April 9, 2006 Isaiah 45:22-25
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ’In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’" All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.
God begins verse 22 with an evangelical exhortation - "turn to me." The literal word in the Hebrew says to "face me." When your dad says, "look at me when I’m talking to you!", you know he is serious. It’s a personal and intense command. But here God is telling His Israelites to face HIM. This is a tall task. When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah and his wife to announce to them the birth of Samson, listen to what happened in Judges 13:19-22
Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"
Manoah recognized that because he faced God he should have been doomed die, because of his sinfulness. We must recognize then that in asking the Israelites to "face Him," God was asking the Israelites to perform the impossible. What is even stranger is that the Holy God promised them that through turning to Him they would be saved, and not put to death. How could this be? How did Manoah survive as well?
We see how this becomes possible - especially on Palm Sunday. Instead of calling on us to go up Mt. Sinai to view God in His glory, God comes riding into town in the form of a MAN. What is even more amazing is that He comes riding on a DONKEY. Who ever heard of a God who can ride on a donkey - or a God who WOULD ride on a donkey? What a strange God this is! This shows us an important truth on this Palm Sunday. Isaiah said, "I am God, and there is no other." This shows us that -
God is Definitely a One of A Kind
I. Because of His mouth
Isaiah says the first thing that sets God apart from all other gods is the way He uses His mouth. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. The thing that sets God’s words above all words is that whatever He says sticks. It can’t be revoked. This immediately brought to mind the story of Esther. In this book, King Xerxes - a rather eccentric king - gave one of his top deputies - a man by the name of Haman - the green light to go ahead and basically eradicate the Jews from within their country. It wasn’t until after Xerxes made the decree that he realized that his beautiful wife - Esther - was a Jew. However, since he had already declared the law - according to the rule of the Medes and Persians - it couldn’t be revoked. It seemed that they felt that by revoking a former command it would make the king look indecisive and less than divine. God’s Word also cannot be revoked.
I remember when I was in high school and I heard a sermon that really hit me because of this very concept. The preacher really brought it home that we were ALL sinners - and because of this - God’s Word declared that we all deserve God’s punishment. I remember thinking to myself, "if God declares that I deserve hell, then there’s nothing I can do to change that. He doesn’t lie. He’s not lying to me. This is what God’s Word says - and there’s nothing I can do to change that!" Oh, that’s a terrifying thought. If God declares that He is going to condemn you, then He will condemn you. There’s no where you can run, nothing you can do to undo God’s declaration.
Yet God’s Word gives us examples of God rescinding the very condemnations He definitely declared. Think of what God declared in no uncertain terms to Moses at the foot of Mt. Sinai in Exodus 32. "I have seen these people, and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." It seemed that they were declared dead. However, after Moses pleaded for the people, God didn’t do as He said He was going to do.
The word that God says He doesn’t rescind is a different kind of word - it is the oath of God - where He swears by Himself to do something else. In context, Isaiah declares what this oath is. "Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ’In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’" God was swearing that every knee would bow before Him and acknowledge His righteousness. This is a clear reference to what will happen with Jesus on Judgment Day. Paul wrote in Philippians chapter two,
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
There will be a Judgment Day where people have to stand before Jesus.
This also then gives us further clarification as to what the word is that cannot be revoked.
John 1 says,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (1, 14)
The promise of the Word - the Gospel of Christ - is the Word that cannot and will not be revoked. God’s Word is much higher than the word of a psychic who "thinks he sees something" or a father who promises he’ll play with his child - but then never shows up. The world will stand before Jesus for judgment.
No matter what was said or what was done by the Israelites could take that promise away. They had done some terrible things - worshiping other gods - sacrificing their own children in the fires of Molech - performing rapes and murders on a regular basis - but nothing could stop God from being God and keeping His Word. When Jesus came trotting into Jerusalem - and people starting bowing to him and praising him - this was a precursor of things to come. It was a mini fulfilment of what God promised. It proves to us that God’s Words are spoken in integrity - with faithfulness - they won’t be revoked - they can’t be revoked - unless God ceases to be God.
II. Because of His righteousness and strength
When you see God riding on a donkey on this Palm Sunday - it may seem as if God were no longer God - as if God DID change. This isn’t the same God we remember creating the world or putting 185,000 Assyrians to death. It doesn’t appear to be the awesome God that appeared on top of Mt. Sinai. This is a humble God - an approachable God. It doesn’t seem right - that a Holy and Almighty and Everlasting God could come riding into town on a donkey. How could people bow before this King and say, "here is righteousness and strength" - when they look at this King?
The thing that truly makes God a unique God is that His righteousness and strength are found by seeing Him ride on the donkey. How many idols do you know that could ride on a donkey? Wouldn’t they need to be put on a cart? (Isaiah 46:1-2) Of course all of us recognize that any man could ride a donkey. So what makes this so special and strong? The strength is in the fact that God in His power didn’t use His power - and limited to the size of man who could ride on a donkey. The strength of God is found in that He rode into Jerusalem - not to be coronated as a King, but to be crucified as the King. The strength of God is found in His willingness to keep His Word - that He would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, just as he predicted in Zechariah chapter 9.
But we still have a problem, don’t we? Why? Because we know that when Jesus comes again - it won’t be on a donkey. It will be in the clouds. It won’t be in humility. It will be in holiness. No matter how nice and approachable this picture of Jesus is - we still haven’t completely dealt with the original problem of facing God’s holiness. How can we face him? This "trouble" that we have with God’s law doesn’t go away - even though we see God change his plan of actions with the Israelites from time to time. The reason why is that the law is continually repeated to us every time we read the scriptures. Every time we read Matthew 5, we hear Jesus telling us that hatred is as good as murderer, and that NO MURDERER has eternal life in him. We read words like that - and they scream to us, "you have hated, therefore in God’s eyes you are a murderer - and you have no eternal life." Our consciences keep on telling us that we deserve to be punished, because God doesn’t lie. God isn’t like a spineless parent who continually says to his child, "I’ll spank! I’ll really spank this time! I’m really going to do it!", while the child goes off and keeps on because he knows the parent is just issuing idle threats. God’s threats are real. As much as we tell ourselves they aren’t, we know in our heart they are. These laws and threats can’t just be revoked. They have to be dealt with.
If you go back to the story of Esther, remember that Xerxes had given a command that could not be revoked. How did he deal with his problem? He told Mordecai that he and the Jews could defend themselves and make a preemptive strike against those who were going to strike them. So the Jews went out and killed all those who were going to kill them. Instead of taking back his condemnation, he made a new law that would in effect make the first law ineffective. Apply this to God’s threat of hell. God’s wrath couldn’t just be withdrawn. He told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate from the tree - and that condemnation had to stick. So God had another "law" put in place - the "law" of the Gospel. Let’s call it a "principle" instead. According to this principle, God would send Jesus to take the place of the sinner - to die in the place of the sinful world - and take their hell on the cross. This is why we bow before Jesus this morning. We see that when Jesus was riding into Jerusalem - He was voluntarily riding into hell - to face God’s wrath. This was the only way that God’s righteousness could be paid for. This is why we say this God riding on a donkey is righteousness and strength. He was dealing with the ongoing threat of the Law which continues to this day with an even more powerful Word - the Gospel of Christ.
III. Because He is the only place to go for salvation
As we look at this unique God come trotting into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday - in the permanence of His words and in the way He protrudes righteousness and strength - there’s one other thing that makes Him unique. You can see it in who these verses talk about. "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ’In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’" Notice throughout these words that He is not just inviting the inhabitants of Jerusalem to turn to Him - or even just the Jews. He is inviting ALL YOU ENDS of the earth. Notice also that Isaiah says that in the LORD ALONE are righteousness and strength.
Here we see how necessary this King really is. If righteousness and strength are only found in the LORD - in this God on the donkey - that means that we cannot find righteousness in any other place. You can’t find it in your mouth. You can’t find it in your works. You can’t find it in Africa, America, Antarctica or Asia. You can only find it in Christ. God’s demands for holiness demand that the only place that righteousness can be found is within pure righteousness. Pure righteousness is only found in Christ - through faith in Him. It’s only in the face of Jesus that we can look God in the face and be saved. This is God’s oath - His promise. His word cannot be revoked.
There are two ways people respond to this unique God on the donkey. Many say, "I don’t want to submit to this God. I don’t want to live by His rules! I’d rather do my own thing! I can’t believe in a God who would send someone to hell who never heard of Him! I’d rather believe in a god who allows Gandhi and everyone in heaven - at least all the good people." They rage and foam against this uniqueness of God. Yet as this God invites others to turn to him and be SAVED, they find in the face of Jesus a God who is approachable - a God who is kind and forgiving - and a God who is righteous and strong. They recognize that the way to heaven is only in Jesus - but instead of being angry at God for this uniqueness -they cling to the God on the donkey. They are - in God’s eyes - true Israelites - who follow in the faith of Abraham.
What will happen to these two groups of people? This is clear from the last verse. All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult. Those who raged against Jesus the first time put HIM to shame on a cross. Those who followed Him were also eventually put to death as well. But the next time Jesus comes - it will be different. Anyone left raging against our unique God - will be put to shame. They will cry out to the rocks, "fall on us! Hide us from Jesus!" But there will be nowhere to hide. But for those who believe in Jesus - they will be looked at as holy - and they will rejoice - even more so than the believers did on Palm Sunday.
"Look at this! You’ve just got to see this!" When the hailstorm came last week, many of us were drawn to the windows to look at the wonder of God’s ice as it came crashing to the earth. It was something to see. God also says, "face me." That’s a terrifying thought! Yet the Holy Spirit calls to us today - "you’ve got to see this - here comes God on a donkey!" When we see Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey - coming in to die - to SAVE us - it makes the sight much more lovely. This Holy Week, take a good look at Jesus dying. Take a good look at Him rising from the dead. Remember - this was for you - and be saved. Amen.
