“Look to Me, and be saved,All you ends of the earth!For I am God, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:14-25
14 Thus says the Lord:
“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
There is no other God.’ ”
15 Truly You are God, who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16 They shall be ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
17 But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or disgraced
Forever and ever.
18 For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain’;
I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
22 “Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
24 He shall say,
‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25 In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”
The nations of the earth would be drawn to Israel because of their covenant relationship with the true Living God. Israel during its history is the only nation in true covenant with the Living God. At Israel’s beginning it was God who chose and called Abraham. It was God who established His promises with Isaac and Jacob. The nations that surrounded Israel were godless and sadly Israel would often reject the worship of the true Living God, for the worship of false idols. But in Israel’s future there will be a time when Jesus shall rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem and those nations during Isaiah’s day that seemed mighty, would come to Israel.
The God of Israel is the one true God. He is often hidden from those who do not know Him. But when we come to saving faith in Jesus Christ our eyes are open to the truth and our eyes are open to how truly awesome God is. The God of Israel is truly the savior of the world. God’s desire is that none would perish but all come to everlasting life. It doesn’t mean that all will be saved, but it does show that the way of salvation is open to all people.
Those who are makers of idols shall go away in confusion and disgrace. When our eyes are open to the truth of who God is, all that we were involved in previously before our relationship with Jesus Christ simply seems foolish. Often times we pursue things that we believe will bring us fulfillment and contentment, but what we find is they are simply hollow and empty.
Israel will be saved by the hand of Almighty God with an everlasting salvation. We currently live during the time of the bringing in of the gentiles. But there is a time coming when the fullness of the gentiles has come in that the Lord will fulfill every plan and purpose concerning Israel. Every promise God has made concerning His covenant with Israel, the Lord will bring to pass. The church has not replaced Israel. It was always God’s will that through Israel the Lord would bring salvation to the earth by sending His only begotten Son to earth and He would be born a Jew, live under the law, and ultimately give His life for the sins of the world.
Creation shows that God is truly the Living God. It is God who created the heavens, formed the earth and made it, established it, did not create it in vain. In all that God designed and purposed, He has accomplished. He did not create the earth to be empty and void. God created the world to be inhabited. It was always God’s plan and design that He would have a people who truly loved Him and chose to serve Him, fill the earth. Many live on the earth today but sadly many will choose the road of destruction over the road to life. Jesus said the road to destruction is wide, while the road to life is narrow. He is the only way to truly find life and many in this age would rather chase after the emptiness of this world instead of surrendering their lives fully to Jesus Christ.
God does not speak in secret and dark places like those who take part in divination and consult demons. When God’s word is proclaimed, it is proclaimed out in the open for all to hear. God speaks of things to come. God speaks of things that have not yet taken place because everything God does on the earth is accomplished by His power and His might. Just as God spoke all things into existence, He still today accomplishes all things by His word. It shows us the power of God’s word and why we should spend time daily in the study of the scriptures. The more the word of God gets inside of us, the more we will be forever changed and transformed.
The Lord calls all those who have escaped from the nations. He shows the foolishness of those who worship idols. The Lord says they have no knowledge, who carry the wood of their carved image, and pray to a god that cannot save. These idols that people trusted in and believed would save them, were simply pieces and statues made out of wood. They had absolutely no power to save whatsoever. It is utter foolishness that Israel would ever abandon the worship of the one true God for the worship of these worthless idols.
God shows that He is God above all else because He speaks of things to come and they always come to pass. Through the prophets of old the Lord spoke about events before they ever took place. The false prophets would simply speak words that would tickle the ears of the people. But the true Living God would speak of things to come. Anytime we have doubt or discouragement that tries to fill our hearts we must remember that we serve the Living God. All power and might resides in His hands.
The Lord says look to me and be saved. This will ultimately be fulfilled in Jesus. All those who look to Christ and believe in their heart and confess with their mouth will be saved. God gives people ample time to repent and turn from their wickedness. But sadly so many mock the Living God. So many view the bible as mere fairy tale. But God in the end will have His way. His will will be accomplished. His invitation goes forth daily as the gospel goes forth. We are ambassadors of Christ and carry with us the greatest life saving message. It is simply the truth of who Jesus Chirst is and what He has done.
When God’s word goes forth it will not return void. When God speaks, His word will accomplish all that it is meant to accomplish. God’s word is accomplished by God’s infinite power and might. There is no force on planet earth or in all creation that can stop the word of God. Every knee shall bow and every tongue will take an oath. We know in Philippians 2:10-11 that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess He is Lord. Even those who have opposed the Living God will bow before Him. He gives people time now to repent of their wickedness and sin. The only way we can truly find salvation is in Him alone. We must surrender.
Those who have stood against God and His purposes will be ashamed. Men shall come to the Lord. It is in the Lord that righteousness and strength is found. There are moments in life when we simply feel like giving up and throwing in the towel. But it is in the moments when we grab hold of God’s word and stand upon the truth of His word that we find strength to stand. For His strength is perfected in our weakness. We were never meant to stand in our own strength. We were meant to stand solely upon God’s word and find our strength in Him alone.
In the Lord all the descendents of Israel will be justified and will find glory. The prophetic words spoken by Isaiah were not only meant to challenge the people, but to encourage and strengthen them. There were many moments in the history of Israel where it seemed that God had abandoned or given up on Israel because of its sin and wickedness. But God promises never to abandon us nor forsake us (Deut 31:8). No matter what our circumstances tell us and our feelings, our trust must be placed in the Lord and our lives built upon the truth of scripture.
