The LORD, the Only God

Isaiah 45:1-13

1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:

2 'I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.

3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the LORD,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.

4 For Jacob My servant's sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.

5 I am the LORD, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.'

8 "Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the LORD, have created it.

9 "Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?'
Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, 'What are you begetting?'
Or to the woman, 'What have you brought forth?'"

11 Thus says the LORD,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
"Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
12 I have made the earth,
And created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And all their host I have commanded.

13 I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will direct all his ways;
He shall build My city
And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

The LORD, the only God, raised up Cyrus as His instrument to cut a straight and righteous path through the nations.  He uses rulers and kingdoms of this world for His higher purpose according to His predetermined plan, and in the process teaches them and us that He alone is the God of His people whom He alone chooses.  The nations rise and fall at His word to imprison or set men free accordingly.  The God of Israel is the same Lord over all in Christ as well, and He still uses world events to turn the elect to hear His word and see His face.  He calls us by name even before we know who He is and come to know Him personally in our regeneration of that relationship.  There is no other God but Him; this He teaches us as He did God’s people before the Messiah walked among us, that we may honor and glorify Him as the only wise God (1 Timothy 1:17, Jude 1:25).  You shall have no other besides Him as the first commandment has taught us all.  Knowing Him sets us free from idolatry.  He leads and guides His chosen ones even when we cannot see Him working as certain as the sunrise to sunset of each and every day.  Yes, only He makes light and darkness in their times and assigned places (Genesis 1:16-18) and He creates peace as well as the calamity of adversity in life.  Because the LORD has created all things, He chooses to rain down righteousness to birth salvation out of His righteousness showered down upon us.  His righteousness showered on us brings His salvation to come on us as if growing out of the earth of our souls.  We see this picture in Christ’s work imputing His righteousness as our salvation by faith in His continued working as told of its beginning here.  The warning to follow is not to contend with or argue against God’s sovereign and predetermined work to challenge or question who He works in or how He forms us (Romans 9:20-21) and uses us for His glory as is fitting because He is our Maker, the Holy One of Israel and all His people.  What right have we to command how God works to fit what is comfortable to our reason as if it is we who choose what is good and evil as the first sin in Eden’s Garden set us on this path of destruction (Genesis 3:4-5) instead of taking His word to heart in acceptance with willing obedience to learn from Him what is right and wrong (Hebrews 5:14) and accepting who He chooses and how He uses each of us differently according to how we are made and to what purpose?  Just as the LORD raised up Cyrus as His instrument to free His people in His righteousness, God will direct all He chooses to do the good works prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10).  The ultimate picture here of course is Christ whose righteousness directs us to Him as the way, truth, and life to set us free at no cost to us because He paid that price Himself to set us free indeed (John 8:36)!  He alone is Lord and Sovereign King of all who delivers us.  His working is sovereign and predetermined for those He has chosen, and we are not to argue the truth of these things, but trust and obey willingly in His righteousness and calling.