God’s Sovereignty & Our Strength
Isaiah 40:12-31
Main Idea: We find strength for our weary souls by waiting in faith for the sovereign, omnipotent God.
I. The Sovereignty of God (40:12-26)
The Lord asks 14 rhetorical questions in these 15 verses in order to remind Israel of his character & nature. The emphasis is on the sovereignty, omnipotence, and uniqueness of God over and above all things.
1. God’s Sovereignty over Creation (40:12-14, 25-26)
The immensity & “bigness” of God is emphasized in these verses:
He can measure all of the waters of the earth in the “hollow” (palm) of his hand
He can measure all the dust of the earth & he can place the mountains on a scale
He marked off the heavens with the “span” (outstretched thumb to pinky) of his hand
Though the Babylonians worshipped the stars, God has created every single star in the sky & he calls each of them by name. The stars witness the glory of God himself.
Implication: Just as “not one star is missing” under the sovereignty of God, not one of his people is missing either. God can be trusted because of both his transcendence and his immanence.
2. God’s Sovereignty over the Nations (40:15-17, 21-24)
The nations, as mighty as they may seem to us on earth, are like a “drop from a bucket” before the Lord. Even the most lavous of offering before God would still fall short of his glory & majesty. “Before him” the nations do not compare.
Likewise, the leaders of the nations are like mere grasshoppers before the Lord who sits enthroned above the horizon & the heavens.
Psalm 2:2, 4a: “The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his Anointed…
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
Implication: Tying our hopes to any earth princes or rulers, seeking to find our strength in them, will inevitably contribute to our weariness & fatigue. We do not need to fear Babylon, but instead trust in the Sovereign Lord over the nations.
3. God’s Sovereignty over Idols (40:18-20)
Rather than explicitly criticizing idols, Isaiah sarcastically describes how they are crafted & made. Even though idols might look orante with gold & silver, and even if they are crafted with the finest of wood that does not rot, they ultimately must be “propped up” so they do not fall.
Implication: Despite the foolishness of idolatry, we know that there is a constant temptation toward this false worship, as our hearts are a “perpetual factory of idols” (John Calvin). Idolatry gives us a false sense of control, power, and convenience that ends up turning against us. We must turn in repentance from our trust in idols back to the sovereign God.
II. The Strength of God (40:27-31)
Israel’s complaint (40:27) was that God did not care about them; they assumed he had neglected them and no longer answered their prayers. But the problem lies not with God, but within themselves. They had a deficient view of God & a deficient experience with God. They needed a reminder that God is not only great, but that he is also good.
God is inviting his people to turn away from the things that will only contribute to their weariness (themselves, the things of creation, nations & their leaders, idols, etc.) and to instead turn to him. The posture of strength is found in waiting on the Lord.
“The Christian’s waiting and watching is hoping – based on the conviction that God is actively involved in His creation and vigorously at work in redemption. Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusion. It is not compelled to work away at keeping up appearances with a bogus spirituality. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulation, of scurrying and worrying. Hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what He said He will do.” ~ Eugene Peterson
When we wait on the Lord, our strength is renewed even if our circumstances do not change. We will experience the freedom & ease of an eagle flying, and we will have a resiliency to keep moving forward through the life of faith as we wait for the promise of God’s coming.
This invitation to come to the Lord in our weariness & our fatigue is embodied in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 11:28–30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
