Turn to me and be saved,
Isaiah 45:22-25 NIV
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone
are deliverance and strength. ’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
But all the descendants of Israel
will find deliverance in the LORD
and will make their boast in him.
Acts 8:26-40 tells the story of Philip and an Ethiopian official. This official was on his way home from Jerusalem, reading from a scroll of Isaiah. Philip met him along the way and used Isaiah to lead this man to faith in Christ. Philip started with Isaiah 53. But it seems likely that this passage from Isaiah 45 was also included as Philip shared, announcing to him the good news about Jesus (Acts 8:35).
God calls on everyone, all the ends of the earth, to turn to him and be saved. This invitation to salvation is for the whole world. There is only one God who can save. And before him, every knee will bow and acknowledge that in God alone is salvation and strength.
Some of those who bow before him will be put to shame – those who had raged against him, denying his place in their lives and refusing his offer of salvation. Too late, they will recognize their mistake.
But the descendants of Israel, all who have the faith of Abraham (Rom. 4:11-12) and put their faith and hope in the Lord Jesus, will find deliverance in the Lord. And we will boast in the Lord, giving thanks and praising his name as we experience his great salvation.
