Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye

“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
(Isa. 40:1-3)

I find these verses very fitting for what we are going through today. We need comfort while waiting for our Lord. A note in my Bible says, “This section of Isaiah’s prophecy (40:1—48:22) is often called the Book of Consolation. Comfort ye (nachamu) means both “repent” and “console” and implies that true repentance must precede divine consolation.” It seems that this is where we are today. We need to repent so that we can receive comfort from God. There are many verses in the Bible that give us hope and comfort and we must read these verses often in the troubling days ahead. God gives us comfort in ways we may not even expect. I had an experience recently that made me realize we must remember God’s promises to us and that He will comfort us in ways we may not expect. On January 6th, 2021, the day of the violence at the US Capitol I was in my front yard and looked in the sky and there were 5 (grace) bald eagles soaring right overhead, 3 of them were flying lower and 2 higher up. It was amazing. I have seen 2 eagles flying here before but never right overhead and never more than 2. Eight (new birth or beginning) days later January 14th I was walking my dog and 4 (world, creation) bald eagles flew in a line right above my head. The image is permanently fixed in my head. I had such a feeling of awe, and yet comfort too. I felt that God was telling me to trust in Him and that He is always there protecting us. Seven (completeness and perfection) days later I saw 1 (unity) bald eagle fly over. These were all amazing experiences to see them so close three different times. It is also interesting as the bald eagle is a symbol of the USA, “The American bald eagle is the national bird symbol of the United States of America. It became a symbol in 1792. The bald eagle was chosen because of its majestic, beauty, strength, and because it’s native to North America, dinoanimals.com/animals/bald-eagle-the-national-bird-of-the-usa/.”

I am not sure exactly if all this really means anything, but it did have an effect on me and God has used the eagle many times in the Bible. In Ezekiel 17, the parable of the eagles and the vine which is a very important chapter regarding the planting of the tender twig, verse 3 says, “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:”. Jesus says in Matthew 24:28, “For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” This has a reference to Eze. 39:17, “And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.” A warning of what is to come! “Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.” (Job 39:27-30). Notice this says the eagle abideth on the rock and the strong place. Could this mean that the eagle is a symbol of Israel and our spiritual rock, Jesus Christ? “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” (1Cor. 10:4). Luke 17: 37 Jesus says, “And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” In my Bible the description of this verse says, “Eagles here are vultures. As vultures gather over carrion, so judgment’s storm clouds pile up over the spiritually unprepared.” Indicating in these end times we should be making ourselves ready for the Lord’s return. I must thank my Bible study group for helping me find these verses!

We are in a time of great uncertainty and at times this can make us anxious and distressed, but we must keep our faith strong, as this gives us our hope. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Heb. 11:1-3) By faith we know that all things were made by God from things that can’t be seen. Our confidence is in knowing that what we hope for is waiting for us even though we can’t see it right now. God is always there and He will give us hope and strengthen our faith when we daily walk with Him. He will lift us up when we can’t do it ourselves. This gives us our comfort and joy.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isa. 40:31)