Reflections on our Creator from Isaiah 40:12
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
This verse begins a series of rhetorical questions to which the only answer is the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth. The first question asks, “who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?”
I should remind you that to our knowledge planet earth is the only inhabitable planet in the universe. And of course, water is the most fundamental building block of life on the planet. And so, we learn upon first calling into existence the basic earth elements as recorded in Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of the Lord “moved upon the face of the waters.”
There is an immense amount of water on our planet. Approximately ¾ of the surface of the earth is covered with water. Scientists tell us the deepest part of the ocean (which is called the Challenger Deep) is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred kilometers southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is approximately 36,200 feet deep. That is nearly 7 miles deep.
My friends, the Creator of the ends of the earth measures those waters in the hallow of his hand. Think about that.
The next part of verse 12 says, who has “meted out heaven with the span?” Another way to say this would be, “who took a ruler and measured the expanse of heaven?” The answer of course is the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
As you know, by way of the Hubble telescope scientists can peer deep into the universe. Interestingly, they cannot find an end to the universe. In fact, it appears to be expanding even as we speak. We should not be surprised as verse 22 of our text says the Lord “stretches out the heavens as a curtain.” Think about that. The Lord can take his ruler if you please and measure a universe that is still stretching out!
Verse twelve continues by asking who has weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?” The picture that comes to my mind as I read this statement are the scales down at the local grocery store. Ladies, you often take produce of some kind and weigh it in a scale to get the price of the item. Well, our God is so big he can weigh the mountains in His scales!
It is obvious verse 12 is painting the picture of an omnipotent Creator who holds all of creation in His hand.
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
This verse begins a series of rhetorical questions to which the only answer is the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth. The first question asks, “who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?”
I should remind you that to our knowledge planet earth is the only inhabitable planet in the universe. And of course, water is the most fundamental building block of life on the planet. And so, we learn upon first calling into existence the basic earth elements as recorded in Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of the Lord “moved upon the face of the waters.”
There is an immense amount of water on our planet. Approximately ¾ of the surface of the earth is covered with water. Scientists tell us the deepest part of the ocean (which is called the Challenger Deep) is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred kilometers southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is approximately 36,200 feet deep. That is nearly 7 miles deep.
My friends, the Creator of the ends of the earth measures those waters in the hallow of his hand. Think about that.
The next part of verse 12 says, who has “meted out heaven with the span?” Another way to say this would be, “who took a ruler and measured the expanse of heaven?” The answer of course is the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
As you know, by way of the Hubble telescope scientists can peer deep into the universe. Interestingly, they cannot find an end to the universe. In fact, it appears to be expanding even as we speak. We should not be surprised as verse 22 of our text says the Lord “stretches out the heavens as a curtain.” Think about that. The Lord can take his ruler if you please and measure a universe that is still stretching out!
Verse twelve continues by asking who has weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?” The picture that comes to my mind as I read this statement are the scales down at the local grocery store. Ladies, you often take produce of some kind and weigh it in a scale to get the price of the item. Well, our God is so big he can weigh the mountains in His scales!
It is obvious verse 12 is painting the picture of an omnipotent Creator who holds all of creation in His hand.