July 3 - Isaiah 40:12-20

July 3 – Isaiah 40:12-20

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.

To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.”

There are some things about God that I have always accepted, that I have always known. It doesn’t occur to me to especially think of Him in the tiny little things, but when I read verses like this, I am astounded!  The fine details of creation, of our lives, of everything are things that God cares about. 

When viewed from space, the earth looks more blue than green – there is so much water, yet God holds it in the palm of His hand.  The entire universe is beyond our comprehension, yet, God marked it off with His hand.  I get weary of the amount of dust I sweep up, I feel that the dust on earth reaches toward infinity, yet God measures. 

Isaiah tells of the vastness of God’s reach with ideas we can relate to.  But then, we realize that we can’t begin to relate to God.  He is above all – there was no one to tell Him what to do, no one that taught Him, no one.  There is God.

So, why do we try to compare God to anything else?  Isaiah reminds us that idols are created by man.  You can’t compare God to something that man creates. 

There is no one other than God who understands the details of His creation, from the drops of water that fill the sea to the stars that dot the heavens.  We are so insignificant in the entire scheme of things, yet we waste our time trying to make Him like us … like something we can comprehend … like a minor deity. 

He is God!  There is no comparison.