The Uniqueness of God
The prophet Isaiah is a wonderful tutor from whom to learn the uniqueness of God. In Isaiah 45, God speaking through the prophet identifies the one whom He has chosen to allow the Israelites to return to their homeland from exile in Babylon. Cyrus king of Persia is named. This is particularly astounding, as Isaiah lived and wrote in the 8th century BC, and Cyrus did not come on the scene until the 6th century BC (or BCE, if you are squeamish about that sort of thing). The point of the prophecy is a vindication of the God of Israel, that He is God and there is no other.
“Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. “Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:21-22, NASB)
The declaration of the uniqueness of God permeates this section of Isaiah. God through Isaiah affirms over and over that He alone is God, there is no other, He is one of a kind.
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these. (Isaiah 45:5-7, NASB)
This is where things get a little sticky to our modern ears. The God of Isaiah claims not merely to be the true God of Israel, but He claims to be the only true God of any peoples. Chapter 46 opens with a cross-cultural slap in the face. The gods of Babylon are mocked by name (Bel and Nebo). And just in case we missed it, He gets quite explicit about His point:
“To whom would you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike? Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh silver on the scale hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; they bow down, indeed they worship it. They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; they set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; it cannot deliver him from his distress. Remember this, and be assured; recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;" (Isaiah 46:5-10, NASB)
In this text, God challenges the reader to identify a God like Him. He recounts the actions of those who make a lifeless idol, incapable of movement, unable to deliver, and contrasts Himself as the Living God Who does live and move and accomplish His purposes.
The sticky part is that he leaves no room for other gods. This is most impolitic. Attempting to make the case that, "yes, He is Israel's God, but other nations have their legitimate Gods" simply won't work, for in this text the gods of other nations are exposed as false, and no gods at all. Similar to Paul's approach in Athens in Acts 17, all other gods are exploded as myths. They are exposed as shams because they are shown to be non-living and non-existent. By contrast, the God of Israel is the Living God who vindicates His existence and reality by "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done..." Predictive prophecy vindicates Him as the God Who is, and Who accomplishes His purposes. And He asks the reader, in effect, 'Can your god do this?'
The first aspect of God's uniqueness, then, is that He actually exists as the Living God, in contrast to all other gods. He is the God Who intrudes into human history, directing it as He will for His own purposes. God's most striking intrusion into human history was accomplished by Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, Who became the Sin-Bearer for those who trust in Him. But that is another story for another time.
