“Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust…Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?”
Isaiah 40:15, 17-18
The Voyager II spacecraft sent back to Earth photos that were taken from four billion miles away. At that distance Earth appeared as a tiny dot on the photo, less than one seventy-secondth of an inch wide. And that’s only from four billion miles away, just slightly beyond the orbit of the planets in our solar system. The prophet Isaiah didn’t have photos from space, but in today’s passage he gave a clear picture of God’s greatness in comparison with Earth. God regards the nations on Earth as less than nothing. He weighs the Hawaiian Islands like fine dust and regards the United States as a drop in the bucket.
Yet here’s the wonder. In this same chapter God bends over backward to remind us of his care for individuals: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isa. 40:29). God’s main thing is this: he so loved the people on this tiny blue ball that he sent his Son to bring individuals, such as you and me, to himself. He didn’t die for nations…he died for people who live in those nations.
When you read Time magazine or watch CNN Headline News, when you hear about powerful countries in the Middle East on the brink of war, when you see the secretary of state shake hands with prime ministers, and watch the president wave and walk off Air Force One, you could feel extremely insignificant. But Isaiah 40:23 has something to say about this: “He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.”
God’s main thing is individuals. Doesn’t matter if you hold office or live in the most influential country in the world. He cares for the person behind the government desk…the individual living in whatever country. He died for people so people might live for him. Think about this as you watch the evening news tonight.
Little ol’ insignificant me? You care about me? Thank you, Lord, that I count with you on this tiny blue ball of a planet.
