Behold Your God. Interjections, the little words we pepper into every conversation—um, huh, okay, yay, wow, mmm-hmm—are more than noise; they are cues and clues given by the speaker and the listener that keep human dialogue flowing. I hear you. I’m getting to my point. I’m tracking; keep going. “They may be crucial traffic signals to regulate the flow of conversation as well as tools to negotiate mutual understanding” (Bob Holmes, “Huh? The Valuable Role of Interjections,” Knowable Magazine, April 9, 2025, sapiens.org). Linguists observe that one in every seven utterances is an interjection, occurring every 12 seconds.
Apparently, one skill in using interjections is adaptation over time. Notice how in the 1920s, we adorned interpersonal language with: Oh Boy! and Holy Cow! In the 1960s, we found things Groovy and Far Out. In the 2000s, many added Meh and Word without having to pause to supply definitions. In the 2020s, some people were quick to interject: Bet, No cap, Period, and Real … but not this 80s kid who still says, Totally and Whoa.
But sometimes, especially in biblical literature, interjections are not merely interjectory but demands. In hundreds of biblical uses, God’s interjection of choice is Behold! Unlike in normal human conversation, God is not seeking to build rapport as much as stimulate obedience. Behold is an interesting cross-over between an interjection and a strict command: look, see, perceive. With his use of behold, he adds sufficient weight to stir us, to jar us loose.
Perhaps no better example exists of this divine interjection/command combination than in Isaiah 40, beginning in verse 9: “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” Five times in seven verses, the text repeats the interjection/command: Behold (vv. 9, 10a, 10b, 15a, 15b). Look at, see, and perceive your God in a new way! As such, his interjection is compulsory. The onus rests on the hearer to respond to God in faith; the speaker has done more than enough to be understood with full clarity.
With so much bad news of the coming doom of chapters 1-39, the tone of Isaiah’s prophecy changes in chapters 40-66: “Comfort, comfort my people says your God” (Isa. 40:1). Isaiah’s commission as God’s prophet turns upward toward good news. The summary of the second half of the Book of Isaiah essentially fits inside the phrase: “Behold your God!” (vs. 9). Perceive God as redeemer not merely avenger. Look with faith at God’s almighty power. “Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him” (vs.10). See with clearness God’s unrivaled sovereignty. “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust” (vs. 15). Behold your God and believe!
