Isaiah 45, part 2: One Savior

Chapter 45, part 2: One Savior

Isaiah 45:14 (HCSB) This is what the LORD says: The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will follow you, they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you: God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.

The God of Israel is the only God; everything else that claims deity is the work of man's hands and is a fraud. In this verse, God is addressing the elect among the nation of Israel - at no time in her history did the nations come to national Israel in this fashion, but at the end of time all nations will be in chains and the redeemed will participate in judging them (1 Cor 6:2).

Isaiah 45:15-17 (HCSB) Yes, You are a God who hides Himself, God of Israel, Savior. All of them are put to shame, even humiliated; the makers of idols go in humiliation together. Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated for all eternity.

This appears to be Isaiah speaking, saying the God who saves Israel hides Himself. By this, he means that God cannot be truly discerned by natural man; for general revelation is merely in part and God must open eyes and ears before mortal man sees Him. All who rebel against Him will be humiliated along with idolaters. In another stark contrast, elect Israel will be redeemed with an everlasting salvation no shame or humiliation for those who have refuge in Christ.

Isaiah 45:18-19 (HCSB) For this is what the LORD says— God is the Creator of the heavens. He formed the earth and made it. He established it; He did not create it to be empty, ⌊but⌋ formed it to be inhabited— “I am Yahweh, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, somewhere in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob: Seek Me in a wasteland. I, Yahweh, speak truthfully; I say what is right."

YHWH declares that He is the Creator of heaven and earth, with the full intention that it would be full of life. Consider what this means. Think of the most complex, intricate mechanism man has "created" and compare with the glorious expanse and complexity of the universe! I put "created" in quotes because man can create nothing - everything man invents or develops is nothing more than rearranging what God has created. An old joke has a Texas A&M scientist working in the lab to "create" life and he succeeds! He shakes his fist at the heavens and tells God all about it. God condescends to talk with the creature and asks him to explain how he did it. "First thing I did," he said, "was to grab a little dirt." "Oh no!" said YHWH. "You must make your own dirt!" That's the point - God formed, created, and established the universe with the plan to fill it full of life.

There is NO ONE like unto Him, all the prophets of Baal are less than dust. All creation testifies of His glory, this was not done in secret, not in a corner of darkness as many cult religions do. He does not tell His people to go into the desert and find Him gazing at their navels; He calls His people to come to Him directly - this is the only true religion.

Isaiah 45:20-24a (HCSB) “Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives of the nations. Those who carry their wooden idols, and pray to a god who cannot save, have no knowledge. Speak up and present ⌊your case⌋— yes, let them take counsel together. Who predicted this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, Yahweh? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is no one except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn; Truth has gone from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow to Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. It will be said to Me: Righteousness and strength is only in the LORD.”

This passage is a call to the elect from all four corners of the earth, fugitives of every nation. Those not called have no saving knowledge and continue in their idolatry. They are commanded to present themselves, take counsel, and speak up for themselves; another court room scene for the judgment that will take place. God taunts these reprobates, asking them who prophesied these events, announced them in ancient times?

Then He answers them: It was I, YHWH! There is no God but YHWH; He is the righteous Savior and (in case you missed it) there is no one other than Him! "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth" - His saving call goes out by to all the elect. He has sworn by an irrevocable oath that every knee will bow and every tongue confess allegiance to Him; for in Him ONLY is righteousness and strength. Paul used this to describe the Lord Jesus in two of his letters, Phil 2:11 (every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father) and Rom 14:11 (speaking of Christ: For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God). This is how we know this part of Isaiah is about spiritual redemption, not geographical redemption - the apostle has shown us the true application.

Isaiah 45:24b-25 (HCSB) All who are enraged against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. All the descendants of Israel will be justified and find glory through the LORD.

A final stark contrast as this chapter closes: All who war against God will come to Him and be ruined. All the descendants of Israel (according to the promise, not the flesh) will be justified and be glorified in the Lord. Again, it seems like Paul was thinking of this when he wrote this: Romans 5:6-11 (HCSB) For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, ⌊then how⌋ much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.

We have no boast in anything we've done or in our person. We were part of those who are enraged against God. But if you are in Christ, you are one He called to and justified and will glorify. Oh dear brother and sister - resist think you chose God or that He chose you because He saw something of value in you. We were helpless - unable to help ourselves; we were His enemies - thinking we didn't need His grace. But He has declared us righteous because Christ died for us - not because we've done anything to help our cause. Rejoice in Christ, boast of Him! Jesus is Lord of all and He ALONE save sinners from the wrath that is certainly coming for those who are not at peace with the Father.