“Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?”
The full verse · Isaiah 40:13 · KJV
Who hath the of the , or being his hath him?
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Asked to
The exiled nation of Israel, with wider application to all humanity who might presume to counsel the Almighty.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionIsaiah uses this question to demolish any notion that God needs human advice or can be comprehended by finite minds. By asking rather than declaring, he forces the audience to confront their own limitations and recognize the absurdity of questioning God’s purposes during exile.
The Response
What Scripture recordsNo verbal or behavioral response is recorded. The question stands unanswered because it requires no answer; its rhetorical force is self-evident.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis double question asserts God’s absolute self-sufficiency in wisdom and planning. The first part, measuring or directing (Hebrew takan, meaning to regulate or adjust) the Spirit, asks who could possibly set boundaries or give guidance to God’s own essence and power. The second part intensifies this by asking who could serve as God’s counselor or instructor. Isaiah chooses interrogative form rather than declaration to make the audience participants in recognizing the obvious answer: no one. The parallelism reinforces that both God’s Spirit and God’s counsel are beyond human comprehension or influence. This carries enormous theological weight for a displaced people tempted to think God had lost control or forgotten His covenant; their circumstances didn’t mean God needed reminding or redirecting.
When life leaves you confused and God’s plan seems unclear, remember you’re not His advisor. Resist the urge to second-guess His timing or methods, especially when circumstances feel chaotic. Job learned this lesson through suffering (Job 38-41), and you can trust that the God who needs no counsel is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28). Instead of demanding explanations, cultivate humble dependence, the posture that receives divine wisdom rather than presuming to supply it. His ways are higher, and that’s your security, not your frustration.
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Keep questioning
“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?”
“With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?”
“To whom then will ye liken God?”
“Have ye not known?”