Below is a sermon I preached to the Students at Happy Hill Farm Academy. It engages the truth of God's uniqueness and demands a response on our part. Enjoy...
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why during special events like D-Now, or others like it, we are suddenly awakened to the things of God? Its like we have been asleep and God wakes us up to the reality of his presence. We are so susceptible to this sort of slumber. We are sinful. Yet, God is gracious; He has chosen his people. He lovingly calls them back to Himself. He lovingly calls you back to His service.
Hollywood has always been fascinated with the courtroom. Can you think of any television shows or movies that focus on criminal trials? What about Perry Mason, L.A. Law, Boston Legal, A Time to Kill, To Kill a Mockingbird, and many others. The thing that is always striking to me is the closing arguments. There is always the scene where the highly articulate lawyer brings together all the pertinent arguments, and you are left unable to imagine how anyone could refute what was just heard. Also, there is the famous scene (like in A Few Good Men) where the lawyer wrenches a confession out of a witness. You are always amazed at the skill of the lawyer.
Our text this morning comes from Isaiah, and it portrays God as a prosecutor in a trial. Can you imagine how utterly irrefutable God would be as a prosecutor. If we are so impressed with human lawyers, how much more impressed would we be if God Himself were arguing a case? God has called His people to be a witness to the world. This morning, through the imagery of a trial proceeding, look to God to awaken you. It is my intention that you, this morning, Cling to the knowledge of the one true God and make him known to the world at large.
Exegetical
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen in order that you will know and will believe¾to understand that I am He. Before me there were no gods created, nor shall there be after Me.11 I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior apart from me.12 It is I who declared, saved and caused myself to be heard, not some strange god among you. So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And so I am God.13 Moreover, from eternity I am He, so that nothing can be snatched away from My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”[1]
The text this morning will be Isaiah 43:8-13. One will notice that the section of Isaiah presented in this passage introduces to the reader a clever and effective format. This section (along with several other Isaiah passages) is often referred to as a Polemic Genre. In other words, Isaiah here uses courtroom or legal imagery when communicating God’s message to the people. Essentially, God’s sovereign and providential rule is being defended. The Israelites have been torn from their country; they have been exiled. Yet, God is in control of history. He is the only way of Salvation. [2]
In this courtroom God is the judge and prosecutor. The people of Israel are the witnesses, and the pagan nations are the accused.[3] God is reaffirming himself to his people and calling them to be a witness to the accused nations. Israel is summoned as a witness that they may truly know their God. They are called (at least in part) for their own benefit. This legal motif provides the reader with a sober and urgent mandate: Know God and make him known.
Verse 10a
The text here being analyzed begins in verse 10 immediately proceeding verses 8 and 9 where Isaiah describes God as gathering the interested parties for the trial proceedings. God declares here in 10 that the exiles are his witnesses and servants, and that they have been selected or chosen by God. The word “chosen” (rxb) is in the perfective state. God has chosen his people. The results of this choosing continue into the present. God has not forgotten his servants. Even now, the exiles (Isaiah proclaims) are to be witnesses for God Almighty.
If God has chosen the Israelites, then for what reason has he chosen them? The text is quite clear (![;m;l). It is for the purpose that they know, believe, and understand ([dy, !ma, !yb) who God is. It is for their enlightenment.[4] God chose the Israelites to be his witnesses. They must surely possess and cling to the knowledge of the one true God. God does not simply hope they will come to this knowledge; rather, God anticipates these cognitive and heartfelt outcomes. God has chosen these people to be his witnesses and his anticipated outcome will surely come to pass.
The people are to know and understand (ultimately speaking) of God’s exclusivity. The Israelites are not being confronted by some pagan god. Instead, they are to believe that this is the one true God. “I am He. . .” (aWhê ynIåa]-yK), the text proudly proclaims.
Verse 10b
Beginning in verse 10b the reader begins to understand the details or particulars of God’s revelation of himself to his people. God is unique. There are no other gods but the one true God. The theme of mono-theism is present beginning in verse 10b. God declares that before him (hn<P') no gods were created. It is appropriate then to view this clause temporally and with a touch of irony.[5] None of these pagan gods were created before Yahweh, and none of them will be created after. So one might ask, “What kind of god is created by human hands?” The obvious response is that this would be no god at all. This verse then should be viewed as a direct rebuke to idol worship.
Verse 11
God’s uniqueness is further developed and certain implications are made beginning in verse 11. If Yahweh is the only true God, then mankind has only one hope of salvation. Leading into this notion, however, the verse begins with another proclamation of God’s exclusiveness. The language here is emphatic (ykiÞnOa' ykiînOa'), as such repetition indicates.[6] But, towards what is the inspired prophet’s emphasis being directed? Certainly, God’s uniqueness or exclusiveness is being reaffirmed.[7] This message of divine distinctness is thoroughly consistent within the broader passage (Isa 43:10b, 11, 12, 13).
If Yahweh is the only true God, then one must necessarily (logic would demand) look only to him as the exclusive legitimate source for salvation. God makes this message known when Isaiah, inspired of God, utters: “there is no savior apart from me.” Mankind looks to God as the savior of souls. The English rendering “savior” appropriately conveys this. The prophet in Isaiah 17:10 uses a similar form of the word in a more explicit statement describing God as the God of salvation (%[eêv.yI yheäl{a/). It can certainly be said that the recipients of Isaiah’s prophecy needed help; they needed the help of a savior, one that could save their souls. God is not simply expounding a doctrine of mono-theism; rather, he is showing himself to be the one true deliverer and savior of mankind.[8]
Verse 12
God sets himself apart again by proclaiming that he is the one who has revealed himself to his people, not a strange pagan god. It does seem that revelation is the intended theme here. Notice the series of three verbs: declared, saved, and proclaimed or caused to be heard. God caused his declaration, salvation, and his very self to be heard. God, the one true God, caused these things that he might be known by his people. Israel must remember this and testify to such among the nations.
God confronts the exiles with the truth of his self disclosing actions. And furthermore, God distinguishes himself by declaring that it was he who had revealed himself, not a strange or pagan god. God is the unique omnipotent sovereign creator of the universe. He is the one who has revealed himself to mankind. These things set God apart as holy from the crude gods of Babylon.
The next clause begins with a disjunction (~T,îa;w).[9] There is a shift from a focus on God to a focus on Israel: “So you are my witnesses.” God has spoken and revealed himself to Israel. As a result, Israel must embrace this knowledge and its role as the witness of almighty God. And so, consequently, Yahweh is reaffirmed as the one true God (lae(-ynIa]w:)).[10]
Verse 13
Verse 13 is a wonderful summary of the self revelation God has made known to his people in this passage. God is not created; he is eternal. Therefore, he is the true God. He is the omnipotent sovereign ruler of the universe. No one can thwart his will. Yahweh is the one true God. This theme of eternality is pervasive throughout this reading. Calvin argues that, “he who has a beginning and is not from himself, cannot rule by his dominion or govern by his pleasure, what he has not created.”[11] This distinction between Yahweh and the human made gods provides an unmistakable punctuation to the end of this passage.
God illustrates his ultimate power in 13b with the use of two clauses. First, Isaiah presents the proposition that nothing can be taken from God’s hand. There is no one (and certainly not a man made idol) that can successfully oppose almighty God. Who can cause anything to be snatched away from God? The obvious answer is no one. Finally, a rhetorical question further communicates God’s omnipotence: “When I act, who can reverse it?” So the question could be rephrased in the following way: Who can cause God’s actions to be reversed or resisted? Clearly, no one can cause God’s intentions to be thwarted. Yahweh is the only one true omnipotent eternal God, the only God who can save. Since Yahweh is God, Israel must take serious their role as his witness.
Theological
The theological or universal message from our text today is the doctrine of mono-theism. The scriptures (and more specifically this passage) teach that Yahweh is the only true God. He is not one among many, nor is he the best among many; he is the one and only. Isaiah does much more than claim henotheism.
Henotheism is the belief in one supreme deity, but not necessarily a sole deity.[12] Verse 10b in Isaiah 43 proclaims that no gods were created before him nor shall any be made after him. The obvious implication here is that all other pagan gods are created by the hands of humankind. They were created by non-eternal mortal creatures. Unlike Yahweh, then, these creations are no gods at all. It is true that the theme of incomparability is present within scripture (Exod 8:10)--the henotheist might like to suggest. However, it is this message of incomparability along with the theme of sole deity or mono-theism that provides the proper and complete theological understanding of scripture. In fact, Isaiah 46:9 combines both themes explicitly within the same passage.[13]
Homiletical
Essentially, the homiletical idea of this text is: Cling to the knowledge of the one true God and make him known to the world at large. This application is broad. The study of a scriptural text must also produce specific applications. One such application is to renew oneself to a life of worship. Notice the following comments regarding Christian worship:
Worship is an active response to God whereby we declare His worth. Worship is not passive, but is participatory. Worship is not simply a mood; it is a response. Worship is not just a feeling; it is a declaration.[14]
When we are confronted with the revelation of who God is, we must surely worship him. We do not serve a pagan god created by the hands of man. Rather, we serve the one eternal omnipotent God of this universe. As a result, we must actively respond to God in worship. This of course can be done in a church setting. However, the implications are much more far reaching. Worship should encompass and characterize one’s life.
Finally, the revelation of God’s greatness should define one’s mission in life. God declared in Isaiah 43:12 that his people were his witnesses. Certainly as Christians this mandate must be acknowledged and embraced. One must, then, be on mission for the glory of God throughout the world. It is true that a life committed to foreign missions is one important way to take seriously God’s call to be his witness. This call, however, also demands that God’s people understand their life to be missional, even in non-vocational ministry settings.
Therefore, the student must not consider his or her ultimate purpose to be commitment to good marks. Instead, the student must allow his or her life in school to be a beacon for the truth of God, and in this find true purpose. Likewise, Christians in the workplace must not be consumed with personal gain. Rather, Christians must seek to glorify God and make him known in the workplace.
In our text this morning God put the lost world on trial and called his people to be His witness. If you do not have a relationship with God, then listen to the witness of His people. God is the one true God. There is none else who can save. Cling to Him through Christ. And to those of you who are God’s people—his witnesses—Cling to the knowledge of the one true God and make him known to the world at large.
[1]Author’s translation.
[2]Eugene H. Merrill, "Literary Genres in Isaiah 40-55," Bibliotheca Sacra 144 (1987): 148.
[3]Cathrine Gunsalus Gonzalez, "Isaiah 43:8-15," Interpretaion 48 (1994): 169.
[4]John Goldingay and David Payne, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 40-55 (New York: T and T Clark, 2006), 286.
[5]John Calvin, Calvin's Commentaries, vol. 8, Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah, trans. William Pringle (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 332; Goldingay and Payne, Isaiah 40-55, 287.
[6]E. Henderson, The Book of The Prophet Isaiah (London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co, 1857), 343.
[7]Goldingay and Payne, Isaiah 40-55, 287.
[8]Calvin, Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah, 333; Goldingay and Payne, Isaiah 40-55, 287.
[9] Waltke, and O'Connor, Biblical Hebrew Syntax, ¶ 39.2.3c
[10]Goldingay and Payne, Isaiah 40-55, 288-89.
[11]Calvin, Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah, 335.
[12]James Leo Garrett, Systematic Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Company, 1995), 1:266.
[13]Ibid., 1:266-67.
[14]Ronald Allen, and Gordon Borror, Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers), 16.
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