That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

Isaiah 40:23-26

Explanation:

“That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

Princes and Judges are examples of some of the most notable and powerful of the earth have no strength compared to God.

“Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.”

The word “They” here continues to refer to the princes and judges. When it says they “shall not …be planted…be sown…take root in the earth” it is saying that they are not eternally strong or rooted in their going against God.
Notice this picture of God’s action against them. He could “blow upon them…and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble”. A person’s breath is not the strongest thing about them. The breath of God makes the strongest person whither. The whirlwind created by His breath will blow the strongest around like leaves, twigs, and dust.

In verse 25 he poses this question:

“To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.”

What is the correct answer? No one. He is unequaled in the universe and beyond. He is unequaled in both His strength and in His Holiness.

Isaiah then gives this command.

“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.”

Isaiah recommends for us not to find our strength in the created thing. Rather, we must look to the God that created everything. His strength and power are unequaled.

Application:
It is not a wise thing to go against the Creator God of the universe. It is in our best interest to submit to Him. The good news is that He loves us. The command given in verse 26 is instructive. We should “lift up” our “eyes on high and behold who hath created these things”. When we look to other things for strength, drive, motivation, or reason for living, we will find ourselves lacking at some point. We will find ourselves going against the Creator God. Our question should be “God, what do you want?”.

Response:
Make a list of the things God has made for which you are most thankful.