Isaiah 40:22-31

Isa 40:22

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:

 

This is the verse that Christopher Columbus believed concerning the earth being round.  In his day the standard belief was that the earth was flat and was not a planet.  If any ships would have sailed into the unknown oceans they would eventually reach the edge and fall off into space.  Columbus looked at this verse and realized the flat earth theory was false and so he acted upon it and discovered America and much of the islands in the Caribbean Sea.  The inhabitants of the earth are like small grasshoppers or locusts in comparison to God.  Locusts were also responsible for eating everything on the land and leaving everything bare.  This is exactly what man does as he abuses the planet that God gave us through things like nuclear experiments which destroy some of the beauty which God gave us to live in.  God stretched out the heavens as one stretches a curtain over a window and made them in such a way that man is able to live under the heavens as one lives under a tent or now a house.  Both the heavens and the earth are under God’s watchful eye since his redeemed children live here until the last day when there will be a great separation.

 

Isa 40:23

That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

 

The princes believed because of their positions and also the judges who should be dispensing justice believe that they are in charge but the reality is that God is the one who is in charge and can override any decision they make.  They could be brought down in a second if the Lord decrees it.

 

Isa 40:24

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.

 

Just as a plant that is in the ground and is secure in the earth and would take much to destroy that plant, the rulers shall not be like a plant but shall be like a chaff.  They shall not be sown as a plant that grows and brings forth fruit.   Their stock which would be like a trunk of a tree will not take root, that is, they will not be established in the way they want thinking they have great authority.  All the LORD has to do is blow gently upon them and that will cause them to whither, that is, they will be removed from their offices and will be gone as the wind drives away the stubble which would be like dry straw and even a breeze would remove it.

 

Isa 40:25

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

 

Then the LORD who refers to himself as the Holy One asks a major question of these people who had placed their hope and faith in false gods.  The question is repeated from Isaiah 40:18.  To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? (Isaiah 40:18)  Can anyone equate the LORD God to a mighty man who can be taken with a point of a sword?  Is there any equal of his on earth?  God is the one who created the earth and all it contains.  Therefore, there is nothing on earth or in the universe who can compare to God.

 

Isa 40:26

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

 

Then God tells the people that they should look to the heavens and see the vastness of the starry heavens.   He  emphasizes the fact that he was the one who created all the stars and he also created the angels which are called the host.  He knows the name of every single angel he created along with knowing the name of every star which he created.  We can only see about 2,000 stars with the naked eye and many of them we know the names of such as Orion or Arcturus but the Lord knows the names of the stars within galaxies that are billions of light years away and we can only see their outlines through the Hubble telescope.  His power keeps the stars lit and our own sun continues to shine by the power of God.  When God decrees a star to go dark, it will but up until that point, it will continue to shine.  One of my favorites is the Horsehead Nebula.

 

Isa 40:27

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

 

Now Isaiah speaks to those captives who are reading this that have been taken to Babylon.  The same God who has named all the stars and has named all the angels he has created, would he forget his covenant people?  Or would he be unable to see them in their present situation?  They honestly thought that God would not plead their cause and that he has forgotten them in captivity.  This is the major problem with becoming involved with false religion that a person loses their true perspective of God and his abilities to work on behalf of his children. 

 

Isa 40:28

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

 

Then Isaiah is challenging them with a series of questions which should elicit a proper response.  Have they not known how God had worked on their behalf especially in saving them from Egypt and Assyria.  Then they are asked if they have not heard that the everlasting God who is the Creator will never faint.  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6)  The work which God had begun in his people will be completed to the end that God decrees.  God is never weary which carries with to the meaning of tired or exhausted.  Man may think he has all the answers but one thing he cannot do and that is search out the deep things of the LORD and his understanding of anything.  We are finite and he is infinite and therein lies the fence which does not allow us to cross.  We know what God has revealed to us but he has kept many things from us.  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)

 

Isa 40:29

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

 

God’s power is so immense that he is able to continually dispense his power and never deplete his own.  Then he gives his power to those who are tired and exhausted and those who have no might whatsoever are increased in strength.  This would apply to those Elect before they are saved, they are weary and have no strength but when the Holy Spirit comes into a person’s life they are spiritually invigorated and will have the strength to accomplish things they otherwise could not.

 

Isa 40:30

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

 

Even those who are youths who have all the vigor of youth shall become faint and weary because the world even beats down those who are young.  The young men who may think they can conquer the world because of the strength of youth will utterly fail because they only have as much strength as their flesh can give them.  Youth can be a great time but it can also be a time of great deception.

 

Isa 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.

 

Here is one of the great promises in Scripture for the true believer.  To wait upon the LORD was to wait until Jesus came on the scene and those who would become saved would go from a point of spiritual exhaustion and their strength would be renewed because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  They will be like the eagle who has been spotted as high as 20,000 feet (6096 Meters) (3.78 Miles).  The true believer will be like that eagle who will soar to great heights because of Calvary.  They shall also run like in a race and will not become weary.  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1) The race which is set before us is our Christian life which we never become weary of.  As the true Christian walks with the LORD, they will never lack the ability to lean on the Lord for everything in their life.  No matter how tough the walk gets, they will endure it and not faint or become wearisome.  The LORD gives the true Christian the strength to endure to the end and that is the evidence that the Christian knows they are saved.  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. (Matthew 10:22)  Sometimes a situation occurs which is beyond the capabilities of man and we are compelled to wait upon the Lord to work in that situation.

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