Do You Not Know? The Tireless God of Isaiah 40:28

Introduction — Historical Setting of Isaiah 40

Our focus verse, Isaiah 40:28, follows Isaiah’s prophecy to Hezekiah, King of Judah, in which he announces that God would use the evil nation of Babylon as his instrument of judgment against the sinful nation of Israel. Isaiah warns that Babylon will conquer Jerusalem, carrying off its people and treasures (Isaiah 39). But just as in Genesis 3:15—where, amid God’s promise of judgment, He offers future hope in the form of a Redeemer—here, too, God does not leave His people hopeless.

Isaiah 40 offers Judah comfort even in judgment. It proclaims the LORD’s promise that, although Israel suffers exile for their sins, He will return and rescue them (Isaiah 40:1-5, 10). It reminds them that because He is faithful, He will fulfill His promises. He, as their victorious warrior-king, will lead them out of captivity (Isaiah 40:10) and, as their shepherd, will carry them close to his heart (Isaiah 40:11).

Just as Isaiah prophesied, under King Jehoiakim, Babylon attacked Jerusalem, carrying off Judah’s people, property, and possessions (2 Kings 24-25). In the midst of this turmoil, God’s words through Isaiah would have offered great comfort to the displaced people.

Isaiah 40:28 in many respects summarizes this entire message of hope.

“Do You Not Know? Have You Not Heard?”

Isaiah asks the Israelites rhetorically, “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” This implies that amid the trials and tribulations of exile, they have forgotten who God is and the covenant promises He made to them. When God is known, not merely known about, faith arises, and hope follows. Isaiah’s question reveals the spiritual amnesia that directly contradicts everything Israel had been taught about God’s character.

The God Isaiah Declares (Isaiah 40:28)

Isaiah declares that God is eternal, Creator, unwearied, and all-wise—attributes that distinguish Him from every false god.

The LORD is the Everlasting God

God is eternal, meaning He has no beginning or end. He stands outside of time, seeing the whole span of history at once. He sees all things because He was, and is, and will always be—the beginning, the middle, and the end. The Eternal Creator God exists before all things and remains sovereign over all things.

Verse after verse proclaims God’s eternality. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often appears as everlasting or forever. Genesis 21:33 gives God the title “Everlasting God” for the first time.

Psalm 90:2, written by Moses during Israel’s wilderness wanderings, describes God’s eternality like this:

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2

The Psalmist reminds us that God’s eternality is not abstract—it affects how we live. While our lives are fleeting, His purposes endure. Because He is eternal, His promises are certain, His judgments are sure, and His presence is unchanging through every generation. Knowing this would have been reassuring to Israel back then, just as it is reassuring to us today.

The LORD is the Creator of the Ends of the Earth

Isaiah reminds the Israelites that God is the Creator of the “ends of the earth.” Not only has He always been, but He alone created the heavens, the earth, and the entire universe (Genesis 1:1, Isaiah 45:18). He created everything visible and invisible, AND He created it all out of nothing (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3).

Earlier in verse 12, Isaiah poetically describes God as the sovereign creator. He asks:

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?”

Israel would be reminded that not only did God form them as a nation, but that He created and controls everything—including their captor, Babylon. He is sovereign over every nation (Isaiah 40: 23-24). Unlike the idols of the nations, God is not limited, dependent, or formed by human hands. His power is limitless, and His sovereignty all-encompassing.

I love what noted scholar and theologian A.W. Pink says about God’s power in his book The Attributes of God:

“But seeing that He is clothed with omnipotence [power], no prayer is too hard for Him to answer, no need too great for Him to supply, no passion too strong for Him to subdue; no temptation too powerful for Him to deliver from, no misery too deep for Him to relieve.” (p. 65)

God is able to rescue the Israelites, and He is able to rescue us, too!

The LORD Will Not Grow Tired or Weary

Unlike frail humanity, God does not sleep or tire. Nothing is too hard for him. His power is inexhaustible. The Psalmist drives this home in Psalm 121:3-4:

He will not allow your foot to slip;

Your Protector will not slumber.[]()

Behold, the Protector of Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

This Psalm reminds me of last week in Memorize Scripture, when we discussed Psalm 46:10, a Psalm meant to comfort Israel by declaring that God silences her enemies — He is Israel’s protector, her “refuge” and “fortress” (Psalm 46:1). He is for them, and not against them. They need not fear, for He protects them even in the midst of unimaginable chaos. Even now, Babylon is no exception. God does not sleep, and God does not tire.

The LORD’s Understanding No One Can Fathom

Earlier, Isaiah rhetorically asked: Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? (Isaiah 40:13-14) The implied answer, of course, is no one. The NET Bible contrasts the God of Israel with Marduk, the creator-god of Babylon, Israel’s captor. Marduk, apparently, receives help from the god of wisdom, yet the LORD, “neither needs nor receives any such advice or help (NET Bible, p. 318).

Israel’s Doubt Exposed

In verse 27, Isaiah exposes Israel’s doubt when he asks:

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Israel is measuring God by their circumstances, not by His power. Throughout Israel’s history, there is a pattern of forgetfulness. God provides, Israel is thankful, but soon forgets God’s provision and begins to mumble and complain. Moses in Deuteronomy 8 knew this about his people, Israel, and urged them to remember and not forget.

Jesus encountered this same forgetfulness in his disciples. On their way to minister, the disciples realized they had forgotten to bring bread to feed the crowds—they had only one loaf. Jesus, overhearing their conversation, reprimanded them, saying, Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? You have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?

When doubt surfaces, it is often because we have forgotten who God is and what He has done. Memorizing and meditating on scripture helps it sink deep into our hearts so that when those trials and tribulations surface, we have a firm foundation to stand upon.

The Reversal: God Gives Strength

The great reversal comes next. But here is the surprise: The God who never grows tired or weary gives strength to the weary, asking only that His people place their hope in Him. Isaiah makes clear that human strength, however impressive it may appear, is limited and temporary. Even the young, those at the height of physical vitality, will grow tired and stumble. But God’s strength does not follow the same pattern.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 29-31).

We do not find strength in self-reliance but in hope placed rightly—in the LORD Himself. This is not a promise that God will remove hardship, but that He will sustain His people through it.

Conclusion — Remembering the Tireless God

Isaiah 40:28 reminds us that Israel’s hope—and our hope too—does not rest in circumstances, political stability, or even human endurance, but in the unchanging character of God. He is the everlasting Creator who does not grow weary, whose understanding cannot be measured, and whose power never diminishes. Israel doubted because they forgot who God was and what He had done.

When we remember who He is, trust replaces doubt. And when trust finds its foundation, strength follows. The tireless God does not just endure—He sustains those who wait for Him.