“For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 14:27 Mean?
"For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" The rhetorical questions are unanswerable: nobody can cancel God's purpose. Nobody can reverse God's action. The purpose is set. The hand is extended. Both are beyond human opposition. The two questions share one answer: no one.
The phrase "the LORD of hosts hath purposed" (YHWH tseva'ot ya'atz — the LORD of armies has counseled/purposed) combines God's military title (LORD of hosts — commander of heavenly armies) with His deliberative action (purposed — counseled, decided, determined). The purpose isn't casual. It's the Commander of all armies making a strategic decision. The purpose has the authority of omnipotent command behind it.
The "his hand is stretched out" (yado hannetuyah — His hand is extended/stretched) is the image of divine action already in progress: the hand isn't at God's side, contemplating action. It's STRETCHED OUT — extended, in motion, already moving toward its target. The stretching out means the action has begun. The question 'who shall turn it back?' asks who can stop a divine action already underway.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What has God purposed that you've been trying to resist — and is resistance futile?
- 2.What does God's hand being already 'stretched out' teach about purposes already in motion?
- 3.How do the rhetorical questions ('who shall?') expose the futility of opposing divine will?
- 4.What would surrender to God's unstoppable purpose look like in your current situation?
Devotional
God has purposed. Who cancels it? God's hand is stretched out. Who turns it back? Two questions. One answer: nobody. The purpose of the LORD of hosts is unstoppable. The extended hand of God is unreversible. The decision has been made. The action has begun. And nothing in creation can undo either one.
The 'LORD of hosts hath purposed' combines authority with intentionality: the 'LORD of hosts' is the Commander of every army in heaven and on earth. When THIS God purposes something, the purpose has infinite military authority behind it. The counsel isn't a suggestion. It's a strategic determination by the Supreme Commander. The purpose is as unstoppable as the armies that back it.
The 'his hand is stretched out' means the action is already underway: the hand isn't resting at God's side. It's extended — in motion, reaching toward its target, already acting. The question 'who shall turn it back' is asked of a hand that's MOVING. Not contemplating. Moving. The time for prevention has passed. The hand is out. The action is happening.
The 'who shall disannul' and 'who shall turn it back' are the questions that silence every human objection: your army can't cancel it. Your political power can't reverse it. Your prayer can't disannul it (if God has purposed, the purpose stands). The questions expose the futility of opposing divine determination. The answer — nobody — is the silence that follows.
What has God purposed that you've been trying to cancel — and what would it mean to stop resisting the stretched-out hand?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For the Lord of hosts hath purposed,.... What is before declared, the fall of Babylon, and the destruction of the…
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The destruction of Babylon and the Chaldean empire was a thing at a great distance; the empire had not risen to any…
This plan of Jehovah embraces the destinies of all nations (see ch. Isa 28:22; Isa 10:23; Isa 8:9). The expression "the…
Cross References
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