When I read these verses, what I see is humility. Humility, or taking an honest view of oneself, can sometimes be a scary experience. However, in these verses, Isaiah is reminding God’s people who God is. He speaks with such passion and purpose so that we may find rest and comfort in God. If you have ever taken the time to sift out a bucket of sand to isolate a single grain, you know how minuscule it is. How wonderful and freeing it is to humble ourselves under an all-knowing God.
“Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.”
Isaiah 40:12-15