Dwell in the Word: 45:14-25
Think on these question as you dwell in Isaiah 45:14-25:
1. How does the distinction between the Creator and creation, as emphasized in Isaiah, differentiate the God of Israel from pagan gods?
2. What is the significance of God's promise in Isaiah that "every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance" in the context of His sovereignty and salvation?
3. How does the passage in Isaiah reflect the idea that God speaks purposefully and causes His people to hear and follow Him, and what implications does this have for believers today?
Transcript:
Well, we see throughout the Book of Isaiah that it is that God has spoken to the people of Israel. God has revealed Himself to them, and He has caused them to hear. He is doing this, and so they know who He is. Later on, down in this passage, after this acknowledgment of this God who did all this creating work, the God who made everything. Remember, as we've been seeing, as we've been through the Ten Commandments, there's this important idea between the gods of the nations and the God of Israel. The God of Israel is other. He is separate from the creation. He is not like the creation. There is a creator creation distinction, important to understand. They don't have this with the pagan gods that they go running after. And here we see that the real difference is that God speaks and He causes His people to listen. We see this in verse 19. I did not speak in secret in a land of darkness. I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain. ' He didn't say, Hey, come find me if you can. God spoke with a purpose to His people.
He knew that they would hear because He was giving them faith. He was causing them to follow Him. And we understand that when he does this, he is doing His good work because He is the Lord. He speaks the truth. He declares what is right. He does His goodwill. Who are we to object to it? And so we see an amazing thing here in what Isaiah prophesies, these words from God here, Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the Earth. This is huge. This isn't just the people of God who have been scattered that He is calling back. He's saying there is a time coming where people of every tribe, tongue and nation are going to be able to hear and believe that He is going to call them to himself because he's the only God. It's not that there is one God here and another God there, and people can be saved by different means. No, only God can save why? Because He's the one true God. And notice what He has said here, and we see this echoed in the New Testament by Paul, To me, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance because he is the God over all things.
Everyone is accountable to Him. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We know that from the Apostle Paul. And the reason this is, is because he is the only God. He is the only one who can save. And so the important thing for us to remember as we consider this passage today is the blessing that you and I have. We have heard, we have believed of all the peoples of the earth. God has spoken, and He has given us the gift of faith. And so we are those from the ends of the earth. We are not of... Most of us are not of Hebrew lineage, but we are a part of the family of God by faith, that faith that He has given us because He has not hidden Himself from us. Instead, He has revealed Himself to us. He has given us His word, and we have heard and believed. He has regenerated us. He has given us that gift of faith that we might believe, that heart of flesh to replace our heart of stone. And because of that, we are a part of the family of God.
And because of that, we understand the blessing we have. When we bow our knee before Him, our tongues swear allegiance; it is out of praise, not out of fear that we will be judged. It's because we understand that we have been given faith and that we have been judged rightly because the judgment that we deserve was poured out on Christ. And so our knees bow. Our tongues give praise and swear allegiance because we understand Him as savior. So may we wholeheartedly share that good news that others may hear and believe that they might not bow before Him in fear and knowing that they receive judgment, but may they hear and believe. May God use the Holy Spirit to give them faith that they might worship and bow their knee in praise to Him as we do.
