Isaiah 45:11

The Bible says in Isaiah 45:11-15, “Thus saith 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 command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” In Isaiah 45:11 God gives Himself two titles: “the Holy One of Israel,” and the “Maker” of Israel. The fact that God is holy reminds us that we are not holy, and therefore, we are very dependent upon God’s mercy and forgiveness towards us through Christ. The fact that God is our Maker reminds us that God will take care of us, because that which He has made He will also preserve and provide for.

The Lord said to the children of Israel in Isaiah 45:11, “Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” Because God is taking care of His children, He has a future planned for them. That is why He told the children of Israel to ask Him about “things to come.” God has told all of us about “things to come” in the Bible. For example, the books of Daniel and Revelation are well-known for what is revealed about the future. Jesus taught us about the future in Matthew chapter 24. Of course, the Lord wants His children to be happy and secure in regards to the future. And that is why He tells us many of the details about the future so that we will remember that the future is in His hands. There is a special blessing for those who understand what God has revealed about the future. The Bible says in Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

Concerning the children of Israel and their future, God wanted to make it clear to them that they would not remain in captivity. God had a plan to deliver them from their captivity and to allow them to return to the promised land. God said in Isaiah 45:13, “I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.” The “him” that God mentioned was Cyrus, King of Persia and King of Babylon. Every king and every ruler in this earth God has raised up. Every person on this earth God has raised up and given to them their abilities and opportunities. One of the purposes that God had for Cyrus was that he would allow the children of Israel to return to the city of Jerusalem and to the land of Judah. Normally, when ancient people were taken captive, the only way to gain their freedom would be to pay a ransom. But in order to show that this was the work of God, the Lord said that Cyrus would let the children of Israel go free “not for price nor reward.” When God wants something to be done, it will be done, whether the conventions of mankind deem it likely or not.

God is in control. Jesus is everywhere doing all things at all times. Nothing happens without His involvement and His say-so and His permission. He is God, and there is none else. This being the case, it is amazing that it says in Isaiah 45:15, “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” Even though God is everywhere doing all things, we cannot see Him. He is a God who hides Himself, but He does have means by which He has revealed Himself also. He has revealed Himself through His creation. It says in Psalms 19:1-3, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” God has revealed Himself through His written Word. The Bible reveals God’s words, God’s character, and God’s existence. It says in Second Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” And of course, God reveals Himself through the person of Jesus Christ. The New Testament says in Second Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” God’s person and God’s existence are revealed in a spiritual manner to those who have spiritual eyes: to those who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Isaiah 45:16-19, “They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.” Thankfully, God has control of the long-term as well as the short-term. He sees the big-picture as well as the here-and-the-now. And so He comforts His believers with this truth. Those who do not trust in Him have a very sad future. They have a future of reaping the consequences of bad decisions. All human beings need wisdom and instruction from someone who is wiser than themselves: that someone is Jesus Christ. For those who go someplace else for the answers to life, the result will be “confusion.” It is sad that more people do not follow the advice of James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.”

In Isaiah 45:15 we were told that God hides Himself. It says, “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” But God does not stay hidden. The same verse calls Him “the Savior.” Of course, Jesus is the Savior. Jesus is God, the Savior. Being the Savior of mankind, He reveals Himself to people in order to save them. It says about Jesus in John 1:9, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” That is why God says in Isaiah 45:19, “I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth.” In other words, God has spoken loud and clear. He has revealed Himself. Everyone can know Him, if only they will. That is why all will be without excuse at the judgment. Everyone will have been given their own opportunity to know the great and mighty God of the whole earth: the Creator and the Redeemer. The Bible says in Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen , being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

Three of the important truths that we have been told about God in Isaiah chapter 45 are as follows: 1. God is in control of all people and all actions on this earth. 2. God hideth Himself. 3. Even though He hideth Himself, He can be known and His truth can be known. In the verses that remain in Isaiah chapter 45, we are told at least two more important truths. We are told that God is not a destroyer, but a Savior, and all people of the earth are invited to come to Him. We are also told that a future judgment is coming, implying that a wise person will get rightly related to the Savior now while there is time. It says in Isaiah 45:20-25, “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take council together: who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And there is no god else beside me; a just god and a Savior; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, one shall say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.”

In this passage we are told very clearly that God is the Savior, and there is no other Savior. In other words there is no other way to be saved than by coming to the Savior. That is exactly what is being said in Isaiah 45:21, “And there is no god else beside me; a just god and a Savior; there is none beside me.” The New Testament gives the same message to the human race. It says about Jesus in Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” The idea that there is more than one way to be saved just is not true, and the reason that it is not true is given in Isaiah chapter 45. There is only one God, and there is only One Savior. By the way, Isaiah chapter 45 says that the Savior is God. Jesus is the Savior, and therefore, Jesus is God. This truth is stated many ways and many times in the Bible.

The Lord says something interesting about Himself in Isaiah 45:21. He calls Himself “a just God and a Savior.” A similar statement is made about Jesus in First John 1:9. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To be “just” means to give people what they deserve. A just judge will hand out a just judgment. If someone is innocent, they are allowed to go free. If someone is guilty, they are given the proper punishment. The problem is that every human being is guilty of sin, and God is a just judge. How can He let us go free? That is, how can He forgive us? The answer to that is found in Jesus Christ and the suffering that He did on the cross of Calvary. Since Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world, God can now be just and can forgive us our sins. Someone else was punished in our place so that we would not have to be punished.

How does a person become saved? How does a person obtain the benefits of what Jesus Christ did on the cross? Isaiah 45 gives the answer. It says, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” One verb is given to describe what needs to be done by a person to be saved, “Look.” Of course, this is not speaking of our physical eyesight, but our spiritual eyesight. In the inner man a person can “look” to Jesus Christ. This implies trusting Christ, believing on Christ, and seeking Christ. Turn your eyes away from yourself and away from the world, and turn them to Jesus Christ. If you do that, you will find salvation. If you do not “look” to Christ, then you will not be saved; and you will come to the judgment in a terrible spiritual condition: a lost condition. The judgment is coming. It says in Isaiah 45:23, “unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” The New Testament refers to this verse in Isaiah and says in Philippians 2:10-11, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

___________________________________________________