Isaiah 40: 21-31 - Journeying with our Sovereign God

It had been said that Isaiah 1-39 were written for the prophet’s contemporaries, but Isaiah 40-66 were written for Judah’s future generations, especially those in the Babylonian captivity. The second half of Isaiah was composed to help those in exile to look forward and find great hope in God. So in Isaiah 40:12-20, Isaiah presented undeniable truths that God is trustworthy. They show firstly that He is all-knowing and secondly, that He is all-powerful. Although knowing these two truths would have been enough to motivate one to trust Him, yet Isaiah did not just leave his audience with only these two truths about God. He knew that there were so much more to know about Him and so went on from verses 21-31 to show more compelling truths of this great God. Knowing these other aspects of God should seal our absolute trust in Him and make us wait on Him confidently. So verses 21-31 set out to do just that and urge believers to make time to wait upon the Lord in full hope and confidence.

Asking a series of rhetorical questions again, Isaiah in verses 21-24 show us that God is not only Supreme but is also Sovereign. He, the Eternal One existed before time. He was there at the beginning of time and creation. From thence, He has been on the throne located on the circle of the globe, making heavens the curtains of His dwelling place. And from there He rules, maintains, and preserves all that exists. As the Supreme Ruler of all, there is absolutely no other ruler who could ever be greater than Him. No matter how the remnant of Judah might have viewed the mighty Babylonians, they were nothing in comparison to God. Like it or not, all earthly powers have to yield to His authority. He alone can take away their power instantly. At His breath, they would wither like plants and be blown away like stubble.  

 

Considering all that had been said about God’s greatness, the obvious question in verse 25 to ask then is: “Who can be compared with God?” By looking at the heavenly bodies, one could see His hand behind their orderliness. He had put each one of them in its place and there is none out of place and none missing. In fact, God had even called each one of the stars by name. For people who trust in astrology, what Isaiah said here should debunk astrology. Implicitly, we should not believe in astrological signs such as Leo, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Taurus, or Aquarius, and the likes. Neither should we believe that we were born in the year of the rat, cow, tiger or rabbit, etc. All of us believers are born under the sign of the Cross.     

 

Verse 27 tells us that God is all-seeing, and nothing is hidden from his watchful eye. Like He told the people of Israel, He also tells us today that all that happens to us are ever before His eye. Nothing is ever hidden from Him. According to Psalm 121, God neither slumbers nor sleeps because He does not need to. Isaiah then confidently declared that He never grows tired or weary. What a God He is! He is waiting to strengthen everyone who trusts Him and will wait on Him. He will make those who wait on Him to soar like an eagle. And He will give them strength whether in running or in strolling. Therefore, we will not be wrong to place our lives totally in Him. So let us journey with our magnificent and eternal God confidently!