No Comparison – Isaiah 40:12-20

Someone has finally done it.  They have compared apples and oranges.  And there are more similarities than you would think.  Sarah Zielinski shows that “the two fruits have a similar size and weight, and their juices have a similar caloric content and levels of vitamin C,” but  “they differ widely in fiber content of the fruit and in the potassium and folate levels of their juices.”  So, now you know.  But is there something you can compare God to?

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?  Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?  Whom did he consult, and who made him understand?  Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?  Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.  Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.  All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?  An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.  He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.  (Isaiah 40:12-20 ESV)

Isaiah has shown us the compassion of Yahweh, now he begins to describe His other attributes:

Immensity:  The vast oceans of the earth can fit in God’s hand and the heavens can fit in the measure between his thumb and little finger.  This is not a literal description of God’s size but an attempt to show that His power and reach is immeasurable.

Wisdom:  No one has to tell God what to do or counsel Him, though we often think we can.  He is the source of all knowledge and wisdom.

Supremacy:  The great power and influence of the mightiest nations are nothing to God but dust on the window sill.  There are not enough animals in the world to give Him a sufficient sacrifice.

In light of this, how foolish it is to worship anything other than Yahweh.  No idol can possibly compare to Him.  How foolish to invest worship in something made from perishable and lifeless objects.

Anything we do to bring God down to something understandable and acceptable to us is the height of folly.  We can’t choose to believe we can control God without losing our minds and our souls.  We are repressing what we know to be true, the immensity, wisdom and supremacy of God, diminishing God and exalting ourselves in order to establish what we think is freedom to control our own lives (Romans 1:18ff).  But all flesh is grass and there is no one whom we can liken to God.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever seen actual idols, carved or cast images of God or gods?  Where and when?
2. In what ways do we humans find ourselves diminishing the immensity of God?
3. In what ways do we humans find ourselves diminishing the wisdom of God?
4. In what ways do we humans find ourselves diminishing the supremacy of God?
5. What notions about God do we entertain that limit Him, and, in effect, are idols we have set up in our hearts?
6. How would you purge your false images of God from your heart?