A: Isaiah 45:11 states, "Thus saith
the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me
of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the
work of my hands command ye me."
This is a fascinating verse and your question has had me
studying for a while. Thank you for such a good
question. On the outset, I have trouble understanding
how anyone would think that this verse gives us
permission to exchange our servant/master relationship
with God so that we are the masters and He is the
servant. However, a bit of web research has convinced me
that some use this verse for such a teaching I am not
referring to you).
Nothing could be further from the
truth. God is God and we are His servants. The servant
does not rule the master but the master rules the
servant. The context of Isaiah 45 clearly shows this
relationship. The two verses leading up to the one in
question give two warnings using the word "Woe." Isaiah
45:9 states, "Woe unto him that striveth with his
Maker!" Isaiah 45:10 states, "Woe unto him that saith
unto his father, What begettest thou?" Therefore we are
not to fight with the Lord over His actions and
decisions; neither are we to question Him on what he has
made us to be. These warnings certainly do not hint at
some sort of masterly control for the believer over God.
In fact, it teaches the opposite. We are to accept His
actions and not strive with Him concerning them.
What then of Isaiah 45:11? The Lord does say, "command
ye me." What can he be talking about? The key to many
passages in the Bible, including this one, is to be
found in the larger context of the verse. In this case,
we need to look at the emphasis of Isaiah, chapter 45.
One cannot read through the chapter without noticing the
emphasis God is making on being the only God and
Creator. He stresses His exclusive place throughout the
chapter. There is no other god; no other idol; no other
source of truth. He is God and there is none else.
Consider some of the verses leading up to verse eleven:
Isaiah 45:5-8 I am the LORD, and there is none else,
there is no God beside me: That they may know from the
rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none
beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form
the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create
evil: I the LORD do all these things. Drop down, ye
heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down
righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring
forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up
together; I the LORD have created it.
These verses point to God as the only God; the only
Creator; the only Lord. This theme continues through the
remainder of the chapter. Consider these verses:
Isaiah 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man
upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the
heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the
heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it;
he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he
formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is
none else.
Isaiah 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them
take counsel together: who hath declared this from
ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not
I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just
God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and
there is none else.
The implication of the entire chapter is that there is
no other god to whom men can go to find help; there is
no other source for eternal truth or salvation. The God
who created all things is the only true God and there is
none other beside Him. Far from presenting God as the
servant of men who will do their every bidding, He is
shown to be the absolute Lord of all who must be obeyed.
So, how are we to take Isaiah 45:11? We start by giving
the verse the proper emphasis on God. In the following
quotation of the verse, all of the nouns and pronouns
referring to God are capitalized. Read the verse aloud,
giving emphasis to the capitalized words, and you will
begin to understand the import of the verse.
Isaiah 45:11 - Thus saith the LORD, the HOLY ONE of
Israel, and his MAKER, Ask ME of things to come
concerning MY sons, and concerning the work of MY hands
command ye ME.
That is, if you want to know the truth about the future,
then come to the only source that can help you--that is
the God of creation--and ask Him. You will get no help
from idols, false gods, or false prophets. Also, if you
want to influence the events of heaven and earth, then
come to the only One who can really make things
happen--to the LORD and Holy One--and command Him. He is
the only One who can do such things and so He is the One
to whom you must go. If He will not do it, then it will
not get done.
This brings us to an extremely important point. Nowhere
in this verse or in the surrounding verses is anyone
promised that they will receive the information or the
actions they seek from God. The point is that the true
God is the only One who could help in such things. If
you are going to ask someone, ask Him. If you are going
to seek someone to do great things on your behalf, ask
Him. There is no one else to answer or help. But in
context, we are warned against striving with our Maker
(Isaiah 45:9). Therefore, this is not any kind of
promise to do what we desire on the behalf of God.
One final comment: some will wonder why the scriptures
use the word "command" if the desired action is not
guaranteed. The key is in how a command operates. When
we command someone to do something, we are actually
accomplishing something through the actions of another
person. Examples of this are found in scripture. David
is accused of killing Uriah the Hittite although he
ordered others to do the actual deed--in fact, leaving
him exposed to the enemy. When we pray and God answers
that prayer, God certainly gets the credit for doing the
work. Yet, in another way, we did it through Him. As the
missionary William Carey said, "Attempt great things for
God; expect great things from God." Jesus told His
disciples, "for without me ye can do nothing" (John
15:5). In this sense, the only way we can do anything of
eternal value is to do them through the power of God. We
must command Him.
However, this does not mean that we are the masters and
He is the servant. Just the opposite. Our commands are
requests and they become commands only when God
determines to do them. Again, the purpose for using the
word, command, is to emphasize the way we do things
through prayer. We put in our order (a word related to
command) and, if approved, it is accomplished by God.
Sometimes, when someone is especially close to God,
these prayers can be quite bold. They can even take the
form of a command, as when Jacob says to the angel of
the Lord, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me"
(Genesis 32:26), or when Joshua said to the sun and
moon, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou,
Moon, in the valley of Ajalon" (Joshua 10:12). But we
should never assume that this one use of the word,
command, in dealing with our relationship to God gives
us the right or power to order Him around. To think so
is to think foolish thoughts.
Thank you again for the excellent question. I hope this
guides you in the right direction.
Till He comes,
David F. Reagan