Today's Bible Study ...

The whole sentence may simply be poetry, Bible Poetry, thus inspired of God, but still poetry.

Listen to our great God: "I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself." Isaiah 44:24, where God is obviously claiming His creative powers!

He made everything! John agrees too. "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." John 1:3

But to amplify that statement, about our omni-creative Lord in Heaven, Isaiah had God also stating: "I am He that stretcheth forth the heavens Alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself."

Two areas of construction!

The heavens.

And the earth.

The noun "heavens" comes from a Hebrew word that means "lofty, elevated."

And "earth" means the "land or ground." God will mention the seas and the rivers in another place.

"I am He that stretcheth forth the heavens Alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself."

The verb for what God did to the heavens is picturesque. "Stretcheth forth" translates "natah." It means "to extend" or "to turn" in one direction or another. It can even mean "to bend" at times.

And get this. The verb is a qal participle in Hebrew. Which means in part that God is still stretching out the universe! This is ongoing action! And the Hubble telescope along with other observation equipment agrees, though their assent is not necessary.

Wow!

God, still at work!

But what God is doing to the earth may be even more exciting! God says in essence, "I am He that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself."

Two facts are evident here.

God's action on the earth is dramatic, maybe more dynamic than that He performed in the heavens. The verb "spreadeth abroad" is "raqa," a rare little word only found 11 times in all the Old Testament. It means essentially "to stomp on something!" Real hard! To trample it with one's feet! To beat it out, to extend its dimensions!

This is also a qal participle, thus God is apparently still actively working with earth's topography and geography! I know when Jesus comes again, when His feet stand on the Mount of Olives again some day, an earthquake will occur and all kinds of physical changes will happen to earth's surface. See Zechariah 14:4, for example.

God still on the job!

But does this verse have any practical application? Can it help me live for Jesus? Or encourage me in any way? "I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself."

I think so.

If my God is that big, that powerful, that omni-present, surely He can care for me and my little needs!

If God is that Huge, my problems sure do seem smaller when viewed in His Shadow, in God's wake!

Yes, Jeremiah was right.

"Ah Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee." Jeremiah 32:18

Amen!

                                                                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

The current Text we are studying, Isaiah 44:24-28, is being archived HERE. A new lesson is being written each day.

To study any of our other Bible Expositions, visit the SITE MAP Page. There you will find over seven years of Verse-by-Verse work. Generally speaking, the older lessons are nearer the top of the Page and the newer lessons closer to the bottom.