“What does it mean to have a god?” Martin Luther asks this question when writing about the First Commandment in the Large Catechism. The answer is: “A god means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in all distresses. So to have a God is nothing other than trusting and believing Him with the heart.” A god, then, is whatever you trust and believe to provide for all your needs.

The God of Israel declares Himself to be that God. In fact, He declares Himself to be the only God, saying, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” The Lord declares that He is it. Any other claim to a god is false and a lie from the pit of hell. The Lord calls Himself “the first” and “the last” at least four times—one of which Jesus calls Himself in the book of Revelation. There are at least nine verses that declare things such as, “Besides me there is no god.” Why does God say this so much? Is He insecure or something?

The problem isn’t with God. It’s us. We are by nature rebellious against God and His Word. Rather than the one true God, by nature, we cling to anything and everything that claims to offer any kind of assurance. Scripture tells us that our hearts are deceitful and sick. Out of these same hearts flow all kinds of gods—all kinds of things that we trust rather than the Lord.

In fact, Luther writes in the Large Catechism, “So everyone made his god that interest to which his heart was inclined. So even in the mind of the heathen to have a god means to trust and believe. But their error is this: their trust is false and wrong. For their trust in not placed in the only God, besides whom there is truly no God in heaven or upon the earth. Therefore, the heathen really make their self-invented notions and dreams of God an idol. Ultimately, they put their trust in that which is nothing. So it is with all idolatry. For it happens not merely by erecting an image and worshiping it, but rather it happens in the heart.”

Our hearts are said to be idol factories, making up all kinds of “gods.” These idols can be made with hands or the mind, but any idol we make stems from our rebellion against the one true God. Wherever our hearts are inclined to trust—that is our god. What do you worship in your heart? Your investments? Your house? Cars? Certain ideologies? Other people? Or maybe yourself?  Perhaps your god has to think and act like you, hold opinions like you, vote like you and if ever you should hear God’s Word say otherwise, you may think, “Well I don’t care, that’s not the god I believe in!”

In today’s Old Testament Reading, the Lord challenges any idea of another god. He allows anyone who worships an idol to tell how their idol is like the one true God. The Lord says that if the idol is really a god, it should be able to declare what is to come, what events will happen in the future. Yet, because all idols are human inventions, they are nothing. They don’t exist. In the end, there’s only silence.

But the true God is not silent. God’s descriptors recorded by Isaiah show that He’s really God: He’s “the King of Israel and his Redeemer.” The Lord’s title “King of Israel” tells us who He is, and His title “Redeemer” tells us what He does. The Lord reminds us that He called a people to be His own and then redeemed them by bringing them out of slavery in Egypt and leading them to the land that He promised to give to Abraham’s descendants.

Not just that, but God is “the first and the last,” which means there can’t be other gods.  God is first, because He created the whole universe out of nothing. God is last, because He alone upholds all life. He isn’t the product of human hearts. He’s the creator of human hearts. The Father and Son are of the same substance because Jesus also says, “I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last.” As all things exist by God’s power and Word, He asks “Who is like me?” Indeed, there is none like Him. There is no god besides Him.

UNLIKE IDOLS OUR LORD IS THE REDEEMER, THE ROCK OF SALVATION!

Today’s Old Testament Reading points us to the image of the invisible God: Jesus. Jesus says, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Anytime we desire to see God, we look to Jesus! So, it’s only natural for Isaiah to proclaim words we associate with Jesus—like Redeemer.

To redeem means to exchange one thing for another. For the Old Testament people this automatically called to mind how God redeemed them from Egypt. For the New Testament Church it calls to mind how Jesus has redeemed us from sin, death, the devil, and hell. The way of redemption that God worked for the people of Israel—the blood of lambs—points to the ultimate fulfillment of Jesus redeeming us out of slavery to our sinful, rebellious idolatry through His holy, precious blood and innocent suffering and death. Thus, through Christ all of your sins—including idolatry—are forgiven. You are redeemed by Christ and you are a child of God.

There’s much comfort in this Good News. In fact, the Lord says, “Fear not, nor be afraid.” There’s no need to fear, because God has continually told us of His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. He declared these to our first parents and continued declaring these throughout the Old Testament era. Now, with Jesus having come, the Lord continues to declare these to us through the Gospel message that in Christ we are forgiven by our gracious and merciful Lord. We have peace with God. Therefore, we don’t need to fear Him as judge. He’s our Father who cares for us and provides for our needs.

So, God’s Word uses another word that we associate with Christ: “rock.” A rock is a steady object, a massive boulder, good as a firm foundation. Think of the parable of the man who built his house on the sand compared to the man who built his house on a rock. The water swept the home built on a foundation of sand, but the house built on the solid rock stood firm.

This would have reminded the Old Testament people of the many Psalms that refer to the Lord as a rock. The New Testament also refers to Christ as the chief cornerstone—the most important stone of the structure. Our salvation rests on His work—His death and resurrection. Jesus says that upon the rock of the confession, that He is “the Christ the Son of God,” He would build His Church and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

As our Redeemer and our Rock, the Lord is our salvation. I quoted earlier, “A god means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in all distresses.” We expect all good through Christ’s cross, and we take refuge in Him in all distresses. He is the only One who gives rest to the weary soul, because He’s the only God. Besides Him there is no other.

The Lord has called some to be witnesses of His mighty work. The Israelites—who actually saw God’s work in history—can testify that there’s no other god. For example, Elijah challenged the prophets of baal on Mount Carmel. Both Elijah and the prophets of baal set up altars and prepared a bull on them for sacrifice. Whichever god answered the pleas of Elijah or the prophets of baal is the true god. The prophets of baal called on baal all day long but to no avail. Only silence. Scripture stresses, “But there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.” Elijah built an altar, made a trench around it, and soaked the bull and the wood with water. Then he prayed. God’s Word declares, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”

As Elijah was a witness, so also Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses. They sat at His feet for three years learning from Him. Then they witnessed that He was crucified and raised from the dead. He told them “You are witnesses of these things.” So, they preached repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ name.

What we have in Holy Scripture is the Gospel witness of Old and New Testament saints—all who testify to God’s work for our salvation. Idols are silent, but God has given us His written Word. We are blessed to be surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses who testify to the fact that our Lord really is “the first and the last; besides Him there is no god.” Amen.