God is First and Last

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Isaiah says the Jews didn’t sacrifice to God, but to their handmade idols. God responds:

“I am the first and I am the last, and there is no god but Me” (Isaiah 44:6).

Isaiah intends to correct the Jews and steer them back to worshipping God alone. And this idea that God is the “first and last” is so crucial it forms part of our morning prayer Ezras Avosanu. But how does God being first and last help the Jews reject idolatry, and how can we prove God is last? For God doesn’t communicate anything that cannot be proven beyond doubt. The question is that the Jews might think, “Although it is historically proven that God is first, perhaps new gods will outlive God.” As the end has not yet arrived, this view is not yet rejected by any evidence, so the Jews might feel justified to defect from God and follow idols. How does God refute this 100%?

Do Things exist on their Own?

Man errs by thinking that once an entity exists, it no longer requires God’s will to remain existing. For people view a thing’s very existence as its “own” property, independent from God. The “end of time” has not yet arrived when God is last, and therefore people think, perhaps, their god or idol will outlast God. However, God being the “last” here, does not refer to time. Here, “last” means that God determined the duration of all His creations. He alone is permanent, all else exists only as long as God wishes: God not only grants existence, but also maintains existence. 

By Virtue of God being First, He Must be the Last

In His creation of every single entity, God granted both, their existences, and their properties. And the most essential property of all existence is its nature “not” to exist, explaining why it could not exist without God’s will. Thus, God alone is permanent. He alone will be last, should He ever decide to cease His will that the universe continues. It is by virtue of God being first, that He will be last, as being first, He created all existences and continually wills all to remain, as our prayers state, “He renews the works of creation with His goodness each day.” God being “last” means God determines the lifespan of all else. 

Thus, we need not witness the end of time; evidence is unnecessary when logic provides ironclad proof. And perhaps “first and last” belong in a single Torah verse to convey the integral relationship between being first and last: being first demands that all but God is temporal. 

“I am the first and I am the last, and there is no god but Me”

Thereby, the Jews understand that their worshipping manufactured gods and idols is foolish for 2 reasons: they can’t be gods as they required God to make their substances, and they can’t be gods as their lifespans depend on God’s will. Their very creation from nothingness reveals they exist due only to God, and they also cannot prevent their destruction. They are not gods. 

“I am the first and I am the last, and there is no god but Me” is a marvelous statement as it simply and fully exposes the fallacy of any other power. It is an incontrovertible logical refutation of idolatry.