God does not share his glory with anyone, and yet shares it with Jesus – Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord: that is my name: and my GLORY will I NOT GIVE ANOTHER, neither my praise to graven images. Is. 42:8

Glory is here translated from the Hebrew word kabowd (Strong’s 3519), and apart from “glory” it can also be translated honor. God’s divine claim does not mean that man will never disobey it or give the glory worthy of a Creator to someone else, but from God’s perspective HE will not give his glory to someone else.

We can read about the glory of the righteous, the glory of Lebanon, etc, but obviously Jahveh is in Is. 42:8 and 48:11 talking about a particular kind of glory that he will not share with anyone else, or else his claim would be meaningless. He emphasizes that he will not give his glory to anyone else, so obviously he is making a point. We can understand from the context that the glory that he does not share with anyone else is the glory that belongs to the Creator God – the Judge of all mankind. It is this type of glory that Moses could only see a glimpse of due to the magnificent power (Ex. 33:22). However, it is possible to behold the glory indirectly (or directly in another shape), like when Moses saw and spoke with Jahveh in a bush, and when Abraham was dining together with the Angel of the Lord.

Isaiah 48:11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I WILL NOT GIVE MY GLORY UNTO ANOTHER. 12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

Jesus Christ is given glory, power and majesty confirmed by the Father. If the below verses do not describe the glory that belongs to the most powerful being, I do not know what is. The person in focus is Jesus Christ, which indicates that he holds the same glorious position as his Father. Either Jahveh is not telling us the truth about not giving his glory to someone else, OR we can solve the inconsistency by accepting that Jesus belongs to the same godhead as his Father (the trinity). 

Matt 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

2 Peter 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Who is “him that liveth for ever and ever” above? Based on for instance Rev. 1:18 it is the son of man Jesus Christ, the Almighty Alpha and Omega. This means that Jesus Christ must be God.

Rev. 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.—13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.—17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

John 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever:and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

More examples of Jesus Christ receiving the utmost GLORY:

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

John quoting Isaiah – Jesus is given GLORY!

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.––10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Let us compare the section from Isaiah above with the below section from John where Jesus places a lot of focus on himself. All the “me-me-me” would be completely blasphemous UNLESS of course Jesus truly is our glorious Savior and Creator.

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?—37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his GLORY, and spake of him.42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

John above quotes Isaiah 6:10 (in John 12:40) and says that Isaiah saw the glory of the Son of God! John combines the glory of Jahveh and the glory of Jesus Christ. Jesus has God’s appearance even in his “very being”:

Isaiah 46:5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:6 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.7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.8 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.

1 Kings 8:23 And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

Psalm 89:6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.8 O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?9 Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

Matt. 8:24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

The “sons of God” (angels) in Ps. 89:6 above are the ones who are around Jahveh in verse 7.  This means that not even the angels around him can be compared to him. Then who is the Son that is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact representation of his very being?

Hebr. 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

Every knee shall bow to God, or to Jesus? Or both?

Is 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

Based on the above, should we declare Jahveh’s glory among the gentiles or Jesus Christ’s glory among the gentiles? Or maybe there is no difference? Jesus is God in flesh! When we read about knees being bowed to someone, it is just about always in reference to worshiping (compare for instance 1 Kings. 19:18). Yet, we can read about knees being bowed for both Jahveh and Jesus Christ. Is. 45:23 we can read Jahveh saying “unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear”, and yet we can read about Jesus Christ “10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

1 Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Ps. 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

Is. 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Phil. 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Ephesians 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Rom. 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 

Mark 15:19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

God alone created the heavens and the earth, AND Jesus Christ:

Is. 44:24 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens ALONE; that spreadeth abroad the earth BY MYSELF

Col. 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:—16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Did Jahveh forget that Jesus Christ was with him during the creation? Of course not. God is one, and the godhead can say that he was alone. Either the trinity is valid, or the Bible is contradictory. Read more in this article about worshiping Jesus as God.

It is very clear from above that Javheh and Jesus Christ are both given the highest glory, and that every knee shall bow before them as in worshiping. Here are your choices:

1. Jahve’s does not mean his own claim about not sharing his glory with anyone, and that every knee shall bow exclusively before HIM –
2. Jesus Christ is part of the godhead (the trinity) which means that the Biblical claims above pose no problem.