Ep 391 | Isaiah 40-49, Come Follow Me 2026 (Sept 28-Oct 4)

Bryce Dunford (0:03)

Hey everybody, welcome to Talking Scripture, a podcast where we illustrate relevance and application of the scriptures in Come Follow Me.

Mike Day (0:10)

We also dive into the history and cultures of the text.

Bryce Dunford (0:13)

Thanks for taking the time to share and subscribe to this podcast.

Mike Day (0:16)

For show notes, head over to our website, talkingscripture.org. Welcome to Talking Scripture, I'm Mike.

Bryce Dunford (0:25)

And I'm Bryce.

Mike Day (0:25)

And today, Come Follow Me covers Isaiah 40 through 49 But just note that 36 through 39 are skipped. So Bryce and I are going to talk a little bit about those historical chapters that are skipped.

Bryce Dunford (0:36)

Now, before we do that, I want to remind you that no one understood Isaiah like Nephi did. And some of the statements Nephi makes really do help us get more out of Isaiah. Like, for example, Nephi said we need to see Isaiah. He said that he understood Isaiah because he knew concerning the regions roundabout. So the more you understand history or culture or the relevance of an item that Isaiah is describing, the more you are going to find meaning in it. But then I want to point out that both Nephi and Jacob emphasized that if you are going to get more out of Isaiah, you have to liken. Six times before Jacob and Nephi include insertions of Isaiah, they say, liken. I think that is significant. And if ever there were a set of chapters of Isaiah I would strongly encourage you to liken. It's these middle chapters, from middle 30 through 49

Because here's the setting.

Bad things are happening to Israel. The Babylonian captivity is coming, the Assyrians are going to come down and conquer the northern tribes. And so you have to find in each one of these how it applies to you. For example, when Sennacherib comes into Jerusalem and the Assyrians are threatening to destroy the Jews, they send a letter to the Jews saying that Hezekiah will not be able to save them. That they should just give in and stop resisting and let the Assyrians have their lands. That Hezekiah is not going to be able to save them. So you need to be able to say, wait a minute, that's like Satan trying to convince me that Jesus is not going to be able to save me, therefore I should just give in and let him have my lands. Do you see the relevance there?

And then throughout all of the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites are getting beaten up. They need to hear the voice of the Lord, that He's with them. That's what these chapters are going to emphasize. Fear not, I am with thee. He's going to say that over and over and over again. I am holding your hand. I am going to save you for my sake. He's been there the whole time. And that's a realization I hope every one of you will make this week as you apply these words to yourself.

Now that being said, let's go back to Hezekiah's stand against Assyria. And you need to see Jesus in this story. That the Assyrians are trying to tell the Jews that you shouldn't trust Hezekiah. You shouldn't trust Jesus to save you. He's not going to be there when you need him. And that's going to set us up for all of the 40s that we'll now study.

Mike Day (3:15)

Yeah, that's essentially what we see in the 36th and 37th chapter of Isaiah is the Assyrian army has taken everything out. I mean, we think they may have taken out as many as 46 of the Judean cities in and around the area of Jerusalem, but they're not able to get in Jerusalem. They lay siege to it.

And in the 36th chapter, Reb Sheka comes and he basically gives the message to the emissaries to the king that, you know what, if you guys surrender to us, we're going to take you to a new land. Everything's going to be right. But the one thing he says is that verse in chapter 36, verse 14, where he says, Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you. And if you think about how the king represented the cosmic king, meaning Yahweh, meaning Jesus. And so in this instance, Hezekiah represents Jesus and Reb Sheka represents the forces of darkness or the voices of darkness saying, don't trust in Jesus. And Hezekiah, he's in a position where he isn't really sure what to do.

And so in these chapters, he goes to Isaiah and he says, what should we do? He actually seeks counsel. If you go to the 37th chapter, verse five, it says, the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. What do you think I should do? And Isaiah's response, verse six of chapter 37, thus saith the Lord, be not afraid.