October 28, 2023: Haftorah - Isaiah 40:27-41:16
This week's Haftorah reading is from Isaiah 40:27-41:16. Join Dr. Jeffery Myers as he consoles Israel with such deep comforting Word of promise, from our YAH. ADONAI wants to reach out to each of us and give us personal comfort. ELOHIM is our only hope, and the worse the world gets, the more we need Him in our lives!
Follow along in the AUDIO PODCAST, by clicking on the play button below, and reading along with the notes, as you listen to today's Haftorah Portion:
Lion of Judah Speaks: Haftorah Portion – Isaiah 40:27-41:16
As we look at the Haftorah, the message of Adonai given by Isaiah is one of comfort and reconciliation, “Comfort, comfort My people, says your Yah. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, Adonai has punished her twice over all her sins.” There is a change coming, one of comfort! The only hope for all of us struggling, tired and somewhat defeated is waiting on the promises of Elohim.
Adonai wants to reach out to each of us and give us personal comfort. Are you tired today? We all have been running a little exhausted these days. When we buy a new phone, it’s amazing. That device runs fast…super speed! The battery is strong and lasts forever…but over time is seems to slow down and seems to use up the battery faster. The battery doesn’t last as long. This is a picture of how we feel these days.
Adonai wants to directly speak to us—no middle man, no misunderstood details, no guessing, no points missed in communication that happens when a message is passed from one person to another. Elohim wants to deliver His message to them, to us, on a one-on-one level, the Creator to created being.
What does He want us to know? Adonai wants to comfort us in the fact He knows about us, our problems and He cares. He really cares! Isaiah 40 was written to Elohim’s people in exile. It was meant to be read by His people while they were far from home in Babylon. The intended audience were a people who had rebelled, had experienced the destruction of Jerusalem, and who felt demoralized, exhausted, hopeless, on the edge of despair. They would have felt like Elohim had abandoned them, and that they had no future left. Sound familiar?
What do you do when you find yourself in an unfamiliar place or situation? How do you find comfort in something so uncomfortable? When our lives throw us into unexpected situations, whether we face suffering, sorrow, or grief; whether we are experiencing chaos and confusion, whether by life or our choices…Elohim Almighty is there to hold us, to comfort us.
Israel and the Israelite people are facing great pain and sorrow…the land and her people have been attacked and it could seem hopeless and that war is on the horizon that could take further lives. As an American Jew, I can only imagine what my people are feeling and going through. All I can do is pray and support to the best of my ability, but I don’t know how they feel what emotions they are going through. However, I know our Yah, and He is faithful…always! I know if I rely on myself, I find myself on a bedrock of sand which causes me to sink in my own despair. This is the time Israel needs to fix their eyes on Elohim! Yes, they must fight and secure the land and protect her people but Elohim is the only One who wins this battle! He is our commander and chief, and His army is always victorious!
So, Isaiah 40 begins with these words: “Comfort. Comfort My people, says your Yah.” We all need comfort but Israel needs comfort right now! As in the days of Isaiah it is the same today…His people are tired and discouraged and need hope. This is what Elohim will give them…then and now!
When we get one glimpse at who Elohim is and what He’s going to do- that He’s going to come to us in overwhelming glory and remake this world, and that He can do this because He is unbelievably great- we will be comforted! The greatest need we have in this broken and discouraging world is to lift our eyes and see Elohim for who He is. Elohim is our only hope, and the worse the world gets, the more we need this!
Israel, Yah’s people, let me tell you why you shouldn’t give up even though you’re on the edge of despair…because of who Elohim is and what He’s going to do! Trust in Him and watch and see! This is the message of Isa. 40:1-26. Whenever you get discouraged and overwhelmed, lift up your eyes to Elohim. He is what you need!
As powerful as those verse are please look at Isa. 40:27-31. What will move us forward when we’re tired and discouraged? Isa. 40:27 will help us with this by describing our hope in moving forward.
What happened when you look around and you feel like Elohim has abandoned you? That He has turned His back on you? Isa. 40:27 points out that they keep saying they’ve been abandoned and forgotten by Elohim. This isn’t a one-time thought. This had become a continual pattern. On an ongoing basis, they felt that Elohim had abandoned them.
Whatever you are feeling…give it to Elohim, throw at Him all your feelings- He can absorb them all! Elohim in the middle of all their pain begins to reassure His people. He calls them Jacob and Israel. He’s reminding them they’re not the first to wrestle with Elohim. Just as Yah was faithful to Isaac, the new name for Jacob, He will remain faithful to them, to us! We are Elohim’s covenant people, and He will not abandon them!
He then speaks in verse 28, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? Adonai is the everlasting Elohim, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.” This is what we need to hear!
Isaiah said they need to relearn what they already knew. We don’t need new information; we just need to remember what we forgot in the middle of our problems. What do they need to remember? Elohim is eternal, He is our Creator, He is untiring…He never gets exhausted, He never grows tired or weary but is forever fresh, always alert, always able! Amen!
Remind yourself of who He is. Move from despair to Elohim’s greatness. However, Isaiah doesn’t stop there. He now brings us to renewal. Isaiah 40:29-31…we know it well, “…. but they who wait for Adonai shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Israel, and all discouraged and tired people of Adonai…pay attention: stop looking at your problems and start looking at Elohim! When you do: the tireless Elohim’s strength will overflow into your life!
In verse 30 the message is blunt: we don’t have what it takes, we are not strong enough, we will fail, we are no match for the demands of life…But we are not doomed to our own potential. There is a power beyond ourselves, and we can experience it.
How do we get this power? By waiting for Adonai. What does waiting mean? It means that we confidently trust Elohim to keep His promises. It means placing our confidence in Elohim even when we have reason to doubt. It means believing Elohim’s promises are true even when we haven’t seen those promises fulfilled quite yet. It means trusting Elohim to keep His covenant promises even when you’re in exile in Babylon or facing Hamas or any other demonic foe.
When we do that, the passage says, we’ll rise on wings like eagles, we won’t faint even when things get tough…because we rely on Elohim’s strength not our own!
Tired people of Yah, what’s going to help us not just to endure but advance? Not our own strength, but Elohim and our Savior Yeshua HaMashiach. We need to look to Him today and rely on His promises, and see what Elohim will do through our lives and His people, Israel!
Shabbat Shalom Mishpocha,
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Abba, we are weary. I pray that we would look up from our problems and see you instead. Empower us Adonai with more expectancy, more confidence, more faith, more trust. Help us to rise up on eagle’s wings so that we can run and not be weary, walk and not be faint. We pray this in Yeshua’s mighty name. Amen and amen!
Shalom Aleichem