Isaiah 40:12-31
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 "To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
And my just claim is passed over by my God"?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
God’s people are strengthened by His immeasurable strength, wisdom, and knowledge of understanding and not our own. He makes that clear here through Isaiah. The LORD alone created the heavens and earth in that power and manifold wisdom (Psalm 104:24) without being taught or receiving counsel from anyone. He counts all nations and heir supposed power and influence as if nothing in comparison to Himself and His works, raising kingdoms up and bringing them down again as He wills. Their worth is meaningless apart from Him. People have mistakenly made lifeless idols to worship as their gods in His place only to discover that they are deaf, dumb, and blind as they also become (Psalm 115:5-8, Romans 1:22-23) what they worship. We all are reminded here starting in verse 21 that God has told us from the beginning of creation that He is Lord over all His creation and He alone is to be worshiped and served. In His sovereign rule He controls all nations and nature; the power and judgment is His, and the winds blow at His command. The LORD God is neither like or equal to any other and calls us to look up at His handiwork of creation in the heavens and on earth by His power and greatness of care and sustaining attention. Like Israel, we cannot rightly say that our ways are hidden from God’s sight or that we are treated unjustly by His sovereign rule over us all. In His word He has told us plainly that He is eternal, omnipotent, and omniscient. Nothing is not understood completely by Him nor out of His absolute control. Yes, He cannot faint or grow tired and so is able to impart strength to we His people, even though we all falter and fall at some point. God never tires or fails. If we then trust and wait patiently on His enabling grace of understanding and strength, then we shall find renewed energy and resolve to continue following Him as the majestic bird who rises high on the rising thermal winds above adversity and as the runner who does not tire or faint as he runs the race for the Lord our God, just as Hebrews 12:1-2 reminds each of us called out by name to Himself. Our hope is in the Almighty God, ruler of all heaven and earth! Let us then resolve to trust and follow Him according to His word and the principles set here for us. We are strengthened by His infinite strength and guided by His infinite wisdom by God given understanding.
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