Theology of Creation in Isaiah Part 3 – Isaiah 40.21-24
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? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; 23 who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
The next section that brings in creation ideas continues along the same lines of the previous one in asserting the supreme power of Yahweh as creator. He is enthroned on the highpoint of the firmament that sits like a dome over the earth. From that vantage point, the inhabitants of the earth are like insects. Creation language comes into play in verse twenty-two by speaking of Yahweh as the one who “stretched out the heavens like a curtain” and “set them up as a tent.” Here the establishment of the entire earth by Yahweh as a habitable sphere supportive of life is compared with the construction of idols. While the later takes strenuous effort for the idolaters, the former is done with ease of unfolding a curtain.
In verse twenty-three the assertion of Yahweh’s power is made additionally concrete by specifying the realm of international politics. It now becomes clear that the concern in this larger passage is not simply to declare the power of Yahweh in an abstract sense (“god can do anything”) but with specific reference to the contemporary political powers. The goal is to promote confidence in the hearts of the people concerning Yahweh’s certain promise regardless of how powerful political rulers may seem and how permanent their kingdoms may appear. The prophetic message is that things are not as they seem. That which looks secure and strong is not in fact inordinately vulnerable. That which appears permanent is in fact transitory. That which evokes terror and submission is in fact a joke. This difficult to comprehend vulnerability and transience is on account of a power which is so great that the earthly kingdoms are “nothing” in comparison. This superior power, this transcendent king is about to effect a great reversal on behalf of his people. The weak and powerless can rejoice in their great fortune. Those in disparaging circumstances can be steadfast in hope. Yahweh is the “Lord of history” and perceives that history in radical difference from the unaided eye.
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« Theology of Creation in Isaiah Part 2 – Isaiah 40.12-17
The Person and History of the Holy Spirit Part 2: Trinitarian Ecstasy (cont.) »
