Dost thou not know, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not nor tireth? There is no searching of his understanding.
Just before this, God's people complain that their way is hidden from the Lord and their cause overlooked (v. 27). Verse 28 answers them — not with an argument, but with a name, and with two questions that assume they already knew the answer.
The Answer to a Buried Complaint
One commentator hears in creation itself a rebuke to the idea that God had lost sight of His people.
Creation itself bears witness to the power and glory of God. In the face of that witness, God rebukes Israel for their unbelief in turning to idols — as if their way, with all its difficulties, were hidden from Him, and as if He did not care about the rights of His people. What folly! The God His people have to do with is everlasting, and ever present as Jehovah — the I AM; He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no place hidden from Him.
The Titles Stacked Up
Each name in the verse removes one fear. "Everlasting" answers change; "Creator of the ends of the earth" answers distance.
So in our passage we meet the Everlasting God, the Lord Jehovah — the One who is, who ever was, and who is ever to come (Rev. 1:4). He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. We are told HE does not faint nor grow weary. He is the limitless source of power and life, the One who can know no change, no deterioration, no fading, no flux. What a comfort it is to fall back on God, whose knowledge is so great that even a sparrow does not fall to the ground without His notice.
Tireless — and Tender
Man at his best fades like grass. A God who never tires is more than strong — He is where trust should move.
What a contrast we see here between the greatness of God and man, who at his best is only like the flower of the grass. And the word of the gospel invites us who hear to turn away from man, and to take our hopes and confidence off him. It invites us to put our trust, without fear or doubt, in this great and wonderful God who is from everlasting to everlasting. He is unchanging in His years and almighty in His power, and He is also infinite in His pity.
The Unwearied Creator Who Sat Down Tired
One writer sets this verse beside the Gospel scene of Jesus sitting tired by a well.
The identification of Jesus with Jehovah — of the wearied Man (John 4:6) with the unwearied Creator (Isa. 40:28) — is a subject of profound interest.
Another writer starts from the other side. Creating is something only God does — so who then is the Son?
We are instructed by an inspired prophet that one attribute of Godhead is Creator... He, then, who created all things is Jehovah. We have, therefore, in this first aspect of THE SON, the clearest possible proof of His being "from everlasting."
When His Understanding Cannot Be Searched
The last clause means some questions stay open. Commentators take it as the cure for impatience, not a wall.
In the Psalms we hear the godly man more than once crying out, "How long?" How long will the wicked flourish? How long before righteousness is vindicated? We in our day may cry out "How long?" as we long for the promised coming of the Lord Jesus. But with Isaiah we have to know that "the everlasting God … does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable." His way and His time are perfect. With this let us be content.
Not knowing now is not the same as never knowing. One writer names where the pain really comes from.
Note this: the explanation of His ways with you will be given in good time, but not today. And does not the greater part of your difficulty lie in the desire to get that explanation now?
What the Tireless God Then Does
The verse does not stop at admiration. God's own strength becomes a supply for weak people, but there is a lesson we must learn first.
Moreover, not only is there infinite power and wisdom with God, but in grace He can give power to His needy people... If He gives strength, though, we on our side have to learn our need of strength. We must learn that mere natural strength cannot sustain the people of God in the trials they meet... It is often a hard lesson to learn that the strength of nature cannot keep us in the path of faith.
Summary
- Rebuke — Our way is never hidden. The God who made the ends of the earth has no blind spots, and He is not indifferent.
- Unchanging — Everlasting and ever-present, the source of power and life: no change, no fading, no running down.
- Unwearied — He never tires. Yet the Creator named here is the same One who sat down weary at a well: almighty in power, infinite in pity.
- Unsearchable — No one can search His understanding to the end. Explanations come in His time, not ours.
- Unfailing — He never faints, so He gives strength to those who do. First we learn that our own strength cannot carry us.