On Tents & God’s Sovereignty.
Here’s a question: What do tents have to do with the sovereignty of God? At first, it might seem like those two things are totally unrelated. But what if I told you that tents and the sovereignty of God have more in common than you might think? In Isaiah 40, we get a clear description of God’s sovereignty and power. Specifically, he describes God’s power over creation and God’s power over earthly rulers. Look how the prophet Isaiah describes the power and sovereignty of God over the kings and rulers of the earth.
Isaiah 40:21-22 // Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth? God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
What do tents have to do with God’s sovereignty? If you look closely, you can see it in these verses. When Isaiah looks for language to describe the universe, he doesn’t say it’s like a vast kingdom that God oversees. He says it’s like a tent. The point is clear. God’s rule and reign cannot be measured by human standards or compared to human authority. His throne is above the entire world. Later in the book of Isaiah, God says this:
Isaiah 66:1 // Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. Where could you possibly build a house for me? And where would my resting place be?
If you’ve ever been camping and felt cramped in a tent, remember that this is the language Isaiah used to describe the universe compared to God. He cannot be contained. Next, the prophet Isaiah compares God’s power to the power of human rulers. He writes this in vs. 23.
Isaiah 40:23-24 // He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland. They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem hardly takes root in the ground when he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.
The most significant leaders history has ever seen amount to nothing when you compare them to God.
The greatest rulers and presidents, the strongest countries and kingdoms are like grasshoppers in a tent. He reigns with absolute power and authority over every square inch of the universe he created.
Not only is God sovereign over kings and kingdoms, but he is also sovereign over the created universe at the most cosmic level. Isaiah clarifies this in vs. 22 when he says, “God stretches the sky like a tent.” In vs. 25-26, we get an even clearer picture of God’s sovereignty and power over the created universe. It says this:
Isaiah 40:25-26 // To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. 26 Look up and see! Who created these? He brings out the stars by number; he calls all of them by name. Because of his great power and strength, not one of them is missing.
I love that! When Isaiah looks for a way to describe the power and sovereignty of God, he doesn’t grab a tape measure. He doesn’t tell us how many pounds God can lift, which is how we measure human power. He uses things like stars, lightyears, and galaxies to describe the power and the sovereignty of God.
Scientists say that if our solar system were the size of a quarter, the Milky Way galaxy would be the size of the North American continent. That is incredible when you consider that the Milky Way galaxy is just one of countless galaxies in the universe.
And long before we knew anything about black holes, quantum mechanics, gravity, or even that the Sun is the center of our solar system, God was holding it all together by the word of his power, waiting for us to invent a big enough telescope to see his sovereignty on display in the stars.
You see, God doesn’t measure things in inches; he measures things in light years and galaxies. This is the measurement God uses to describe his sovereignty. And when God says, here is Isaiah, “Look at the stars,” He’s not saying that’s how big I am. He’s saying, “Compared to me, those are small. I move those across the sky, and it’s easy for me.”
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