Good morning,
This week our Scripture verse is Isaiah 40:31. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40 transitions from judgment to the restoration and comfort for Israel.
God is not a created being. He is not beholden to anyone for His creative acts, His wisdom, His power, or His understanding. He reigns over all His creation, His people, and governments. The following verses substantiate this.
GOD ASKS RHETORICAL QUESTIONS (40:12-14)
“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught him? 14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?”
ANSWER: No one
ALL NATIONS BEFORE HIM ARE AS NOTHING… (40:15-17)
“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.”
God created the nations and reigns over them.
WHO IS LIKE GOD? (40:18-22)
“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”
God created all things. We should bow down and worship God rather than idols.
GOD HAS POWER OVER LEADERS (40:23-24)
“That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.”
God sets up and takes down leaders. We mere mortals must remember that there are not political parties in Heaven. God is in charge.
This whole section leads up to the final verses which reveal Who God Is. Check back tomorrow for the answer.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001
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