Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. Isaiah40:21-24
Do you not know???
Isaiah will ask this question twice in this chapter:
- Once about God and the strong
- and then about God and the weak.
The Babylonians boasted that their gods were more powerful than Israel's God. They argued that this was why the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and dragged the Israelites into exile.
But this passage leaves us in no doubt. God is not weak - He is enthroned above all the universe and people. He brings princes and rulers to naught and nothing. He can uproot them and blow them away like chaff.
There is an important warning for the powerful here: There is a difference between responsibility and arrogance. When power is given, there is also responsibility. When power leads to arrogance instead of humble dependence on the One who privileges us with power, we become god-wannabees.
And god-wannabees will be brought to naught and nothing.
Human power doesn't impress or intimidate God.
There is also important comfort here. When we are under the whip and boot of the powerful, it is simply a matter of time before God sorts them out. The Babylonians were defeated overnight when the Persians diverted the Euphrates river and marched through thigh deep water to conquer the city without a fight. Shortly after that Cyrus allowed the exiles to return home.
Do you not know?
God is powerful - earthly power is temporary and God will overturn it.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
