Isaiah 45:18-24
SS Lesson for 01/09/11
Devotional Scripture: Phil 2:1-11
The concept of the outline of the lesson came from the NIV Standard Lesson Commentary. This week's lesson teaches how God Offers Salvation for His People. The study's aim is to see that when God brings us to salvation, we will experience the best future that can be imagined. The study's application is to know that God's future for us begins when by God's grace we turn to Him for salvation.
The Vindication of Job
The story of Job is well known. Job was a likable man who treated family, friends, and strangers with compassion and dignity. Yet Job’s world fell apart because of circumstances beyond his control. Death claimed his family, catastrophe destroyed his possessions, and disease inflicted his body. But despite all this, he refused to break faith with God. Job’s “friends” determined that he must have earned his terrible lot. He must have grown prideful in his wealth and neglected the needs of those less fortunate. One after another, his companions dragged his name through the mud. Not truly knowing what God was up to, they assumed that they could judge Job according to the terrible fate that had befallen him. The reader knows, of course, that God was allowing Satan to test Job. We know that Job’s name was tarnished through no fault of his own. Deep inside we long for Job’s vindication as we read the account. We long for his name to be restored and for his accusers to be put in their place. In the sixth century BC, Israel longed for its own vindication (compare Psalm 137). But there was an important difference between Job and the Israelites: Job did not deserve to be punished, but Israel did. Thus God allowed Babylon to sack Jerusalem and exile many people. But in the process the Babylonians and others went too far and dragged the name of Israel and Israel’s God through the mud. Those whose wickedness exceeded that of Israel appeared to thrive. So Israel awaited vindication. The people longed for God to restore them and give the nations the judgment they deserved. In today’s passage, Isaiah anticipates this very restoration. Our confidence today is in the God who vows to vindicate the name of Jesus and his people.
Lesson Background
The sections of the book of Isaiah appear to address different time periods. Chapters 1–39 clearly discuss events that took place during Isaiah’s lifetime in the eighth century BC. God spoke through Isaiah in this section to warn the Israelites that if they did not repent of their sin then God would use foreign nations to punish them. Chapters 40–66, however, assume that foreign nations already have come and punished Israel. The concern of this section is to comfort a nation that has been beaten down. This section reassured the Israelites that God had not abandoned them. He planned to restore them and use them as his vehicle of blessing to the nations. In short, God’s purpose for Israel would not fail. Babylon’s sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC (compare 2 Kings 25) was an event that was jarring beyond description. The temple was destroyed and the kingship was lost, with both commoners and leaders exiled. In short, Israel’s world was turned upside down, and the people were driven to desperation. For this reason, God commissioned Isaiah in anticipation of the time when the punishment for their sins would be complete (Isaiah 40:1, 2). This comfort takes several forms over the chapters leading up to today’s passage: Israel is told that God is coming to save her (Isaiah 40:9–11); God is sovereign over the nations (40:15–24); Israel is God’s chosen servant (41:8–10); God is uniquely divine (44:6–8); the idols of the nations are nothing (44:9–20); Jerusalem has a bright future (44:24–28); and God will use the Persian ruler Cyrus as his tool to release the Jews from exile and rebuild Jerusalem (45:1–13). Today’s passage follows immediately after this statement of Cyrus’s commission.
In many nations of the world, religious pluralism is on the rise. That is certainly the case in North America. Consequently, public religious events are often required to have many faiths represented. To suggest that there is one God and that Christ alone is Saviour is seen as narrow-minded and bigoted. Failure to be tolerant of opposing views will simply not be tolerated by those who demand tolerance! As Bible-believing Christians, however, we must stand firm on the truths of God's Word. There is but one way to heaven, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). This does not mean that we should be obnoxious or disrespectful toward people who believe otherwise, but we must not yield to the viewpoint that all religions are created equal. Isaiah also lived in a world where religious pluralism was widespread. Each nation had its own gods, and Israel had succumbed to the lure of idolatry. They had not ceased to believe in the Lord, but they had begun to worship other gods too. Most people who read this lesson want the best for themselves and their families. So we work hard and save as best we can to create that future for ourselves. We seek to fulfill by earthly means what we think is best for us. But God has a better way. He shows us clearly that life is not all about having the luxuries of this earth. Rather, our best lies in living according to God's will for us. This begins as we come to Him in surrender and receive His salvation. Those in the world view the good life as a house, a great car, and other such things. Our God views the good life differently. The future that He has in store for us centers around a perspective that is contrary to this world system. Our lesson this week explores His promises and His commands to us about this matter.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
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.
6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
24 They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.'" All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.
22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,
2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
10 Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?
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.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."
3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case — things that accompany salvation.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
Christians continue to suffer oppression they’ve done nothing to deserve. May we learn from Israel’s history: as long as we fix our hope on the one who is able to save, we will be vindicated. May we remember our Savior Jesus, who also appeared to have been forsaken by God (Matthew 27:46). He suffered a cruel death and had his name dragged through the mud of crucifixion with criminals. But God raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand of the Father. There Jesus awaits the day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:5–11).
To the Christian, today's text is pregnant with the most profound meaning and rich with the most moving sentiment! Can any Christian read this portion of Isaiah's messianic prophecy and not have his imagination ignited with the most poignant vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, His divine arms extended—no longer in the shame and suffering of the crucifixion but in the absolute authority- of the fully revealed Alpha and Omega, the Lamb of God, the Saviour of the world? Christ does not suggest; He does not request. He commands all humanity, to the ends of the earth, to behold His supreme majesty as the only Saviour! "Look unto me, and be ye saved." Why is He the only Saviour? How can He make this unique, exclusive claim with absolute authority? Then comes the sound of His answer, rumbling across the heavens and the earth like thunder or a mighty cataract: "I am God, and there is none else." The text is actually just the essential gospel in its most grandiose, Old Testament garb. It is the message that you and I are commissioned to proclaim to this lost, sinful world in all its unabashedly absolute and exclusive terms. Of course, the historic saving gospel—especially when clothed in these most appropriately authoritative, unequivocal garments—has never been very popular with the larger part of the audience to which it is proclaimed. The price tag enduringly attached to the preaching of the gospel indelibly reads, "Enmity, hatred, persecution, and martyrdom." The reasons are not hard to find. The following is just a cursory survey from the Scriptures concerning the exclusive claims of the gospel. Jesus Christ is the only way to God. He is the only truth revealed from God to humans. He is the only source of eternal life. And, as if that were not exclusive enough and explicitly asserting the negative side of the previous claims, no person will ever come to God except by faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Salvation cannot be found in anyone else but Jesus Christ. No other name under the sky has ever been or will ever be revealed from God for human salvation from sin (Acts 4:12). Only Jesus Christ is endowed with the full authority of almighty God over heaven and earth. Furthermore, no one can even know God the Father except Jesus Christ and those to whom He chooses to reveal Him (Matt. 11:27). I could go on cataloging more of Christ's exclusive claims from the Scriptures, but I think these more than suffice to drive home the point that the gospel that we Christians are solemnly commissioned to proclaim to the world does not by any stretch of the imagination or any amount of rhetorical spin-doctoring fall into the modern category of politically correct! Therefore, let the image of Christ painted so vividly by our text remain fixed in your imagination to inspire you to preach the gospel courageously!
1. A person must believe in the God of the Bible, or he has no real god at all (Isa. 45:18)
2. God speaks openly and truthfully in His Word, unlike the prophets of the false gods of Isaiah's day (vs. 19)
3. God alone is able to foretell the future. The wise man will examine the clear evidence and believe (vs. 20-21)
4. Salvation is available to all who will turn to God, admitting that He alone is worthy of their worship (vs. 22)
5. All men will someday bow before God, but for many it will be too late (vs. 23-24)
"A great preacher was composing a sermon from the text, To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world.' His nephew came into the room and asked casually, 'Uncle, what is the text you are taking for next Sunday?' On being told, he said, 'Uncle, what do you think I was born for?' 'Well,' said the uncle, 'it's more than I know.' The same with me,' replied the young fellow, and flung himself out into the street. "He had not gone very far when he saw a crowd of people outside a theater and asked of a bystander, 'What's the matter in there?' There's a fire inside, and the passage is choked up so that people cannot get out.' "The young fellow plunged in and dragged out one after another from the seething mass of people. He plunged in for the fourteenth time, but was struck by a piece of falling timber and so badly hurt that he lost consciousness. When the clergyman arrived, he was just in time to bend over his nephew's lips and catch his last words: 'Uncle, to this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world—that I might save those thirteen'" (www.elbourne.org).
God never acts in a vacuum. All His actions have meaning and purpose. When God created the heavens and the earth, He did not create them in futility. God's purpose in creating the heavens and the earth was that they would be inhabited and redound to His glory. When God revealed Himself to His creation, His words were not deposited into a void. When He spoke directly to His people and revealed the truth that He wanted a close relationship with them, His words were not hollow and empty but filled with righteousness. God obviously has never had to ask the question "For what purpose was I born?" Even before time as we know it began, God had eternally established His ultimate purpose and plan for His creation—eternal salvation for those who would be redeemed through His Son, Jesus Christ.
God rhetorically called for an assembly of refugees from all nations to hear a proclamation of His exclusive nature and absolute claims on mankind's loyalty. Anyone who dismisses His claims and trusts in idols is ignorant. God also reminded his hearers that He alone has revealed events before they come to pass. That is compelling evidence of His right to claim exclusive worship. Because of who He is, God has the right to extend His universal invitation of salvation. God is the only legitimate Saviour. His words of eternal invitation are righteous and trustworthy. Ultimately, everyone will acknowledge this truth, bending the knee and declaring that eternal power and strength exist only in God. Everyone will ultimately declare that God was right. Let me ask you the ultimate question: "For what purpose were you born?" If you listen to the world, you will believe that you were born to become the best person you could be by doing the most good that you could do. If you listen to the exclusive God of the universe, you will discover that He created you to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. This can happen only by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. Please do not hesitate to do this!