"To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing. Isaiah40:25-26
The previous "To Whom" question had to do with idols. Now this "To Whom" question has to do with the starry host. This is not random.
The Babylonians were astrologers (not astronomers). They believed that the constellations influenced life-events an could be used to foretell the future. So the first "To Whom?" dealt with Israel's idolatrous past and this "To Whom?" deals with Israel's present temptation to adopt Babylonian Astrology.
The question here is as pointed as the one about the idols was. Surely the one who made the stars is greater than the stars? And He calls them out by name! When one looks at it rationally, worshipping idols that are made by human hands is futile and worshipping stars instead of the StarKindler is to miss the point.
God is greater than idols. He is greater than horoscopes or any other tool we try to use to predict (or control) the future. The universe is not a wound up clock that we live in where the pre-set paths of the heavenly bodies are our only clue and hope into the future. Our God is active in our history and our universe. He calls all things into being and purposes them by name.
There is nothing and no-one that compares with Him!!!
PS: The beautiful irony in these words is that 500 years later, God would call out one of the heavenly host to lead the wise men from the East (probably the same area as Babylon) to Bethlehem. When I get to heaven I will ask Him what He named that star!!!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
