“For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.”
Isaiah 8:11-22 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.8.11-22.KJV
“Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, ...
The Good Shepherd
"He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart ... "
Isaiah 40:11 NIV
This verse is one of the most tender portraits of God in all of Scripture. Amid a chapter that speaks of God’s overwhelming power—the same God who measures oceans in the palm of His hand and calls stars by their name—Isaiah also gives us this stunning picture of His gentleness.
God is not just mighty; He is merciful. He is not only strong; He is tender.
In this verse, Isaiah compares our God to a shepherd who cares daily for a flock of sheep. We, like sheep, have a tendency to wander and go astray. Sheep fall into traps or are killed and eaten by predators. But a shepherd's only priority is the care and safety of his flock. A shepherd must be strong enough to carry a wounded ewe or to ward off wolves from a stranded lamb, but caring enough to nurture them and lead them to green pastures.
Centuries later, Jesus would stand among the people of ...