Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts I [am] the first, and I [am] the last, and beside me there is no God.
Three titles open this verse: King of Israel, Redeemer, LORD of hosts. Then comes one claim that leaves no room for any rival, and the rest of the chapter presses it home against the idols.
The One making this claim has already acted for this people. Commentators tie the announcement to Israel's rescue:
Restored Israel will serve as a witness to Jehovah, the King of Israel, who has redeemed the nation from the power of the enemy. They will testify that God is the first and the last — the One who is before all, and who will remain when men have passed away.
The title "Redeemer" — Goel — points back to a rescue God has already carried out:
Jehovah redeemed the nation of Israel out of Egypt both by purchase and by power. As their Goel, He brought them out of slavery "with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment." Centuries later, enemies carried the nation into captivity — first Assyria, then Babylon. Again and again Jehovah sent them promises that He would deliver them by redemption, calling Himself "Jehovah, your Redeemer (Goel)"… In these and other prophecies, Jehovah reminds His people on earth that He alone holds the "right of (their) redemption."
The two words are not poetry. They are a statement about existence itself:
"I am the first and the last." This is a divine title through and through. Jehovah claims it three times, and only for Himself, in the prophecy of Isaiah, and Christ claims it three times in the book of Revelation. The title tells us that He exists of Himself, for ever, and so must be supreme over all. As the "FIRST," He is before all and above all, and everything comes from Him. As the "LAST," He is after all, and everything finds its centre in Him. He is the source and sum of all creation.
This declaration sits inside a running contest between the God of Israel and the gods of the nations. One piece of evidence settles it:
We find in this opening section a great deal of the majesty and glory of the God of Israel. Here Israel's God stands in contrast to the idols of the nations. The one great proof put forward is that the God of Israel has the power to foretell future events… Isaiah had already announced the Babylonian captivity, so this proof carries special weight. Again and again Jehovah speaks in these chapters of Himself and His power to forgive, to save and to deliver.
The other half of the proof is the idols themselves.
If Israel were witnesses of the true God, Jehovah, the idols were witnesses too. Their powerlessness testified against the foolish people who worshipped them.
Jesus claims the same title in Revelation. Writers treat that as decisive:
These last two titles come from Isaiah: "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god." No words could state the truth about the Person of our blessed Lord more plainly, or claim His true and proper Deity more clearly. Once their eyes have been opened, the tried and persecuted remnant of the last days will grasp what this means at once. They will learn from it that the Messiah they long to see is Jehovah Elohim, their Lord and their God.
A God this absolute could terrify. Yet see how He gives the title when John meets Him:
John said, "When I saw HIM I fell at His feet as dead." Who was it he saw shining in such supreme judicial majesty? The One who loved us and died for us! Notice what He says to John as He lays His right hand on him: "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." This is Jesus — our Lord, our Saviour. This is HE.
- King — He rules Israel outright. He claims to be the only God as their king, not as one option among many.
- Redeemer — He alone has the right to buy His people back. He used it at Egypt and promised it again in captivity.
- First — Before all and above all. Everything comes from Him, and the title says He exists of Himself.
- Last — After all. Everything comes to rest in Him. Nothing outlives Him and nothing replaces Him.
- Fear not — Jesus takes the same title in Revelation. He gives it with His hand on a man lying at His feet: absolute majesty, spoken by the One who died and lives.
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? And the coming things, and those that shall happen, let them declare unto them.
The words are not a debate between rival claims. They come from the King of Israel and Redeemer who has just said that He is first, last, and alone — and that self-declaration governs everything that follows.
The first eight verses of this chapter breathe out grace in no uncertain terms. God declares His own sovereignty. He is the First and He is the Last. Beside Him there is no "God," or "Rock," as the margin reads. So He will discipline them under His holy government. Yet in the end He will bless them, according to His original purpose.
God's test is simple. Anyone claiming to be a god must announce what has not yet happened.
Who knows the future but God! With us there is a yesterday, a today, and a tomorrow. But with God the most distant future is as vivid and well known as the present. He is the great I AM (Ex. 3:14), "who calls into existence the things that do not exist" (Rom. 4:17). The LORD had a dispute with Israel about the idols they loved so foolishly. In it He challenges the gods of the nations to declare "things to come." That way they would prove themselves to be gods indeed.
Nothing answers God's call to proclaim and declare. The problem with idols runs deeper than not knowing the future.
Who among the idols can declare the end from the beginning? Idols can neither show, nor speak, nor hear.
God points back to the ancient people He set up long ago. That history makes Israel itself a witness.
The LORD will use restored Israel as a witness to Himself. He is the King of Israel, and He has redeemed the nation from the power of the enemy. They will witness that God is the first and the last — the One who is before all and will remain though men pass away. He alone can declare the things to come. If there are those who think otherwise, let them declare to Israel the things to come. But Israel need not fear, for they are God's witness that there is no other God but the LORD.
God does not leave the claim untested. Before the chapter ends He names the man who would build the temple at Jerusalem — long before that man was born.
Isaiah names Cyrus in chapters 44 and 45. His own name stood there two or three hundred years before he was born. Isaiah also names him as the one who was to build the temple at Jerusalem. We cannot say it was so. But we may suggest that he heard of this amazing fact from some of the captives. If he did, was that not how the Lord stirred up his spirit?
The title that opens this challenge turns up again in Revelation, spoken by Christ. Walter Scott reads that repetition as proof of who He is.
"I am the first and the last." This is essentially a divine title. The LORD claims it three times exclusively for Himself in the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 41:4; Isa. 44:6; Isa. 48:12), and Christ claims it in the same way three times in Revelation (Rev. 1:17; Rev. 2:8; Rev. 22:13). Applying this divine title to the Son of Man is absolute proof of His Deity. As the "FIRST," He is before all, and above all, and from Him all proceed. As the "LAST," He is after all, and in Him all things centre.
This knowledge was not kept back from God's people. It gave them something the nations around them did not have.
As Isaiah tells us (Isaiah 41, 42, 44 – 48), it was the privilege of God's people to know both the former things and the new things to come. The nations around them were blind.
- Claim — The speaker is the King of Israel and Redeemer, the First and the Last, with no God and no Rock beside Him.
- Contest — He stakes that claim on one test: let anyone else announce what is still to come.
- Silence — Idols cannot show, speak, or hear, so the challenge goes unanswered.
- Evidence — This chapter names Cyrus centuries before his birth. It also calls Israel, His ancient people, to be His witnesses.
- Consequence — Christ takes this title as His own in Revelation. Those who know Him are not left in the dark about the future.
Fear not, neither be afraid. Have I not caused thee to hear from that time, and have declared it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a +God beside me? yea, there is no Rock I know not any.
Isaiah 44:8 closes a passage where God sets Himself against the idols the nations trusted. He speaks it to the people He calls His witnesses. Two things stand together here: a command not to be afraid, and a question no one can answer — is there any God besides Him?
The verse does not open the chapter. It belongs to a section that starts with God promising blessing to a failing people. He declares His uniqueness to steady them, not to crush them.
The first eight verses of this chapter breathe out that grace in no uncertain terms. They declare the sovereignty of God, for He is the First and He is the Last, and beside Him there is no "God," or "Rock," as the margin reads. So He will chastise in His holy government, yet in the end He will bless according to His original purpose.
Older English Bibles printed "God" in the verse and put "Rock" in a side note.
Other nations had their own rocks — the idols they leaned on. The same word runs through Deuteronomy 32, and Hannah used it in her prayer.
Then she said, "neither is there any rock like our God." I recommend Deuteronomy 32 to you. See how often that chapter calls God a Rock. Then think of the other rocks — the rocks of the nations, their idols, their support. Think of the tremendous contrast between God and them... "Our God," she said. This showed some sense of relationship in her soul. She thought of the stability of God, the permanency of God. Nobody could overthrow God, nothing could overthrow God. He is able in His power to bring about what He desires.
Before He asks His question, God points back to what He had announced long ago. That is the one proof no idol can match.
Here we find a contrast between Israel's God and the idols of the nations. The one great proof put forward is that the God of Israel has the power to predict future events... All this is spoken to encourage the faithful remnant of Israel to trust in Jehovah.
God answers their fear from the same source. The people carry the proof themselves, so they have nothing to dread.
They will witness that God is the first and the last — the One who is before all and will remain though men pass away. He alone can declare the things to come. If there are those who think otherwise, let them declare to Israel the things to come. But Israel need not fear, for they are God's witness that there is no other God but Jehovah.
God gave the nation a truth to hold in trust for a world full of idols. Israel broke that trust.
God chose Israel as a nation to keep the truth that Jehovah is God and the truth of Jehovah's law. Israel was to testify to these great truths among other nations, who worshipped idols. "You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, that I am God" (Isa. 43:10, 12; Isa. 44:8). But they broke this trust, and everyone could see they were false witnesses. They openly worshipped idols, copying the nations around them, and they dishonoured the law. Israel failed as a witness for the truth because of their evil heart of unbelief. At every one of those points their Messiah was perfect... one of His titles which expresses His fitness is that of the Faithful and True Witness (Rev. 1:5; Rev. 3:14).
The role is not cancelled, only postponed.
In the coming day we are speaking of, Israel will witness to the Lord... Over and over again the Holy Spirit repeats this all-important fact in chapters 43 to 46. No fewer than ten times He states it with intensity: There is none else! Israel's God is the only God!... She can therefore witness not only against idols, but to the only God.
Two verses earlier God names Himself the first and the last — the claim this verse's question rests on. That exact title reappears in Revelation, spoken by Christ.
"I am the first and the last." This is essentially a divine title. In the prophecy of Isaiah, Jehovah claims it three times for Himself alone (Isa. 41:4; Isa. 44:6; Isa. 48:12). Christ claims it in the same way three times in this book (Rev. 1:17; Rev. 2:8; Rev. 22:13). The application of this Jehovah title to the Son of Man is absolute proof of His Deity... What cause for fear is there then?... Here is a rock of strength for weary feet and for life's heaviest burdens.
- Grace first. The verse sits among words of mercy. God declares He is the First and the Last. So a failing people can know He will still bless them according to His purpose.
- Rock means unshakeable. The nations leaned on their own "rocks." This word means stability and permanence: nothing can overthrow God.
- Proof before comfort. God removes fear by pointing to what He announced in advance — the one test no idol can pass.
- Trust broken, trust restored. Israel held the truth of one God in trust for an idol-worshipping world, and broke it. Yet Israel will witness again — not only against idols, but to the only God.
- The Rock has a name. In Isaiah, Jehovah alone claims this title. In Revelation, Christ takes it up. So the strength that answers fear is a Person.