There Is No Equal

6  Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7  Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. 8  Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 44:6–8.

Many will rise and attempt to claim through direct or indirect ways that the power that has been granted to them is unequaled. Throughout history, empires have risen with the understanding that because they have no rival, the Earth is theirs for conquering. Politicians and corporations take the same tactic; however, it is important for us as followers of Christ not to get swept up in the waves of popular sentiment and take the words of the powerful class as equal to the Gospel. Our Lord, the Creator of the Universe, has no equal, and no power structure on our planet can stand against God.

The nations around the Hebrew people came and surrounded them and ultimately conquered them. This taught the people of Israel that the land promised to them could be defeated on their own and that they needed to put their trust only in God, not their own might or past. Even when the land has been vacated, God remains. When nations rise and fall, God remains. Nothing will outlast God, and thus nothing can oppose God. Even God’s people needed obedience as God asked them to represent the Almighty through their living. However, even Israel got haughty and thought they knew better, and they paid the price.

It is important for us in the 21st Century to remember that we cannot think of ourselves or anyone else as equal to God. Our lives must show that we trust God to guide us and lead us out of any circumstance. This circumstance requires each one of us to approach our relationship with God and others with humility. None of us are God’s equals; only God can guide our lives in purity and holiness. Thus, when we cast aside our allegiances to anything other than God, we purely understand that God alone stands when the world around us fades.