Isaiah 40:1-2 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s Hand double for all her sins.
This Prophesy of Isaiah is to bring comfort to the Jews that their war has been won for them and their sins have been paid for. All this was accomplished by Jesus on the Cross. Jews today still do not believe Jesus was the Messiah, and so they continue to wait for Him to come.
Although they fail to believe in Jesus, they are still God’s chosen people, and He will never forsake them. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every Jew will one day confess the Name of Jesus as Messiah.
This Message is not only for Jews but for all unbelievers. The lost and dying world must hear the Message that the war against sin, which they fight every day, has been won for them. The Victory over sin and death is theirs for the taking. All they need to do is repent and believe.
The understanding of the last phrase of this passage will shed light on the whole Prophesy. This comes with the knowledge of what happened to people who were bankrupt in Biblical times. In ancient times, when a person was declared bankrupt, all their debts were listed on a scroll with their name written at the top of the page. This debt scroll was posted at the city gate for everyone to see. It was made to be public knowledge, and the bankrupt person was made a spectacle in their city and condemned.
Sometimes, out of compassion, a wealthy person would see the debt owed by the person and choose to free the person. To do this, they would physically remove the scroll of debts from the wall at the city gate and double it by folding it in half, hiding the list on the inside. They would then sign their name to the scroll and put it back on the wall.
This action would declare the wealthy person responsible for all the debt listed on the scroll of the bankrupt person. The list of debts could no longer be seen by the public. They were hidden when doubled over and declared “Paid In Full” by the signature on the outside.
Sometimes the debtor had to be told by others that his debt scroll had been doubled over, signed, and his debts paid. I can imagine the poor, bankrupt man sitting condemned on the side of the road and a friend coming to share this good news with him that his debt scroll had been doubled over and signed by a wealthy man! I can see him jumping up with joy and running to the city gate to see for himself! It was true! Someone, out of pure compassion, had done this for him! At that point, he believed and knew he was no longer condemned! His debts had been paid in full; he was free to go!
To the man, his amount due was totally overwhelming. He had no possible way of repaying it all. He was bankrupt. However, to the wealthy person, it was an insignificant amount of money and was easily paid. Out of pure compassion for the poor soul who would otherwise be forever condemned by the world, the wealthy man set him free.
This is an accurate portrayal of the Message of the Cross of Christ. Without Christ, we are all bankrupt sinners with a list of debts a mile long. We have no earthly way of paying these debts. Our sins are posted for the world to see, and we stand exposed, condemned, spiritually bankrupt.
BUT, God loved us so much He sent His Son (the Wealthiest Man of all time) to pay our debts; every one of them. When Jesus declared that “It is finished” He spiritually took our bankruptcy scroll from the city wall, doubled it over, and signed His Name in Blood on the face of it. Out of His great compassion for every one of us, He did what we could never do for ourselves: Paid our debt of sin and set us free!
This Prophesy is for you, my friend. Claim it as your own by placing your name in the blanks. Comfort, comfort my ____________, says your God. Speak tenderly to ____________, and proclaim to him/her that his/her warfare is accomplished, that his/her sin has been paid for, that he/she has received from the Lord’s Hand double for all his/her sins. The war is over. The Lord has doubled over your debt scroll and signed it with His Precious Blood. Your sins are hidden, never to be remembered by God again.
There is enough Blood of Jesus to double over the debt scroll of every person and declare every sin covered and every debt paid…..IN FULL! All we have to do is believe in what Jesus did. All who believe will be saved! For God so loved the world, He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life! (John 3:16)
This is the Message that will……….turn the tide
Doubled over with gratitude! Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
