The Only God, The First And The Last Series

One of my favourite Bible stories is in 1 Kings 18. That’s the chapter where God has a showdown with Baal, a dramatic contest on the top of Mount Carmel. You remember how Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a competition. ‘Come up the mountain,’ he said. ‘Bring two oxen for sacrifice, wood to burn on the altar, but no fire. And bring your best voice for praying, because you’re going to need it.’ “Then you shall call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God” (18:24).

Challenge accepted—and the competition begins. Hour after hour, the 450 prophets of Baal cry out to their god, trying to get his attention. They yell, they scream, they cut themselves with knives. Elijah begins to mock them and their god, who obviously is not available at the moment: meditating, traveling or having a nap. Though the prophets cry loud and long, there is only silence. I love verse 29: “But there was no voice; no one answered; no one paid attention.”

After that, it is Elijah’s turn. And though the altar and wood are drenched with buckets of water, and though Elijah is just one lonely prophet who offers just one short prayer, the LORD’s answer is definitive. He sends his fire, and it consumes not only the sacrifice, but also the wood and the stones and all the water! The people are stunned. Moved by the glory of God, they make a passionate confession, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” (18:39).

It’s a story with a lot of connections to our chapter. Because Isaiah 44 is all about the distinction between the true God and false gods. Just like in 1 Kings 18, here God reveals his glory, and He also brings his biting sarcasm against idols. And like in the time of Elijah, there’s an urgent reason for Isaiah to bring this message: God’s people were seeking idols. Judah was expecting great things from foreign gods, when all they offered is silence and death.

Instead, let the LORD’s people delight in the true God. That’s how our text begins, with a reminder about who God is: “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts” (v 6). We could explore each of those four titles: the LORD, the King of Israel, Redeemer, LORD of hosts—for each discloses something distinct about God. He is saying to us, ‘Remember who I am. Know how great I am. Be sure that you can always put your trust in me.’ But today we’ll focus on a different title, about which I preach to you on this theme,

The only God says, “I am the First and I am the Last.”

1) the First

2) the Last

3) the Only

1) the First: Before the creation of all things, there was only God. Without any beginning, without any interruption, and for times that cannot be measured—there was only God. Existing as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, bound together in love. Dwelling in beauty and perfection. Needing nothing and being everything: God was.

Then the One who is without any beginning made a new beginning. For God spoke into the darkness, and there was light. With the word of his mouth and the power of his hand, God made the entire universe come into existence out of nothing.

And all created things still depend on him for their existence. Without the God who gave the universe its beginning, everything would collapse on itself in less than a millisecond. But in his faithfulness, God keeps it going—upholds everything that He made.

So God is eternal, He is self-sustaining, sovereign, and infinite in power. These are not abstract truths from a dusty volume of theology. These truths are real and have everything to do with how we live, and how we die. And they have everything to do what ought to be at the centre of our life. For if God is the beginning and the source and the foundation of all things, should we not worship God, and learn to trust him with our whole heart?

And if God is the origin of the universe, where does that leave every other god? What does God’s eternity and strength say about every idol we are cherishing, every obsession that we are restlessly chasing? We should conclude that they’re not everlasting and not capable of anything. All other gods are formed by the hands of sinful men, who in themselves too, have life only from God.

We’re talking about idolatry because of the context of the chapter where God says, “I am the First and I am the Last.” It comes as part of the long charge that He brings against Judah and her platoon of idols: Baal, Ashtoreth, Molech, the Queen of Heaven—the list was lengthy. Here God challenges them to compare the LORD with other gods: “Who can proclaim as I do?” (v 7). Do any of these gods actually communicate with their believers like the LORD does? Like He did on Mount Carmel, God asks for any contender to stand in competition with him: ‘Speak up’ if you’re able, ‘Show me what you can do.’