The Nugget:
Isaiah 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. (KJV)
Isa 40:25 Who then seems to you to be my equal? says the Holy One. (Basic English Bible)
Isa 40:25 The holy God asks, “Who compares with me? Is anyone my equal?” (CEV)
My Comment:
There is no one equal to God. He is absolutely unequalled. Notice the Common English Version’s rendering, “Is anyone my equal?” This is a question that expects “No” for the answer.
Isaiah 40:25 is a verse in the Bible that directly asserts God is unequalled, which is the twelfth attribute of God on my list of over forty attributes of God on my list.
Now, one might be tempted to ask, “So what?” The answer is found in the context of Isaiah chapter 40. That context was written to show the foolishness of idols and idolatry. Idols are usually thought of as physical representations of a pagan god. But checking further into what the rest of the Bible has to say shows that idols can be in our heart (Ezekiel 14:3, 4). Certain sins, like greed or covetousness, are associated with idolatry (Colossians 3:5).
The issue is, God wants us to be totally committed to Him, and to His written Word in the Bible. Jesus both spoke to and illustrated in practice this very principle when He confronted Satan’s temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:10). Any priority in our lives that comes ahead of our commitment to God and the Bible in some measure is idolatry.
God should be unequalled in our own lives. How we spend our time shows directly what our priorities are. We will be richly blessed if we “take time to be holy” as the Gospel hymn I have quoted in full on this site more than once says.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 758 for Isaiah 40:25.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 789 or in Logos 5 or 6 Bible software for Isaiah 40:25.
(3) Consult the cross references given in the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 451 of the OT or on line at www.blueletterbible.org for Isaiah 40:25.
(3) Most people today do not have access to those three print resources, so I have posted cross references for this passage as I have developed them even more completely for your study as given below:
Isaiah 40:25. To whom. +ver. Is 40:18. **Is 55:9. Dt 4:15-18, 33. 5:8. Ps 8:5n. 77:13. 147:5. liken me. %Ge 1:26. %Ge 3:5, 22. %Ge 5:1. Ex 8:10. 15:11. Dt 3:24. 33:26. *2 S 7:22. 1 K 8:23. 1 Ch 17:20. Ps 35:10. 71:19. 86:8. 89:8. 113:5. +Je 10:6. 49:19. 50:44. +*Mic 7:18. Ro 1:23. shall I be equal. Is 46:5. Ps 135:5.