Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand
This phrase invites us to contemplate the omnipotence and sovereignty of God. The Hebrew word for "measured" is "madad," which implies a precise and deliberate action. The "waters" symbolize the vastness of the earth's oceans and seas, and the "hollow of His hand" suggests an image of God holding the entirety of the world's waters effortlessly. This imagery emphasizes God's supreme power and control over creation, reminding us that what seems immense and uncontainable to humans is easily managed by God.

or marked off the heavens with the span of His hand?
The "heavens" refer to the sky and the universe beyond, encompassing all celestial bodies. The Hebrew word "takan" for "marked off" conveys the idea of measuring or arranging with precision. The "span of His hand" is a metaphor for God's infinite reach and authority over the cosmos. This phrase underscores the belief that God is the architect of the universe, having designed and ordered it with perfect wisdom and purpose. It inspires awe and reverence for God's creative power and His intimate involvement in the workings of the universe.

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket
The "dust of the earth" represents the material substance of the world, highlighting the minuteness and multitude of its particles. The Hebrew word "shaqal" for "held" suggests weighing or balancing, indicating God's ability to manage even the smallest details of creation. The "basket" symbolizes containment and order, illustrating that God has dominion over the earth's elements. This phrase reassures believers of God's meticulous care and governance over all aspects of the physical world, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
The imagery of "weighed the mountains" and "hills with a balance" speaks to God's unparalleled ability to measure and evaluate the grandest features of the earth. The Hebrew word "mishqal" for "weighed" implies a careful assessment, while "scale" and "balance" denote precision and fairness. This phrase highlights God's justice and righteousness, as He is depicted as the ultimate judge who can assess the weight and value of all creation. It serves as a reminder of God's fairness and the perfect equilibrium He maintains in the natural world.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Isaiah
A major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah is traditionally credited with writing the Book of Isaiah. His prophecies often focus on the themes of judgment and redemption.

2. God
The central figure in this verse, God is depicted as the Creator with immense power and wisdom, capable of measuring the universe with ease.

3. Creation
The verse poetically describes elements of creation—waters, heavens, earth, mountains, and hills—highlighting God's sovereignty over all.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty and Power
Isaiah 40:12 reminds us of God's unmatched power and authority over creation. Recognizing His sovereignty can bring comfort and assurance in times of uncertainty.

Human Limitations
The rhetorical questions highlight human limitations in contrast to God's infinite capabilities. This should lead us to humility and reliance on God.

Worship and Awe
Understanding the vastness of God's creation should inspire worship and awe. Reflect on the majesty of God in your daily life and let it deepen your worship.

Trust in God's Wisdom
Just as God has perfectly measured and balanced creation, we can trust His wisdom in the details of our lives. Seek His guidance and trust His plans.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Isaiah 40:12 challenge your understanding of God's power and presence in the world?

2. In what ways can recognizing God's sovereignty over creation impact your daily decisions and actions?

3. How do the rhetorical questions in Isaiah 40:12 help you understand your own limitations and need for God?

4. Reflect on a time when you were in awe of God's creation. How did that experience influence your relationship with Him?

5. How can you apply the truths of God's wisdom and power in Isaiah 40:12 to a current situation in your life? Consider other scriptures that reinforce these truths.
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1
The creation account in Genesis parallels Isaiah 40:12 by emphasizing God's role as the Creator of the universe.

Job 38-41
These chapters contain God's response to Job, where He questions Job about the wonders of creation, similar to the rhetorical questions in Isaiah 40:12.

Psalm 104
This psalm praises God for His creation and providence, echoing the themes of God's power and wisdom found in Isaiah 40:12.
Characteristics of the Great SaviourJ. Duche, M. A.Isaiah 40:10-12
Consolation from the Thought of God's OmnipotenceC. S. Robinson, D. D.Isaiah 40:10-12
Power and TendernessJ. R. Macduff, D. D.Isaiah 40:10-12
The Grandeur and Pathos of TheologyD. Davies.Isaiah 40:10-12
The Magnitude and Tenderness of Divine DealingsD. Davies.Isaiah 40:10-12
The Greatness of God and the Littleness of ManW. Clarkson Isaiah 40:12-17
Jehovah IncomparableE. Johnson Isaiah 40:12-18
God in Relation to Earth and OceanT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.Isaiah 40:12-28
God Weighing the MountainsT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.Isaiah 40:12-28
Nature Ministers to the SufferingF. B. Meyer, B. A.Isaiah 40:12-28
The Grandeur of GodJ. Saurin.Isaiah 40:12-28
The Great God in His Relation to Heaven and EarthT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.Isaiah 40:12-28
The Greatness of Israel's GodF. Delitzsch, D. D.Isaiah 40:12-28
The Incomparableness of the Great GodHomilistIsaiah 40:12-28
The Transcendent OneHomilistIsaiah 40:12-28
Why Sayest ThouF. B. Meyer, B. A.Isaiah 40:12-28
People
Isaiah, Jacob
Places
Jerusalem, Lebanon, Zion
Topics
Able, Balance, Basket, Breadth, Calculated, Comprehended, Dust, Enclosed, Fingers, Got, Grasped, Heaven, Heavens, Held, Hills, Hollow, Marked, Measure, Measured, Meted, Mountains, Pair, Scales, Sky, Span, Stretched-out, Waters, Weighed, Weight
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 40:12

     1265   hand of God
     4060   nature
     4245   hills
     4803   breadth
     5512   scales and balances
     5955   strength, divine

Isaiah 40:12-13

     4006   creation, origin

Isaiah 40:12-14

     1180   God, wisdom of

Library
April 18. "They Shall Mount up with Wings" (Isa. Xl. 31).
"They shall mount up with wings" (Isa. xl. 31). "They shall mount up with wings as eagles," is God's preliminary; for the next promise is, "They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Hours of holy exultation are necessary for hours of patient plodding, waiting and working. Nature has its springs, and so has grace. Let us rejoice in the Lord evermore, and again we say, rejoice. And let us take Him to be our continual joy, whose heart is a fountain of blessedness, and who
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

'Have Ye Not? Hast Thou Not?'
'Have ye not known, have ye not heard? hath it not been told yon from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?... Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard?'--ISAIAH xl. 21 and 28. The recurrence of the same form of interrogation in these two verses is remarkable. In the first case the plural is used, in the second the singular, and we may reasonably conclude that as Israel is addressed in the latter, the nations outside the sphere illumined by Revelation are appealed
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Unfailing Stabs and Fainting Men
'...For that He is strong in power; not one faileth.... He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.'-- ISAIAH xl. 26 and 29. These two verses set forth two widely different operations of the divine power as exercised in two sadly different fields, the starry heavens and this weary world. They are interlocked, as it were, by the recurrence in the latter of the emphatic words of the former. The one verse says, 'He is strong in power'; the other, 'He giveth
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

O Thou that Bringest Good Tidings
'O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!'--ISAIAH xl. 9. There is something very grand in these august and mysterious voices which call one to another in the opening verses of this chapter. First, the purged ear of the prophet hears the divine command to him and to his brethren--Comfort Jerusalem with the message of the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Shepherd and the Fold
... Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.' EXODUS XV. 13. What a grand triumphal ode! The picture of Moses and the children of Israel singing, and Miriam and the women answering: a gush of national pride and of worship! We belong to a better time, but still we can feel its grandeur. The deliverance has made the singer look forward to the end, and his confidence in the issue is confirmed. I. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. The original is 'lead gently.' Cf.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Secret of Immortal Youth
'Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.'--ISAIAH xl. 30, 31. I remember a sunset at sea, where the bosom of each wavelet that fronted the west was aglow with fiery gold, and the back of each turned eastward was cold green; so that, looking on the one hand all was glory, and on the other
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Salvation Published from the Mountains
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid: say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! I t would be improper to propose an alteration, though a slight one, in the reading of a text, without bearing my testimony to the great value of our English version, which I believe, in point of simplicity, strength, and fidelity, is not likely to be excelled by a new translation
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Consolation
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received at the LORD 's hand double for all her sins. T he particulars of the great "mystery of godliness," as enumerated by the Apostle Paul, constitute the grand and inexhaustible theme of the Gospel ministry, "God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Withering Work of the Spirit
THE passage in Isaiah which I have just read in your hearing may be used as a very eloquent description of our mortality, and if a sermon should be preached from it upon the frailty of human nature, the brevity of life, and the certainty of death, no one could dispute the appropriateness of the text. Yet I venture to question whether such a discourse would strike the central teaching of the prophet. Something more than the decay of our material flesh is intended here; the carnal mind, the flesh in
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

This Sermon was Originally Printed
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God."--Isaiah 40:1. WHAT A SWEET TITLE: "My people!" What a cheering revelation: "Your God!" How much of meaning is couched in those two words, "My people!" Here is speciality. The whole world is God's; the heaven, even the heaven of heavens are the Lord's and he reigneth among the children of men. But he saith of a certain number, "My people." Of those whom he hath chosen, whom he hath purchased to himself, he saith what he saith not of others. While
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

8Th Day. Reviving Grace.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint."--ISAIAH xl. 31. Reviving Grace. "Wilt thou not revive us, O Lord?" My soul! art thou conscious of thy declining state? Is thy walk less with God, thy frame less heavenly? Hast thou less conscious nearness to the mercy-seat,--diminished communion with thy Saviour? Is prayer less a privilege than it has
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser

"And the Redeemer Shall Come unto Zion, and unto them that Turn,"
Isaiah lix. 20.--"And the Redeemer shall come unto Zion, and unto them that turn," &c. Doctrines, as things, have their seasons and times. Every thing is beautiful in its season. So there is no word of truth, but it hath a season and time in which it is beautiful. And indeed that is a great part of wisdom, to bring forth everything in its season, to discern when and where, and to whom it is pertinent and edifying, to speak such and such truths. But there is one doctrine that is never out of season,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Hillis -- God the Unwearied Guide
Newell Dwight Hillis was born at Magnolia, Iowa, in 1858. He first became known as a preacher of the first rank during his pastorate over the large Presbyterian church in Evanston, Illinois. This reputation led to his being called to the Central Church, Chicago, in which he succeeded Dr. David Swing, and where from the first he attracted audiences completely filling one of the largest auditoriums in Chicago. In 1899 he was called to Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, to succeed Dr. Lyman Abbott in the pulpit
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume 10

Of Loving Jesus Above all Things
Blessed is he who understandeth what it is to love Jesus, and to despise himself for Jesus' sake. He must give up all that he loveth for his Beloved, for Jesus will be loved alone above all things. The love of created things is deceiving and unstable, but the love of Jesus is faithful and lasting. He who cleaveth to created things will fall with their slipperiness; but he who embraceth Jesus will stand upright for ever. Love Him and hold Him for thy friend, for He will not forsake thee when all
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Prayer and Devotion
"Once as I rode out into the woods for my health, in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly had been to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God. As near as I can judge, this continued about an hour; and kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud.. I felt an ardency of soul to be what I know not otherwise how to express, emptied and annihilated; to love
Edward M. Bounds—The Essentials of Prayer

The God of all Comfort
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Among all the names that reveal God, this, the "God of all comfort," seems to me one of the loveliest and the most absolutely comforting. The words all comfort admit of no limitation and no deductions; and one would suppose that,
Hannah Whitall Smith—The God of All Comfort

Appendix xi. On the Prophecy, Is. Xl. 3
ACCORDING to the Synoptic Gospels, the public appearance and preaching of John was the fulfilment of the prediction with which the second part of the prophecies of Isaiah opens, called by the Rabbis, the book of consolations.' After a brief general preface (Is. xl. 1, 2), the words occur which are quoted by St. Matthew and St. Mark (Is. xl. 3), and more fully by St. Luke (Is. xl. 3-5). A more appropriate beginning of the book of consolations' could scarcely be conceived. The quotation of Is. xl.
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Justification.
Among all the doctrines of our holy Christian faith, the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, stands most prominent. Luther calls it: "The doctrine of a standing or a falling church," i.e., as a church holds fast and appropriates this doctrine she remains pure and firm, and as she departs from it, she becomes corrupt and falls. This doctrine was the turning point of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. It was the experience of its necessity and efficacy that made Luther what he was, and
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Humble Worship of Heaven.
1 Father, I long, I faint to see The place of thine abode, I'd leave thy earthly courts and flee Up to thy seat, my God! 2 Here I behold thy distant face, And 'tis a pleasing sight; But to abide in thine embrace Is infinite delight. 3 I'd part with all the joys of sense To gaze upon thy throne; Pleasure springs fresh for ever thence, Unspeakable, unknown. 4 [There all the heavenly hosts are seen, In shining ranks they move, And drink immortal vigour in, With wonder and with love. 5 Then at thy feet
Isaac Watts—Hymns and Spiritual Songs

At Rest
Gerhard Ter Steegen Is. xl. 11 O God, a world of empty show, Dark wilds of restless, fruitless quest Lie round me wheresoe'er I go: Within, with Thee, is rest. And sated with the weary sum Of all men think, and hear, and see, O more than mother's heart, I come, A tired child to Thee. Sweet childhood of eternal life! Whilst troubled days and years go by, In stillness hushed from stir and strife, Within Thine Arms I lie. Thine Arms, to whom I turn and cling With thirsting soul that longs for Thee;
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

His Schools and Schoolmasters.
(LUKE 1.) "Oh to have watched thee through the vineyards wander, Pluck the ripe ears, and into evening roam!-- Followed, and known that in the twilight yonder Legions of angels shone about thy home!" F. W. H. MYERS. Home-Life--Preparing for his Life-Work--The Vow of Separation--A Child of the Desert Zacharias and Elisabeth had probably almost ceased to pray for a child, or to urge the matter. It seemed useless to pray further. There had been no heaven-sent sign to assure them that there was any
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

Impiety of Attributing a visible Form to God. --The Setting up of Idols a Defection from the True God.
1. God is opposed to idols, that all may know he is the only fit witness to himself. He expressly forbids any attempt to represent him by a bodily shape. 2. Reasons for this prohibition from Moses, Isaiah, and Paul. The complaint of a heathen. It should put the worshipers of idols to shame. 3. Consideration of an objection taken from various passages in Moses. The Cherubim and Seraphim show that images are not fit to represent divine mysteries. The Cherubim belonged to the tutelage of the Law. 4.
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

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