No. 29. >> Hello, Dr. Gard. As we've been reading assignments for this class, I've noticed a unique phrase. What is meant by: The Book of Comfort? >>DR. DANIEL L. GARD: That's an excellent question. Because the Book of Comfort is this section of Isaiah that we're now preparing to study. We have to remember that the Old Testament, indeed, all of Scripture, but Old Testament in particular for our purposes in this course are not given in some sort of a time vacuum. They are given, in fact, in very concrete time. In real time. In which the people to whom God spoke through his apostles and his prophets actually lived real lives. In the case of Isaiah, his prophecy begins very early. About 740 BC. And continues on for a lengthy period of time. Now, it's a very tumultuous time for Israel and for Judah. Israel would fall, that is the northern kingdom would fall to the Assyrians in the year 721 BC. And it would be some century and a half later that the southern kingdom would ultimately fall to Babylon. Isaiah comes and begins his prophecy just before that terrible event at the north in 721. And looks into the future to the fate of the southern kingdom, as well, all those years later. This is real history. And it was lived by people who then would suffer through terrible times. It would be a time of great pain and agony for the people of Israel and for Judah. And it would be because of a number of different reasons. One of those reasons is that they would throughout their history prefer to ally themselves with other nations, with things of this world, rather than with their God. The end result of that, of course, is destruction. And this the nation had to learn. And they learned it through some very terrible times. But yet, God never leaves us, even in the midst of our own self-inflicted pain, without a great word of comfort. That he is still there. And that he has come into this world in order to unite himself with his people in their suffering. And through that union to bring them to himself. This is the purpose of this second half of Isaiah, this wonderful Book of Comfort. It's to speak to people to whom Isaiah has already spoken about the horrors that they would face. And now to come back to them and say: In the midst of this, I say to you: Comfort, comfort. For I am your God.