What a God we have! These few short verses in Isaiah 44 are packed with so much about God. He is the King of Israel. He rules over His people. But He is no tyrant. He is also our Kinsman-Redeemer. This is an interesting word. The Goel was a close relative whose responsibility it was to buy a relative out of slavery, or to buy back their land, to care for their needs, and be the one to restore them, to redeem them. God calls Himself by this name. He is One who is so lovingly close to us that He describes Himself as family. He will lovingly, as a close family member, redeem us, buy us out of slavery. Of course this is exactly what God has done as Jesus died to buy us out of slavery to sin. His death was the cost to free us.

     God also describes Himself as Lord of hosts. Sometimes translated Lord of armies. God is the God who has at His command, at His beck and call, thousands upon thousands of heavenlies, ranks of angels. He has all power, even without all those hosts, to accomplish whatever He desires. He is the all-powerful God. Lord of hosts: If we had any concept of His awesome power, we would be overwhelmed. It’s so good to know that God is on our side, or better put, that God has brought us to be on His side.

     God is the original. He was there at creation. There was no other god there. God is the first, the foremost, the beginning. He made all things that exist in heaven and on earth and under the earth. God is number one. But there’s more. Not only is God the first, but He is forever. So you could say He is the first, and He is the last. There’s never been a time without our great God. There never will be.

     God is King, He’s our Kinsman/Redeemer, He’s the Lord of hosts, He’s the first and He’s forever.  There is no one like God. There is nothing like God. God is without peer. He is without equal. As God says, “Apart from Me, there is no God.” Can you imagine a lookalike contest for God? I’ve seen an Abraham Lincoln lookalike in Springfield. This guy walks around dressed like honest Abe, and if I didn’t know he’d been dead for 140 years, I’d think for sure I’d seen the genuine article. But who is anything at all like God? Who could hold a candle to how long God has been around? No one but God was there in the beginning. No one has more bulging biceps than our God. He is the all powerful. No one could compete with Him in knowledge or in wisdom. No one could describe the future as the one true God. There is absolutely no one at all like our God.

     Why does God make such a big deal about this? Why does He go into such detail explaining to us how He is unique and there are none other like Him? Why does He go into such detail to describe Himself as the one and only God? Because people were worshiping false gods. How foolish. God points that out in the rest of Isaiah 44. He talks about how a person cuts down a tree. With half of the tree he warms his house and heats his food. With the rest of it he makes an idol, and he bows down to it and worships it, though the idol can’t walk, can’t talk, can’t do anything. It is so ridiculous. It didn’t seem ridiculous to people who made the idols. But when God explains it to them, they can see how foolish it is.

     You know the things we worship are just as ridiculous. Who or what do you trust? Our money says, “In God we trust.” But it’s more often the money than the motto we trust. People fret about having enough money for retirement, or enough money to pay the bills. There is concern about the cost of gasoline and what might happen to the stock market. Where do you put your trust? Some put their trust in their health. As long as they can take care of themselves, they’ll be all right. Don’t we know that it’s God who takes care of us? But you can’t see God. But you can see when you’re wasting away and have become just skin and bones. Whom do you trust? If we trust our strength or our money or anything other than God, we will surely be disappointed.

     Trust God. He’s the One who made you in the first place. He will always be with you. He is forever. He has the power to defend you. That’s good because we’re reminded of the enemy, of Satan, in Jesus’ parable today. And more than that, we’re reminded that the sons of the enemy are so close to us that they are right in our midst. How can we stand up to them? Trust in God. He’s the Lord of armies, the Lord of hosts, the Lord Almighty. He will protect you. On the last day the righteous will shine like the sun, and the evil ones will burn with unquenchable fire. So don’t be afraid. God can take care of you. God is taking care of you. God will always take care of you.

     It’s beautiful. The Almighty God of armies, who fights vigorously against the enemy, against Satan and all his sons, is also so gentle and caring for you, that He calls Himself your Kinsman/Redeemer, your Family/Savior. He who is feared by His enemies tells us not to be afraid.

     The next time you have a problem, who will you trust? Trust God. Turn to Him. He will forgive your sins. He will care for you. Don’t know how to turn to God? Don’t know what to say? That’s one I understand very well. Sometimes even someone who knows how to pray, doesn’t know what to pray, what to say.

     Listen to this! Our gentle, caring God who is the One to trust in every and all circumstances, has this to say to you: If you don’t know what to say, don’t worry. I’ll say it for you. Can you imagine? Romans 8:26: “In the same way the Spirit takes part with us (helps us) with our weakness. For we don’t know just what is necessary to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with wordless groans.” We don’t even know what to say to God. He says it for us. We don’t even know what to do about our sins. He pays the price for us.

     God is the one who can help you. Trust Him. Turn to Him. He is so strong. He is the Lord of hosts. He is the King, He is our loving Kinsman/Redeemer. Don’t trust in gods of money or health or anything else we might be inclined to rely on. Trust in God. Call on Him. He’ll take care of you.

July 17, 2005

God: The Wonderful, the One and Only

Scripture references: Isaiah 44:6-8, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43,

Romans 8:26-27

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