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Last week we ended with Scripture referring to Cyrus as a shepherd. This week Scripture calls him God's anointed. Cyrus did not become a convert although there was nothing keeping him from God but his own sin nature. The condemnation for Cyrus was that he was named by God before he rose to power and yet while Cyrus acknowledged God when he took Babylon he also acknowledged all the "gods" of the pagans one by one.
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
Isaiah 45:1-3
Cyrus is described as grasped by God, directed by God, and used by God. Cyrus was blessed by God but Cyrus did not truly acknowledge God. He worshiped all sorts of "gods" but his faith wasn't placed in any particular "god" and certainly wasn't placed in the one true God. Remember that acknowledging the facts about God (noticia) and even believing the facts to be true (assensus) does not mean that you are redeemed. Even Cyrus had knowledge of the one true God but did not place his faith in God (fiducia). Cyrus obviously didn't have a saving faith in God because he worshiped every "god". The old Evangelism Explosion question would have been diagnostic with Cyrus. If you had asked Cyrus what reason he would give as to why should he be allowed to enter heaven he would have mentioned all "gods". His "eggs" were in no particular basket and so they were in no basket at all. God is a jealous God and there is no other name in heaven or earth we can call on for salvation (Acts 4:12). Cyrus had ample opportunity to see that.
For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Isaiah 45:4-7
God had a purpose for Cyrus. God was going to use Cyrus to end the Babylonian captivity and send God's remnant back to the Holy Land. So God's actions were for the sake of His chosen remnant. Once again God revisits the discussion of His sovereignty. We often have a hard time with the light and dark, well-being and calamity, all being within the control of a sovereign God. We are more like Cyrus who covers as many bases as possible and hopes for the best. Then, it things go bad, we figure we just didn't do something right. We needed to do something else to manipulate the situation to our benefit or to fit our desires. Cyrus had a huge worship service with hundreds of "gods". Things went well for him. He figured it worked. God sees it another way. That other way is the right way. God used Cyrus to show that God sent Israel into the Babylonian captivity and He brought the remnant out of the captivity. God was in control of both light and dark, well-being and calamity, accomplishing His purposes. We may not like God using a wicked man according to his wicked nature to accomplish righteous goals but God doesn't hesitate to declare His activity in the affairs of men. This verse is a clear declaration by God that He is sovereign and it is ironic that some people seem to feel more comfortable with a God who is partially out of control than a God who is in control and working out His plans on earth. Last week we spoke about the creation of an idol in our minds that doesn't accurately represent God. This is an example. If we think God is out of control when bad things happen then we have an inaccurate representation of God in our minds. If we cling to it in the face of Scripture then it becomes an idol in our minds.
I was reading two early Christian leaders and how they responded when Rome collapsed in 410 AD. Jerome was very upset and thought all was lost. He couldn't imagine that God would let Rome fall to the Visigoths (many of them our ignorant relatives I'm sure). He thought it was the end of everything and that the Church was lost. Augustine was shaken too but he told his congregation, "Do not lose heart brethren, there will be an end to every earthly kingdom. If this is now the end, God sees". God took Augustine home just before the Vandals were taking his city but Augustine seemed to know that what God was doing shouldn't be confused with what a particular nation or empire was doing. Given what they were seeing happen I think both of them would be surprised at how we value their works even today. Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate Bible that you can still purchase and is a tremendous resource translated from texts available in 400 AD. Augustine's doctrines of Grace has been treasured down through the ages and over a 1000 years after he died you can argue that he should get a significant part of the doctrines restoration in the reformation around 1600 that eventually gave birth to our denomination.
The message to us when we wonder what is happening to our nation is to trust God and pray for revival. Listen to Isaiah's description of revival as we continue with verse 8 in this chapter.
"Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it.
Isaiah 45:8
But rather than trust God and pray we have a natural tendency to criticize God and complain about the way things are. Remember the old song that says, "this world is not my home, I'm just a passing through" (1965; Albert E. Brumley). It isn't a bad song but one thing Augustine understood that Albert seems a little weak on was that we are not just passing through. We have work. You are born by the power of God's grace and are created to walk in the works that God has prepared beforehand for you to do (Ephesians 2:10). We are to be busy with what God calls us to until we are called home from this fallen sinful world. We are not supposed to be complaining about God's Lordship over this fallen sinful world. Listen to how Isaiah addresses that point.
"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'? Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor?'" Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: "Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the Lord of hosts.
Isaiah 45:9-13
Even someone like Cyrus can't legitimately complain against the Lord. Cyrus was not a righteousness man but God raised him up in righteousness and will use him, according to his nature, to build Jerusalem and set the exiles free and it will not be for a price or reward.
Thus says the Lord: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.'"
Truly, you are a God who hides yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior. All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together. But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.
Isaiah 45:14-17
God provided for the reconstruction of the Temple and used these events to testify to His ability to keep His people. The nations submit to a revelation of God and what He is doing. Considering Babylon, they had many idols and these were consulted for leading the nation. But they were all in confusion in their loss to Cyrus and they never saw what God was doing. Although we may think that God is hidden in His working (God works in mysterious ways), God corrects that point of view in the next verse.
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Isaiah 45:18-19
God has called His shots. He didn't simply describe what happened or revise His prophecy after He saw who was going to take on Babylon. The prophecy regarding Cyrus is so remarkable (likely naming him before he was) that liberal Bible scholars stumble and state that the verses must have been revised.
Of course prophecy is not a hard thing for God. We think of naming a man beforehand as a hard thing. However, what about your salvation? God actually begins to address the salvation of the Gentiles (us) and we see once again that God is saying what He will do long before it happens.
"Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.' "Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory."
Isaiah 45:20-25
We see Isaiah using the courtroom picture again. This time it is survivors of the nations that are being spoken to. God's point is that He is the only one who spoke and explained what was going to happen long before it happened. He is both righteous and a Savior and here we have the call of John 3:16 to all the world to turn and be saved. God swore a covenant to Abraham "in a righteous word that shall not return" when God took Abraham outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." (Genesis 15:4-5). In part we see right now, 2700 years after the prophecy, as you are the offspring of Israel but in part this waits for the end of time when all the offspring of Israel are present and the judgment comes and every knee bows and every tongue confesses. In Him is righteousness and strength for judgment day. For those who cling to their idols, like Cyrus, there will be shame and judgment.
Today, if you are a believer then you are justified. That means all your sins are forgiven and the righteous of Christ based on His perfect life of obedience is yours. You need to glory in that. As Piper says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
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