Torch, Winter 2012

Isaiah 40:24 even compares earthly rulers to common stubble being blown about by the expiration of His breath. God tents Himself with the canopy of stars spread throughout the universe (verse 22). The stars encountered by the Cedarville team on the Amazon River in all of their abundance were but a tiny speck in God’s celestial blanket. Judah’s God is an awesome God who is to be feared. 5. God’s power is incomparable (verses 25–26). Isaiah, led by the Holy Spirit, enjoined his people to look up in the night sky. They needed to be experientially reminded and awed by the reality that their God is the creator and sustainer of all they could see. Amazingly, Adonai Yahweh brings out the celestial bodies (stars, planets, etc.) and calls them each by name. Not one of them is missing! Jerry Bridges, in his book The Joy of Fearing God , tells a story that helps give some perspective on verse 26. He writes, “One day on an airplane flight I found myself seated next to an astrophysicist. With this verse (verse 26) in mind, I asked him how many stars are in the universe. His reply staggered me. He said there are about 100 billion galaxies, each one containing about 100 billion stars. Yet the Bible says in Psalms 147:4, ‘He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.’” Imagine 100 billion times 100 billion! If my calculations are at all reliable, that is 1 followed by 22 zeros! Judah’s God, the believers’ God, is omnipotent. He is mighty enough to care for each and every one of His children! 6. God’s grace is incomparable (verses 27–31). Did Judah really believe God was unaware of their captive plight? It appears that was exactly what His people were thinking. The prophet asked Judah (in a rhetorical fashion), “Have you not known? Have you not heard?” In the midst of her fearful conditions Judah experienced a tutorial on the fear of God. The prophet rehearsed God’s gracious provision of power and strength available to them all. God was and is fearfully awesome, fearfully wondrous, and fearfully amazing even in the outpouring of His grace. “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant” (Ps. 25:14). In times that make us anxious and fearful, let us redirect our hearts to fear our incomparable God! Robert Rohm serves as vice president for Christian ministries at Cedarville University. He received his B.A. from Cedarville University and his M.R.E. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He has been at Cedarville since 1986. Winter 2012 | TORCH 23 NASA