Isaiah 45:23, commentary and pictures

God has bound Himself by an oath upon His own name, sending His word out in righteousness never to be recalled as a certain and unchangeable guarantee. Every knee bowing and every tongue swearing means that all people will at last acknowledge His sovereignty and rule, bow before Him and confess allegiance to Him. The One who speaks is the only God beside whom there is no other, a just God and Saviour and the living ruler. He joins this certainty to His call to all the earth and to all its ends to look to Him and be saved, to come to Him and find righteousness and strength in Him, so that all the seed of Israel will be justified in Him and glory in Him while all who remain hostile to Him will be ashamed. This same bowing means all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, which is the judgment seat of God, where every one will give account of himself to God, so no one is to judge his brother or set him at nought, and even Satan himself will finally bow down and confess the justice of his sentence.

Meaning and Immediate Context

The oath is sworn by God Himself, with the word gone out of His mouth in righteousness and not to return, a righteous, certain and unchangeable guarantee. Bowing the knee and swearing the tongue means that all people will ultimately acknowledge His sovereignty and rule, bow before Him, swear allegiance to Him, and confess to Him. That universal acknowledgment will be fulfilled because His righteous word cannot fail.

The speaker is the only God, beside whom there is no other, a just God and Saviour and the living ruler. The declaration belongs with His call to all the earth and all its ends to look to Him and be saved, to come to Him, and to find righteousness and strength in Him. Those who come to Him are justified and will glory in Him, while all the seed and offspring of Israel will be justified in Him and glory in Him, and all who are incensed against Him and remain hostile to Him will be ashamed.

The verse stands among the promises and covenant encouragement of Isaiah 44 and 45 showing what the Lord has done for His people and what He will do for them if they follow on to know Him. Those promises are to be appreciated and followed more deeply, and those who follow on to know Him will know that His going forth is prepared as the morning.

Gospel Call and Final Judgment

The righteous word that has gone out from God's mouth will certainly be fulfilled, and every person and every nation will bow before Him and acknowledge His rule and allegiance to Him. That certainty stands joined to the worldwide gospel invitation for all the earth to look to God and be saved, for He alone is the living ruler. Many who hear that invitation are convicted and converted, and they bow humbly and consecrate themselves to the Lord.

God has bound Himself by oath by Himself, and the word gone out in righteousness will not return void, that to Him every knee will bow and every tongue will swear and confess to God. This means that all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, which is the judgment seat of God, and each one will give account of himself and answer to God. He is the one Lord beside whom there is no other God, a just God and a Saviour who calls all the ends of the earth to look to Him and be saved, in whom men have righteousness and strength, to whom men come, while all who are incensed against Him shall be ashamed, and in whom all the seed of Israel shall be justified and shall glory. Therefore no one is to judge his brother or set him at nought, but to determine rather to put no stumblingblock or occasion to fall in his brother's way.

When rebellion is finally defeated even Satan himself will bow down and confess the justice of his sentence. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God will then be silenced, and the reproach he sought to cast upon Jehovah will rest wholly upon himself. By voluntary rebellion he trained his powers to war against God and thereby unfitted himself for heaven, so that its purity and peace and harmony would be to him supreme torture.

Study and Daily Application

This declaration belongs to God's revelation of His purpose for His people and is to be studied prayerfully, appreciated, followed, and entered into more deeply. It reveals the greatness of God's love and compassion and holds the loftiest themes of thought, with pure and excellent language and elevating and ennobling principles. It is fit study to stretch the mind in schools, better than romance or fable, so that the Word is revealed in living characters. It stands among the promises and covenant encouragement of Isaiah 44 and 45 showing what the Lord has done for His people and what He will do for them if they follow on to know Him, and those who follow on will know His going forth is prepared as the morning.

It points to heaven as home and to citizenship above, calling for lives not devoted to a world soon to be destroyed but directed toward the city whose Builder and Maker is God. Its students are directed to seek wisdom from God rather than from finite human beings.

Since every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear and confess to God, all shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ, which is the judgment seat of God, and every one shall give account of himself to God. Therefore no one is to judge his brother or set his brother at nought or dismiss a fellow believer, but to determine rather that no one put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

The call to all the ends of the earth to look to God and be saved forbids limiting the Holy One of Israel by treating character as fixed by head formation or hereditary peculiarity. Satan the destroyer has nearly obliterated God's image in man, but Jesus Christ the Restorer restores His moral image in all who connect with God. Every inherited peculiarity and deficiency of character may be overcome through faith and imputed righteousness in the new birth where old things pass away and all become new, and by grace souls are fitted to do successfully the very work God has chosen for them.

The declaration calls every creature to turn from confusion and perplexity to acknowledge Him by admiring His handiwork. Looking at the heavenly bodies and studying the works of infinity in heaven and earth teaches His love, care and power, with angels beside to enlighten the mind and guard from deception. This brings every knee to bow as the proud, foolish heart feels its dependence and inferiority and gains a sense of His condescension. The encouragement calls for following on to know the Lord and for more missionary work and missionary spirit in the churches, so that God can use His people and His name can be glorified even in the highways and hedges before time passes.