This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:6 NIV
God’s authority over history and creation means everything begins with Him, and everything will culminate in Him.
First and last=only.
There IS no God apart from him despite efforts of the people at that time who were wasting their faith and worship on idols they were making in the same fires where they cooked their food and warmed themselves.
People have an innate need for god. It’s basic to all of us.
He is a jealous god who doesn’t tolerate replacement by cheap idols made with human hands and doesn’t take kindly to losing the hearts of those he created and possesses to powerless substitutes.