What does Isaiah 40:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The same voice continued to call out (cf. Isaiah 40:3). This time a messenger asked what to call, and the voice instructed him. He was to announce the brevity of human life, comparing it to the grass that quickly turns brown in Palestine and to the wildflowers that only last a few weeks (cf. 1 Peter 1:24). Israel"s oppressors were no stronger or more reliable than grass. Their loveliness (Heb. hesed, constancy) was ephemeral. [source][source]

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Context Summary

Voices are ever speaking to us from the infinite; let us heed them.

(1.) There is the voice of forgiveness, Isaiah 40:2. Are you truly penitent? Have you put away your sin? Have you meekly accepted the chastening rod? Then be of good cheer, this promise is for you. The time of hard service as a conscript (the literal rendering) is accomplished, your iniquity is pardoned, you have received double for all your sins. God speaks comfortably to your heart, that you may be able to comfort others as He does you, 2 Corinthians 1:4.

(2.) The voice of deliverance, Isaiah 40:3-4. Between Babylon and Canaan lay a great desert of thirty days' journey with mountain ranges, yawning gulfs. But when God arises to deliver His children, "who cry day and night unto Him," crooked places straighten out, rough ones become smooth, and mountains disappear.

(3.) The voices of decay, Isaiah 40:6-8. The one herald, speaking from his observation of human mortality, describes man and his glory as the "flower of the field." But in contrast to this, another voice seems to break in with the eternal word of God, which stands forever. The precepts, promises, and invitations of the gospel are as sure as God's throne, 1 Peter 1:25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 40

¹  The promulgation of the Gospel
³  The preaching of John Baptist foretold
⁹  The preaching of the apostles foretold
¹²  The prophet, by the omnipotence of God
¹⁸  And his incomparableness
²⁶  Comforts the people