This article continues the theme of Yahweh’s unrivalled greatness. In view of this, His servants have no need to think that they have been forgotten, or that His purpose with them has failed. In His time, those who wait on Him shall be delivered and glorified.
Isaiah 40
The following verses investigate Yahweh’s unequalled comparison with idols!
Verse 19 “The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold and casteth silver chains.”
This might be regarded as an expostulation. What! Compare Yahweh of Israel with an idol which a craftsman has made!
“The workman” The Hebrew word denotes an artificer and is applied to one who engraves wood or stone (Exod 28:11); to a workman in iron, brass, stone and wood (Exod 25:35; Deut 27:15)
“melteth” ie casts or founds.
“a graven image” The word is used of images carved from wood (Exod 20:4), but is also applied to a molten image, that is, one cast from metals (Jer 10:14, 51:17).
“and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold” Idols were frequently overlaid with silver or gold (41:7). Thus the more elaborate the carving and the more costly and lavish the finish, the greater the value, importance and power of the god!!
Verse 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.”
The comparison here is with the previous verse (19). Here the offerer (ie the idol worshipper) is poor and he cannot afford rich and costly idols. The word “oblation” (ie offering) does not denote an offering made to the true God, but to an idol, as the image was regarded to be.
The sense is well-expressed by the Living Bible, “The man too poor to buy expensive gods [like that of v19] will find a tree free from rot and hire a man to carve a face upon it, and that’s his god—a god that cannot even move!”
“that shall not be moved” (cp 41:7) That is, not be moved or topple like Dagon (1 Sam 5:4). This is the crowning folly! The idol made by human hands and elaborately graven of the most desirable materials is fixed and immobile. How utterly useless! How blind and lacking in perception are its devotees?!
In this there is a challenge to Christ’s servants lest they should place value upon that which is seen and fabricated by human hands. “Covetousness is idolatry”, and can destroy the hope of the Kingdom in us. It is like a foreign god in our heart.
“The idolater would suppose his idol to represent some supernatural force or being, but the prophet inculcates the true understanding. Idols may look magnificent, venerable and mysterious, they may excite a sense of awe, but there is nothing there except the materials—no ability but human ability, no innate resources but those of the earth” (JA Motyer).
Isaiah 40:21 Seeing Yahweh’s Supremacy is Evident, Men are Reproved for Failing to See It
Verse 21
1 Have ye not known? [roth ‘taken note’]
2 Have ye not heard?
3 Hath it not been told you from the beginning?
4 Have ye not understood [roth ‘been led to discern’] from the foundations of the earth?
These four questions are particularly applicable to Judah, for despite having the knowledge of God, they repeatedly turned back to idolatry. The ten tribes (Israel) had already been taken into captivity. Despite this challenge, tragically, in the forthcoming reign of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, the worship of Yahweh the great Creator ceased and Baal worship was instituted (2 Kings 21). Questions 2 and 3 relate to “hearing” and “being told”. This was not true of Israel’s idolatrous neighbours: they had never “heard” and been taught the truth.
But the Jews had no excuse, as idolatry had been condemned from the days of Moses onwards (Exod 20:3-4; 32:1ff).
40:22-24 Yahweh’s Supremacy Reaffirmed by His Loftiness and Power over Men and Nations
Verse 22 “It is he that sitteth upon the circle [roth mrg ‘compass’, or ‘vault’] 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.”
Verse 23 “That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity” [Heb tohu, roth ‘like a desolation’].
Verse 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.”
Verse 22 is a reply to verse 21. It portrays the immensity of the Creator, picturing Him sitting on the vault or horizon (both of which appear circular), presiding over human affairs where men appear minute as grasshoppers (cp Num 13:33). Thus He rules with consummate ease.
So great is God that He requires the whole universe as a tent to dwell in! (cp 66:1; 1Kings 8:27; Gen 1:7; Psa 104:2).
Verse 23 reveals God’s involvement, yea, control over the affairs of the nations. His enthronement on high is not a hollow boast nor an ornamental monarchy, but He actually rules in the Kingdom of men (Dan 4:17). Princes and rulers may seem to hold power but they are completely under His jurisdiction (John 19:10–11). In His time and in accord with His will they are appointed to non-existence, and are of no further significance! (cp Job 12:21; Psa 107:40; 2:10–11).
Verse 24 enforces Yahweh’s unique dignity and control. Princes and judges come and go. There is no permanent monument to their honour. Before the scale of His eternity they have barely taken root before they are withered and become extinct. His irresistible will banishes them as stubble before the whirlwind. These are awesome contemplations and they are in such contrast with the gentle care He shows to His own as the Shepherd of Israel (v11).
Rotherham’s version presents the reality in graphic terms:
“Scarcely have they [princes and judges] been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely hath their stock begun to take root in the earth When he hath just blown upon them and they have withered, And a whirlwind as though they had been chaff carrieth them away.”
40:25 The Conclusion Confirmed
Verse 25 “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.”
Having set forth His power (v12), wisdom (v13–14) dignity (v15–17), sovereignty (v22–23) and authority (v24), God Himself now speaks for the first time and invites comparison!! To ask is to answer the question. But the answer is made absolute by the words spoken being attributed to “the Holy One” (In the Hebrew text ‘the Holy One’ is an “adjective without the definite article, as though ‘Holy’ were another name for the Lord” [JA Motyer]). By this term God’s moral perfection and distinction is introduced to the argument as a killing blow.
40:26 Yahweh the Creator and Controller of the Heavens. A Glimpse of the Heavens will Confirm the Truth of His Godhead.
Verse 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” [rsv ‘not one is missing’].
The words “lift up” are used of the worship of the stars (Deut 4:19), which was one of the sins for which the ten tribes were taken into captivity (2 Kings 17:16); and a large part of the religion of Babylon.
“and behold who hath created these…”
Modern science has revealed that there are ten million stars in the Milky Way Galaxy alone, and then, amazingly, that there are ten million such galaxies! These are all creatures made by the Creator (Gen 1:16, “he made the stars also”), and testify to His power (Psa 19:1–6).
“that bringeth out their host by number”
The order and regularity of the movements of the heavenly bodies is here referred to. Just as a general marshals, summons and directs his army, so God controls the heavenly host.
“He calleth them all by names by the greatness of his power”
Astronomers may give to the stars names, but their real names are those by which the Creator directs them (cp Job 38:31–32; Psa 147:4). Innumerable as the stars may be to us (Gen 15:5), there is neither one more or less than He has made. He controls and directs them totally and individually, giving each names.
“not one faileth” roth “not one is missing”. Not only are they all named but they are individually accounted for! These facts bear heavily upon the argument and position that “Jacob” and “Israel” have taken against Yahweh—if He is so great and His ways so precise and perfect, how could they claim that He has ignored and disregarded them? (v27)
40:27-31 In Persecution and Delay Israel Feels Deserted. But Seeing Yahweh Directs All Things the Faithful will be Rewarded
Verse 27 “Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Yahweh, and my judgment is passed over from [roth ‘right is disregarded by’] my God?”
God’s argument is brought up against the claims of His people. They are despondent, believing He has hidden His face from their calamities and disregarded their cause. But if He controls all things, is aware of all that transpires, and directs events, then such a claim is invalid.
“Jacob” (= ‘supplanter’) is the name given to the natural seed of Abraham, whereas “Israel” was the new name given to Jacob when he prevailed over the angel (Gen 32). It signifies one who will prevail with God’s help. It is used of spiritual Israel, that is, of all those who put their trust in the God of Israel (cp Gal 6:16; John 1:47; Rom 9:6). By the use of these names God is recalling this telling event in the life of the father of the twelve tribes (Gen 32:22–32).
Verse 28 “Has thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.”
Any feelings of despair over their lot (ie Israel’s) could and should be dissipated by that which they had “heard” and should have “known”. The words are a call to remember that God is eternal, is the Creator who is never weary and knows and is aware of all things. Possessing these powers He never lacks the capacity to relieve, nor is He unaware of Israel’s plight. He is not limited by time or inability and though we may not comprehend the present apparent delay or distress, it does not mean He has forsaken His people or purpose.
“Because He works on an everlasting, worldwide and ceaseless level, we cannot fathom his understanding, ‘search through his discernment’. His ways belong to eternity, we to time: His vision is for the world, we are local; His ceaselessness keeps Him always ahead of the point we have reached” (JA Motyer).
“There is no searching of his understanding” Cited Romans 11:33, the great chapter unravelling the secret of God’s dealings with Israel, as here in Isaiah 40.
Verse 29 “He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength”
Whilst God is strong, He also desires to share this strength and impart it to others. But He cannot work with those who are self-sufficient and filled with the knowledge of their own strength. To those who are feeble and who put their trust in Him, He will look (57:15; 66:2) “His strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
Verse 30 “Even the youths shall faint, and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall” [rsv ‘fall exhausted’].
Life demonstrates that merely natural resources fail, but a different experience is possible and promised.
The word for “young men” is bahurim and refers to those chosen or selected (lxx Gk eklectoi ‘choice men’); that is, men in peak condition, in the prime of life have their limits. Their powers are soon exhausted. But the power of God is unexhausted and inexhaustible.
Verse 31 “But they that wait upon Yahweh 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.” “They that wait upon Yahweh”
This phrase expresses the key attitude of those with whom God can involve Himself. They look to Him, trust in Him and patiently wait the outworking of His purpose. This key attitude is frequently referred to in the Servant prophecy (cp 42:4; 50:10; 51:5; 60:9).
“shall renew [mrg ‘change’] their strength”
The Hebrew word means to change, to alter; and then to revive, to renew, to cause to flourish again. Whilst strength of mind to face trial can be gained by trust in God, now in the ultimate sense the verse refers to renewed physical strength. This will be dispensed following resurrection, when the elect will be changed and put on immortality, being “made equal to the angels, able to die no more” (1 Cor 15:51–52; Luke 20:36).
“They shall mount up with wings as eagles”
[roth “They shall mount on strong pinion like eagles”.] Eagles live and retain their vigour to a great age. They moult in old age and renew their feathers and with them their youth. Compare this with Psalm 103:5: “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s”. Added to this is the promise of running without becoming weary, and of walking and not fainting. What a glorious prospect this is. Age weakens and robs of strength. But those who wait upon Yahweh shall have their mortality swallowed up in life. They shall be made “like” the “glorious”, immortal, all-powerful Son of God, “for they shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2; Phil 3:21).