perfected (present tense = continually; teleioo - see related word teleios = accomplished, carried out to the full, brought to its intended goal) in weakness (impotence)." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses (note plural - incapacities), that (hina - purpose clause) the power (dunamis) of Christ may dwell in (tabernacle upon, rest or abide upon, take up lodging on) me. Therefore I am well content (take pleasure - only with hearts and eyes of faith can we do this beloved!) with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (dunatos). (2Cor 12:9-note, 2Co 12:10-note) (Ponder the great truth of Paul's affirmation as you listen to Chris Tomlin's Everlasting God - Strength Will Rise) See related devotionals Serving With Limitations; Tensile Strength; The Strongest Weak People; The Advantage Of Weakness ; A Good Stretch ; The Power Of Our Limits ; 'The Big Sissy!' ; A Fragile Stone) Give me, Savior, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy trust to keep; And so through trouble, care, and strife, Glorify Thee in my daily life. —Bell Does all the world seem against you And you're in the battle alone? It's often when you are most helpless That God's mighty power is known. -Anon. James has a similar "formula" for the supernatural race of grace in this one brief life explaining that God… gives a greater grace (Greater grace in view of the greater requirement). Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED (antitassomai = literally arrayed against, continually setting Himself against, military term picturing army arrayed against enemy forces) TO THE PROUD (huperephanos from huper = above + phaino = shine -- picture is that of a man with his head held high above others) , BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE (tapeinos = low, not high, not rising far from the ground)." (Jas 4:6-note , quoting Pr 3:34, cp 1Pe 5:5-note) He Giveth More Grace He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added affliction He addeth His mercy; To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father's full giving is only begun. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, Our God ever yearns His resources to share; Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; The Father both thee and thy load will upbear. His love has no limit; His grace has no measure. His pow'r has no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again! Annie Johnson Flint John