“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 44:6 Mean?
God declares himself through Isaiah with the most absolute monotheistic statement in the prophets: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. The claim spans all time (first and last) and eliminates all competitors (no God beside me).
The title is doubly significant: God is both the LORD the King of Israel (covenant God of his people) and his redeemer the LORD of hosts (the one who buys back and commands heaven's armies). Both titles belong to the same God.
"I am the first" — before everything, God existed. "I am the last" — after everything ends, God remains. The bookends of existence are both God. Nothing precedes him. Nothing outlasts him.
"Beside me there is no God" — the claim is exclusive. Not first among equals. Not the greatest god. The only God. Every other claim to divinity is empty. Beside him — nothing.
Jesus applies this title to himself in Revelation 1:17 and 22:13 — the first and the last. The God who spoke through Isaiah is the Christ who speaks through John.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does 'I am the first and I am the last' mean for God's relationship to time?
- 2.How does 'beside me there is no God' eliminate every competing claim to ultimate authority?
- 3.What does Jesus claiming this title (Revelation 1:17) mean for his deity?
- 4.What are you trusting 'beside' God that this verse declares to be nothing?
Devotional
I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Before anything existed — I was. After everything ends — I remain. And in between — no one shares the throne.
The first. Before the universe. Before time. Before the first atom vibrated into existence. God was already there — already first, already complete, already God.
The last. After every star has burned out. After every kingdom has fallen. After the final chapter of creation is written. God is still there — unchanged, undiminished, eternal.
Beside me there is no God. No competitor. No equal. No alternative deity waiting in the wings. The claim is not that God is the most powerful among gods. It is that he is the only one. Everything else that claims divinity is nothing.
Jesus claimed this title: I am the first and the last (Revelation 1:17). The God who spoke through Isaiah and the Christ who speaks through John are the same being. The first and the last — spanning all of Scripture, all of history, all of eternity.
Whatever you are trusting beside God — whatever secondary source of security, whatever backup plan, whatever competing loyalty — beside him there is nothing. The first and the last is the only one who was there before your problem and will be there after it. Everything else is temporary. He is the first and the last.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel,.... The King of the whole world, and Governor among the nations; and in a…
Thus saith the Lord - This commences, as I suppose (see Analysis), the argument to prove that Yahweh is the only true…
Two great truths are abundantly made out in these verses: -
I. That the people of God are a happy people, especially…
Isa 44:6-23. The Reality of Jehovah's Godhead, evinced by His Predictions, and contrasted with the manifold absurdities…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture