|
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.
|