Scripture Blog for the day: January 8, 2015: Scripture: Isaiah 46: 5 (NIV): “ ‘To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?’ ” Thought: To me, The LORD God Almighty is utterly incomparable. Question: Why do we seek “other gods?” The gods of Babylon are stooped, borne about by beasts, burdensome and unable to rescue anyone. (Verses 1 and 2 of this chapter) Because of this, God commands His children to listen: will they? (Verse 3) He reminds them of how long He has upheld them and how long He will continue to sustain them. (Verse 4) Today’s verse brings a conclusion to all these truths: God is incomparable—He is far superior to the gods of Babylon! “ ‘To whom…’ ” The pronoun “whom” indicates that perhaps there is another “being” out there nearly like God. Is there? Hardly! No other living being is “nearly like God” at all, especially not “the gods”! Exodus 15: 11: “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” Isaiah 40: 18: “To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?” Deuteronomy 32: 39: “ ‘See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.’ ” The only other realm of beings potentially able to be compared to God would be human beings: sentient, having souls, and made in the image of God, their Maker. Yet the very fact that we are the creatures and God is The Creator nixes that idea. How can that which is created outstrip its Creator? Simply answered, no human can! “…will you compare me or count me equal?” Merriam-Webster defines “compare” this way: to “estimate, measure, or note the similarity or dissimilarity between” two things. It is ridiculous to say man is “similar” to God even if he is made in God’s image. To recreate something to resemble another is one thing, but to say they are of equal standing and power is quite another. Obviously God’s power massively outstrips man’s: which of the two beings was created? Which has always existed from eternity? There is only One Who is equal to God. Jesus Christ! The Bible proves Christ is equal to God in several places. From His own words, Christ said He and the Father are One. John 10: 30: “I and the Father are one.” And in Philippians 2: 6 through 8 we learn that Christ relinquished His equality with God in order to save mankind: “[Jesus Christ] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” “To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?” So just “who” is left to hold a candle to The LORD God Almighty, other than His own Son, Jesus Christ? The answer is clear: NO ONE! This truth, this theme, is sprinkled all through the Bible. As we saw above, there is Isaiah 40: 18 and Exodus 15: 11. There is also Isaiah 40: 25: “ ‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One.” Jeremiah 10: 6 and 7: “No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. Who should not revere you, O King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.” Psalm 113: 5 and 6: “Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?” Psalm 89: 6: “For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?” Psalm 89: 8: “O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.” Psalm 86: 8: “Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.” Our verse today begins a portion in which God Himself speaks. God is engaging human beings in discussion! He does not cruelly insult us; He treats us with respect. He asks us to reason with Him (see Isaiah 1: 18). He invites us to THINK. He created us to think. And if we reason sanely and correctly, we can only come up with one conclusion: no one compares to God. Therefore we ought to worship Him. Therefore we owe Him our allegiance, obedience, submission, our time, talents, thoughts and meditations. We should give Him thanks, appreciation, admiration and all our love. Prayer: Great Father, thank You for being Who You are! Thank You for being incomparable! Thank You for reminding us, over and over, again and again, in Your Word, that You are worthy of our trust. Forgive me for not trusting You at times and for making something or someone else my “idol” in Your place. Help me, dear LORD, to give more and more of myself to You, day by day increasing what I have long held back. May my love for You increase this very day! I ask it in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 04:38:18 +0000
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