“Jehovah's Oath”
Isaiah 45:18-25
January 30, 2005
by C.W. Powell
Isaiah 45:18-25
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18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel 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 Saviour; there is none beside me.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
23 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.
24 Surely, shall one 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.
25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
I. We first of all see the great majesty of the Person who speaks to us in this passage.
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A. This is our Creator, the one that we are called to worship. How are we to worship Him?
1. Sanctify Him in your hearts. Isaiah 8:13- "Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." Jehovah is not like we are.
2. Sanctify means to set apart—There is none like Him. The true worshipper of God has a holy place in his heart for God alone—God who is not to be contaminated by worldly conceptions and ideas. The thoughts that we have of Him are holy thoughts of fear. There is an awful majesty about God: See Isaiah 6: 1-5- "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
3. True worship in the heart.
a) This does not mean that you just do as you want, and no one can condemn you for it. “I worship in my heart, “ has become a apologetic for every kind of irreverent and godless practice, from music to shrines to worship stations with images and religious objects.
b) It does mean that there is to be a holy altar in your heart, where the sacrifices of God are offered in fear and trembling: Isaiah 66:3,4- "He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."
c) The ideas of God that you have in your heart are at issue: The external requirements of sanctification and holiness that God required under the law, are illustrations of what the reality of our thoughts of God are to be.
d) The God who speaks here is the only one there is: the Living God who created heaven and earth, and calls men to repentance and faith in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the God you are to pray to and to serve in your inner heart, and if you do not, then you are an idolater and the wrath of God is upon you.
II. This great God has not spoken in secret. His words are known throughout the whole world.
A. The temple in Jerusalem was famous throughout the world. Plato was said to be Moses speaking in Greek.
B. The Holy Scriptures are the most translated, the most discussed, preached, written against than any other writing ever. Nothing else is close. Everyone has to deal with the Scriptures.
C. God’s promises are good and His commandments are known. He has spoken the things that are right.
D. There is no other religion that has a book like the Bible. Tawdry and cheap imitations and fantasies are the holy books of the pagans. Ignorance of the Koran will not make you a fool; ignorance of the Bible will.
III. The truth is this: There is only one savior: the true and the living God.-
A. He is the savior of the whole world, and there is no salvation outside of Him. It is to Him that the whole world must look, if it is to be saved.
B. People become like their gods: if they worship blind and foolish and dead gods, they will become blind and foolish and dead gods—or rather, only blind and foolish and dead people will worship blind and foolish and dead gods. Ps. 115:8 says that people are like the gods they worship. Murderous gods have murderous followers. Power mad gods have power mad followers. Be very careful that the image of God that you carry in your heart is that of the Lord Jesus Christ, for if you do not see God through Jesus Christ, you worship an idol and the more powerful your devotion to your false God, the more foolish and dangerous you become to yourself, your family, your world.
IV. The great God, the holy One, the Creator off all things, has sworn a mighty oath. This One who cannot lie, who cannot deny Himself, who always speaks the things that are right, has revealed to us His purpose for mankind, and confirmed what He said by an oath—not that He needed to take an oath, for He never lies nor deceives. What He says, swearing by Himself, for He can swear by no greater, is the future for the world, and the future for you. You can either accept it with joy or gladness, or you can endure it to your sorrow and suffering forever: but you cannot escape Jehovah’s oath: 23 I have sworn by my-self, 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.
A. The image is very clear: every man will be brought into subjection to God, but there is more than that.
B. Philippians 2 assigns this oath to Jesus Christ. Paul quotes it this way: 9 "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 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."
C. But Paul places all things: in heaven, earth, under the earth—to the authority and rule of Jesus Christ.
D. This means that your salvation is in the hands of Jesus Christ alone. If you are ever saved from sin and death and hell it will be because of Jesus Christ, for all salvation is in His hands.
E. Every religious leader that tells you that you can find salvation anywhere else but in submssion to Jesus Christ is telling you a lie and will endure the wrath of God, no matter how much he is praised by people as blind and dead and foolish as he is.
Application-
1. We must look to Christ alone for salvation and hope. Do not hope in vain, by clinging to men’s lies.
2. If this is important enough for God to take an oath to seal His words in our hearts, how can we escape if we ignore it.
3. This is the reason I called you to sanctify Him in your hearts. Take it seriously—don’t count as frivolous that which God has sworn by an oath.
4. Look unto me: Look to Jesus Christ. He is appointed the mediator and savior, and there is none else.
5. How do you look to Him: from that holy place in your heart, where you have sanctified the Lord God—from that altar to lift up prayers and petitions, and from there you trust and cast all your care upon Him. Look! Look! Look!
6. Value His church; value His doctrine; value His people; value His ministers.