Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Isaiah 40:28 — Are you living your life in the knowledge that God knows your every thought and action?
The Running Man Nebula, Sh 2-279. Image © 2024, Steven Sande
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
Isaiah 40:28 NIV
The Lord continues to delight and surprise me each and every day of my life. Today I turn 68 years old and I was thinking that it wouldn’t be out of the question for His random pick of scripture to have something to do with the number 68 or “old age”. Well, for the second of my devotionals in a row He picked my favorite prophet — Isaiah — and the chapter (40) and verse (28) add up to 68. There are no coincidences with God.
The verse begins with a set of rhetorical questions — “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” These questions are asked as a way of emphasizing how important it is to understand and remember the fundamental truths regarding God, to remember what He has done for them and how His Word has been revealed.
The people are reminded to remember God’s eternal nature. We may be only temporary in this human life, and the wooden, stone, and metal idols that were worshipped by the nations surrounding Israel were certainly not something that would last forever. But our God is unchanging and exists for infinity, and in the words of Psalm 90:2 “…from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
God is also “the Creator of the ends of the earth,” the Creator of everything. Here the prophet reminds us that God not only originated the universe and everything in it, but has power over all nations — whether or not those nations choose to recognize His omnipotence or not.
That power extends to His infinite strength and energy. As mere humans, we experience fatigue and weakness, but God “will not grow tired or weary”. He has no need to rest, and is forever vigilant over His creation.
The prophet ends the verse by also reminding us of God’s omniscience, “His understanding no one can fathom”. He has infinite wisdom and knowledge, totally beyond our comprehension even in this age of technological advancement and artificial intelligence. The apostle Paul marveled at this in the doxology in Romans 11:33:
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
This verse was (and is) targeted at what David Guzik of Enduring Word refers to as “practical atheists” — those people who seem to know that there is an all-powerful and all-knowing Creator, but do not comprehend that this fact should make a difference in how they live their lives. Are you living your life in the knowledge that God knows your every thought and action?
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the words of Isaiah that resonate with Your people even today. You are the everlasting God, the Creator who never grows weary and whose understanding knows no limits. When I am weak, You are my strength. When I stumble, You lift me up. Fill me with Your Spirit today, and renew my heart with Your unending power. I humbly ask this in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, AMEN.