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Who Compares with God?
12Did any of you measure
the ocean by yourself
or stretch out the sky
with your own hands?
Did you put the soil
of the earth in a bucket
or weigh the hills and mountains
on balance scales?
13 Has anyone told the Lord
what he must do
or given him advice?
14Did the Lord ask anyone
to teach him wisdom
and justice?
Who gave him knowledge
and understanding?
15 To the Lord, all nations
are merely a drop in a bucket
or dust on balance scales;
all of the islands
are but a handful of sand.
16The cattle on the mountains
of Lebanon
would not be enough to offer
as a sacrifice to God,
and the trees would not
be enough for the fire.
17God thinks of the nations
as far less than nothing.
18 Who compares with God?
Is anything like him?
19Is an idol at all like God?
It is made of bronze
with a thin layer of gold,
and decorated with silver.
20 Or special wood may be chosen
because it doesn't rot—
then skilled hands
take care to make an idol
that won't fall on its face.
God Rules the Whole Earth
21Don't you know?
Haven't you heard?
Hasn't it been clear
since the time of creation?
22God is the one who rules
the whole earth,
and we that live here
are merely insects.
He spread out the heavens
like a curtain or an open tent.
23God brings down rulers
and turns them into nothing.
24They are like flowers
freshly sprung up
and starting to grow.
But when God blows on them,
they wilt and are carried off
like straw in a storm.
25The holy God asks,
“Who compares with me?
Is anyone my equal?”
26 Look at the evening sky!
Who created the stars?
Who gave them each a name?
Who leads them like an army?
The Lord is so powerful
that none of the stars
are ever missing.
The Lord Gives Strength
27You people of Israel say,
“God pays no attention to us!
He doesn't care if we
are treated unjustly.”
But how can you say that?
28Don't you know?
Haven't you heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
Creator of the earth.
He never gets weary or tired;
his wisdom cannot be measured.
29The Lord gives strength
to those who are weary.
30Even young people get tired,
then stumble and fall.
31But those who trust the Lord
will find new strength.
They will be strong like eagles
soaring upward on wings;
they will walk and run
without getting tired.
Reflect
God’s people are in exile and it was tempting for them, as it is for us, to measure God according to their circumstances. Israel despaired that God even knew their name, much less cared.
Almost reflexively they began to compare God with the gods of the nations around them that seemed to be more prosperous. God’s reply was to ask “Did any of you measure the ocean by yourself?” and to point to the wonder of his creation. All created by God. What is more, the things that God made, gold and wood, are the very things that people are tempted to worship when they’re fashioned into idols. Even the stars, thought of as gods by the ancients, obey the call of the Holy One of Israel, and the princes of the earth are brought to nothing.
God is incomparable. Beyond this present moment of suffering he holds eternity from the beginning and into the future. While those around, kings, youth and those more fortunate, flag in strength, God says to his people, “Wait.” Wait? For what?
Long ago, God carried his people “on eagles’ wings” out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 19:4), a situation that seemed even more hopeless in the moment. Now he promises that those who wait on him will see a salvation like this again. This waiting is a very active act of faith because it moves our focus off our present circumstances and on to God’s faithfulness in the past and his promises in the future.
How is God calling you to wait? Name the times he’s been faithful in the past, be clear about what he’s promised in Scripture for the future, and wait in confidence in the present.
Respond
Heavenly Father, The world and everything in it has been made by you. I acknowledge that my present circumstances are but a moment and that you faithfully hold eternity in your hands. I thank you for the many specific ways you have been faithful in the past. I hold on to your promise that I’ll rise up on eagles’ wings if I wait on you. I thank you that you do indeed know my name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rick Hiemstra
Rick Hiemstra is Director of Research and Media Relations at the EFC. Prior to coming to the EFC, he served as a Wesleyan pastor and as a high school mathematics and computer science teacher. Rick speaks on Canadian church and cultural trends, including the new Renegotiating Faith research about emerging adulthood and faith formation. He has recently contributed to Canadian studies on Bible Engagement, local church missions engagement and emerging adulthood and faith formation. Currently he is leading a study on small evangelical churches and another on parental discipleship of children in the home. He holds a BMath from the University of Waterloo, a BEd from Ottawa University and an MTS from Tyndale Seminary.