“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God…” (45:5).

Yesterday, as we considered Him Who Perfectly Performs His Purpose, in the last verse of the chapter we were briefly introduced to Cyrus as God’s shepherd who would perform all His desire in the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.

“It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!
And he will perform all My desire.’
And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid,’” (Isaiah 44:28).

And today, picks up with God speaking directly to Cyrus, naming him as His anointed, as one who was set apart to accomplish His desired will. And nothing could stop Cyrus, for God would lead him and take him by the right hand to subdue the nations before him.

Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right hand,
To subdue nations before him
And to loose the loins of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: (45:1).

Now, here is the most profoundly amazing part of all this. This prophecy by Isaiah was delivered some 150 years before Cyrus, king of Persia, stepped through the open gates of Babylon to overthrow and slay their king.

“Thus saith the Lord to his anointed – This is a direct apostrophe to Cyrus, though it was uttered not less than one hundred and fifty years before Babylon was taken by him,” Barnes’ Notes on the Bible.

God raised up one who did not even know Him, to accomplish His desired will and purpose for His people.

“For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have not known Me.
⁵ “I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
⁶ That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other, (45:4-6).

“Cyrus is called God’s anointed; he was designed and qualified for his great service by the counsel of God. The gates of Babylon which led to the river, were left open the night that Cyrus marched his army into the empty channel. The Lord went before him, giving entrance to the cities he besieged. He gave him also treasures, which had been hidden in secret places. The true God was to Cyrus an unknown God; yet God foreknew him; he called him by his name. The exact fulfilment of this must have shown Cyrus that Jehovah was the only true God, and that it was for the sake of Israel that he was prospered. In all the changes of states and kingdoms, God works out the good of his church,” Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary.

We do not know if Cyrus came to faith, but we do see the heart of God as He acts to make Himself and His purpose known to this pagan king.

“I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
⁴ “For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have not known Me, (45:3-4).

And He would strengthen Cyrus that everyone would understand; that everyone would have the chance to surrender and bow in faith to Him, and No Other.

“…I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
⁶ That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,

Consider Him and No Other

Today, we will hear God Repeat Himself ten times (and oh, we know what that means)! Ten times the Lord lays forth His claim.

He is the Lord; Besides Him there is no God; there is No Other; there is No One; there is None.

• He Is the Lord and Besides Him there is No Other
  • “I am the Lord, and there is no other;
    Besides Me there is no God.
    I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
    ⁶ That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
    That there is no one besides Me.
    I am the Lord, and there is no other,” (45:5-6 emphasis added).

• He Is God and there is No Other
  • Thus says the Lord,
    “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
    And the Sabeans, men of stature,
    Will come over to you and will be yours;
    They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains
    And will bow down to you;
    They will make supplication to you:
    ‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else,
    No other God,’” (45:14 emphasis added).

• He Is the Creator and there is No Other
  • For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),
    “I am the Lord, and there is none else,” (45:18 emphasis added).

• He Is the Righteous God and Savior and there is No Other.
  • “Declare and set forth your case;
    Indeed, let them consult together.
    Who has announced this from of old?
    Who has long since declared it?
    Is it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no other God besides Me,
    A righteous God and a Savior;
    There is none except Me.
    ²² “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
    For I am God, and there is no other,” (45:21-22 emphasis added).

How do we respond to Him and No Other?

If you are a parent or a teacher, you have probably heard your own exasperated voice bellow the question, “How many times do I have to repeat myself?” We typically repeat ourselves for one of two reasons: 1) our children/students aren’t listening; or 2) what we have to say is so important, that if the message is unheard and unheeded it will result in detrimental harm.

And I am sure both reasons applied to the children of Israel; and they both definitely apply to us today.

Let us lean in to hear His heart calling us to come and see our feckless idols as they really are, that we would see Him and No Other Lord, No Other God, No Other Creator and No Other Savior.

“Gather yourselves and come;
Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;
They have no knowledge,
Who carry about their wooden idol
And pray to a god who cannot save, (45:20).

Oh, let us hear and heed His call, that we would discern anything that competes with our allegiance to Him, and acknowledge anything that we treasure above Him as truly detrimental. Oh, that we would commit to serve Him alone as our Master and No Other.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth,” (Matthew 6:24).

Let us repent of anything that would rival our dedication and faithfulness to Him, that we would not be put to shame or humiliated.

They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.
¹⁷ Israel has been saved by the Lord
With an everlasting salvation;
You will not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity, (45:16-17).

And as a side note: if we are troubled by the political unrest in our nation, if we find ourselves fretting over those in leadership, let us remember Cyrus that we would never forget Who is on the throne, for it is God and No Other.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God, (Romans 13:1).

Every governing authority is established by God to accomplish His purpose. So let us honor the authority He has established by praying for our government leaders. And let us not fix our hope on this world’s system, rather let us trust Him for the present and our future as we find our true hope and encouragement in Him and No Other.

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, (1 Timothy 1:1-4).

Let us pray that God would so bless our nation, that not only may it go well with the body of Christ, but that God would save our political leaders and use us in the lives of anyone He brings across our path. Oh, that He would grow us in His desire to share the truth of God our Savior, that we would tell others His Name is Jesus, and there is No Other.

“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
²³ “I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance,” (45:22-23).

so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, (Philippians 2:10-11).

He is our Savior, Jesus, and there is No Other!

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved, (Acts 4:12).

Let’s Grow Together!