“Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 40:13 Mean?
Isaiah asks the question Paul will later quote in Romans 11:34: "Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?" Two rhetorical questions expecting the answer: nobody. Nobody has directed God's Spirit. Nobody has served as God's advisor. The divine mind operates without external input or correction.
The word "directed" (tikken — to measure, to regulate, to set right) asks whether anyone has calibrated God's Spirit — adjusted the settings, corrected the output, fine-tuned the operation. The Spirit operates without human quality control. Nobody checks God's work.
The "counsellor" (ish atsato — man of his counsel, the person who advises) asks whether God has received instruction from anyone. The answer eliminates every claim to have influenced divine thinking: no philosopher has taught God. No theologian has advised him. No human wisdom has improved upon his understanding.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where have you been unconsciously trying to 'direct' God's Spirit or advise God's thinking?
- 2.How does the impossibility of counseling God produce humility rather than despair?
- 3.Why does Paul quote this verse at the conclusion of his most complex theological argument?
- 4.What theological conclusion have you reached that this question relativizes?
Devotional
Who directed God's Spirit? Nobody. Who counseled God? Nobody. Isaiah poses two questions that demolish every human claim to have influenced divine thinking. The Spirit operates without your input. God's mind functions without your advice.
The directed-Spirit question targets the assumption that God needs calibration: that his Spirit might be slightly off-course, might benefit from human correction, might operate more effectively with some adjustment from a knowledgeable observer. Isaiah says: the Spirit has never been directed by anyone. The operation is self-sufficient. The calibration is perfect. Nobody has ever improved God's output.
The counselor question targets the assumption that God needs advice: that somewhere in the divine decision-making process, human wisdom could contribute something God hadn't considered. Isaiah says: no one has served that function. God has never sat with a human advisor and said, 'I hadn't thought of that.' The divine mind doesn't have blind spots that human wisdom can illuminate.
Paul quotes this in Romans 11:34 at the conclusion of his most complex theological argument (Romans 9-11, election and Israel's future). After exhausting his own theological capacity, Paul reaches for Isaiah's question: who has known the mind of the Lord? The apostle who understood the gospel more deeply than anyone admits the divine mind remains beyond his comprehension.
The verse produces the healthiest possible theological humility: your understanding of God, however deep, doesn't approach advising him. Your theology, however refined, doesn't improve his thinking. The wisest theologian alive stands before this question and answers: not me. Nobody has directed the Spirit. Nobody has taught God. The gap between your best thinking and his actual thinking is infinite.
Have you been trying to advise God — and does this question stop you?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord,.... In the creation of all things, in garnishing the heavens, and moving upon…
Who hath directed - This passage is quoted by Paul in Rom 11:34, and referred to by him in 1Co 2:16. The word rendered…
The scope of these verses is to show what a great and glorious being the Lord Jehovah is, who is Israel's God and…
From the power of Jehovah, the writer passes to expatiate on His perfect and self-sufficing wisdom.
Who hath directed…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture