Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 40:12-20
The incomparable Creator 40:12-20 read more
The incomparable Creator 40:12-20 read more
The incomparable Lord 40:12-26The preceding section answered the question that the people of Isaiah’s day had about God’s desire to deliver them. Yes, He wanted to deliver them. This section answered their question about whether He could save them. Yes, He could save them. Isaiah used the doctrine of God to assure the Judahites of their security and of God’s faithfulness. He is the sole Creator, and He is infinitely greater than the created world. The passage has two parts (Isaiah 40:12-26),... read more
The questions in these verses call for the same response. God was not only alone in the work of creation, but He is alone in the wisdom needed to execute it (cf. Job 38:2 to Job 39:30). "He who has measured the creation cannot be measured by the creation." [Note: Young, 3:44.] "In Babylonian mythology, the creator god Marduk could not proceed with creation without consulting ’Ea, the all-wise’, but the Lord works with unaided wisdom. In both Babylonian and Canaanite creation stories the creator... read more
The hope of return is grounded by the prophet upon the fact that Jehovah is the only God, the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Disposer of the fate of nations, who guides the course of history according to His will. The tone of this section is argumentative, the respective claims of Jehovah and of the heathen gods being discussed as in a court of justice. The object of the argument is to encourage the Jews in their exile by showing that, since Jehovah is thus supreme, no obstacles will be... read more
Israel’s Restoration from Exile in BabylonOn the authorship and date of these chapters see Intro. According to their subject matter, they fall naturally into three divisions of almost equal length (Isaiah 40-48, 49-57, , 58-66), the close of each division being marked by an intimation that the wicked shall not share in the blessings promised to God’s people. read more
The Proclamation of Deliverance1, 2. The theme of the prophecies following: the period of Zion’s trouble and affliction is over. 3-26. Celestial voices give the message of restoration to God’s people, who are encouraged by the thought of His infinite power. 27-31. Trust in Jehovah is, therefore, the source of true strength.2. Warfare] RM ’time of service,’ i.e. enforced service and hardship: cp. Job 7:1. Double] i.e. double (ample) penalty (Jeremiah 17:18), in the sufferings of the exile.3-5. A... read more
(12) Who hath measured . . .?—Another section opens, expanding the thought of the eternal majesty of Jehovah, as contrasted with the vanity of the idols, or “no-gods,” of the heathen. The whole passage in form and thought supplies once more a parallelism with Job 38:4; Job 38:25; Job 38:37. The whole image is divinely anthropomorphic. The Creator is the great Work-master (Wis. 13:1) of the universe, ordering all things, like a human artificer, by number and weight and measure. The mountains of... read more
(13) Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord?—The term, which had been used in a lower sense in Isaiah 40:7, is here clothed as with a Divine personality, answering, as it were, to the wisdom of Proverbs 8:22-30, with which the whole passage has a striking resemblance. Eastern cosmogonies might represent Bel or Ormuzd, as calling inferior deities into counsel (Cheyne). The prophet finds no other counsellor than One who is essentially one with the Eternal. read more
Comfort Ye! Comfort Ye! Isaiah 40:1 How lovable the God who speaks thus! He allures us irresistibly. He commands our hearts. And the quality of the consolation He enjoins is so rich. Comfort, in the Bible, means strengthening. The word has deteriorated of late. It now too often signifies soothing, lulling to rest. But when God says 'Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,' He calls His prophets to strengthen them, to arouse them, to nerve them. It is a great and enduring empowerment which God... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 40:12
The opposites of waters and heavens, and dust and mountains, express the totality of God’s careful and effortless workmanship in creation. The question is rhetorical (cf. Job 38:41). No one but the Lord is the Creator. His omnipotence is in view. read more