God Is Divinely Incomparable
There is nothing
that can compare with God. The gods of the nations certainly cannot be compared
with God, for they are man-made. In Isaiah 40:18-20 the prophet wrote, ‘To whom
then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him? Furthermore
unto this verse Isa 40:22, To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will
you compare with Him? In his commentary to this verse, Barnes
contended, “The main idea here intended to be conveyed by the prophet evidently
is, that God is great and glorious, and worthy of the confidence of his people.
This idea he illustrates by a reference to the attempts which had been made to
make a representation of him, and by showing how vain those efforts were. He
therefore states the mode in which the images of idols were usually formed, and
shows how absurd it was to suppose that they could be any real representation
of the true God. It is possible that this was composed in the time of Manasseh,
when idolatry prevailed to a great extent in Judah, and that the prophet intended
in this manner incidentally to show the folly and absurdity of it.” [1]
Furthermore, the SDA Bible commentary stated
that the comprehension of the greatness and the infinity of God reveal
the utter folly of idolatry. Many of the Hebrews were following the heathen in
their worship of idols, and Isaiah sought to turn them back to the worship and
service of the true God. [2] At the same time by contrasting it with the image
worship of the gentiles, the greatness of the Lord is brought out all the more
brilliantly, the purpose being that Israel would put their confidence in God. [3]
God Is Supremely Great Beyond All Things and All Men, King Over All.
In Isaiah 40:21-24 the prophet wrote, “Have
you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits
above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are as grasshoppers, Who
stretches out the heavens as a curtain, And spreads them out as a tent to dwell
in. Who brings princes to nothing, He makes the judges of the earth as nought.
Yes, they have not been planted, yes, they have not been sown, Yes, their stock
has not taken root in the earth, What is more he blows on them and they wither,
And the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.’
In addition SDA Bible
commentary on Isa 40:22, is either the great vault of heaven or possibly the horizon,
as also in Job 22:14. In Prov. 8:27 the same Hebrew word, translated “compass,”
refers to the horizon. Above the great universe He has made, the Lord of heaven
reigns supreme over all. Some have found in this verse evidence that Isaiah
knew, presumably by revelation, that the earth is spherical in shape. He may, indeed,
have known this fact; however, the Heb. chug seems to indicate a circle
rather than a sphere, and evidence that he knew of the earth’s sphericity must
come from other sources. The picture here seems to be that of God enthroned
above the vast vault of heaven. Even the greatest of men are utterly
insignificant in comparison with Him. In the “heaven of heavens” (1 Kings 8:27)
God dwells, as it were, in a curtained tent. [4]
God as an Incomparable creator
In Isa 40:25 the prophet said, "To
whom then will you liken Me That I should be his equal?" says the
Holy One. The phrase “To whom then will you liken Me”
means that God is transcendence and an incomparable being to any creature being.
In his commentary, Gill wrote, ”there is nothing in the whole creation that can bear any
resemblance to him, or he to them; since all nations are as a drop of the
bucket, as the small dust of the balance, as nothing, yea, less than nothing,
and vanity: "or what likeness will ye compare unto him," order,
ordain, and appoint for him? in what rank can he be placed? to what class of
beings can he be likened? What similitude can be given of him? What is there
that is fit to be named with him, or compared to him”? [5] In
responding to this verse, Ridderboss stated, “again the prophet brings out the
incomparable majesty of the Lord. He point toward the stars and ask who the
creator of them is. The answer, of course, has to be the Lord.” He not only
created those stars but also summons them in the sky every night like a
well-disciplined army.[6]
The Phrase of the “Holy One”
In Isa 40:25, the prophet
depicts God as the Holy one. The
phrase of the “Holy One ” is marked preference as a name for God that appears
twenty six times in Isaiah but only five times in Old Testament and for Jehovah
The phrase “Holy one of ” is marked preference as a title for Jehovah. In all
cases this phrase is used to signify the Separateness and the uniqueness of
Jehovah.[7] Furthermore Barnes
asserted, “The prophet having thus set forth the majesty and glory of God, asks
now with great emphasis, what could be an adequate and proper representation of
such a God. And if God was such a Being, how great was the folly of idolatry,
and how vain all their confidence in the gods which their own hands had made.” [8]
In addition SDA Bible
commentary, “the holy one” depicts of the characteristic attribute of God. He
has great wisdom and power, as His perfect holiness. This is a sharp contrast
to the deities of the heathen—Baal, Moloch, Ishtar, etc.—are vile creatures,
the vices and passions of men deified.[9] Additionally, this phrase
declares the God of the whole earth is holy. Central to the meaning of is the
notion of purity and this purity sets one apart from created other. The image
is one of Creator God high and lifted up above his created, incomparable in his
power and purity, and with the ability to create and sanctify whatever is his
pleasure. He is the quintessential Redeemer separate and transcendent from
lowly man because of his divine holiness. This sacred divine otherness separates
the Creator from created other.[10]
Furthermore,
Norman Snaith stated that is the prophet who insisted more completely upon the
uniqueness of God. Isaiah described God’s nearness to His People Israel and His
saving activity on their behalf. The prophet who most clearly teaches the transcendence
of God is the prophet who most clearly teaches His immanence.[11]
[1]Alber Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Isaiah, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House, 1979), 3:83
[2]Nichol, Francis D., The
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary vol. 4, (Washington, D.C.: Review
and Herald Publishing Association, 1978), 83.
[3]Ridderbos J., Bible
Student’s Commentary, (Grand Rapids,MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985),
344.
[4]Nichol, Francis D., The
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald
Publishing Association, 1978), 4:84.
[5]John Gill, Gill’s Commentary: Psalm 23 to Isaiah
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980), 3:909.
[6]Ridderbos J., Bible
Student’s Commentary (Grand Rapids,MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985),
344.
[7]Norman H. Snaith, The
Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament, (Southampton: Epworth press, 1983),
80.
[8]Alber Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Isaiah, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House, 1979), 3:69
[9]Nichol, Francis D. ed.,, The
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald
Publishing Association, 1978), 4:83.
[10]John Gill, Gill’s Commentary, vol. 3 Psalm 23 to Isaiah
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980), 910
[11]Norman H. Snaith, The
Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament, (Southampton: Epworth press, 1983),
80.
No comments:
Post a Comment