July 15 - Isaiah 45:1-25

July 15 – Isaiah 45:1-25

“This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:   I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.  I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.   I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

“You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’

“This is what the LORD says— the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?   It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.”
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,and those tall Sabeans— they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, ‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.’ ”

Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel. All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together. But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.

For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.

“Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.

“Turn to me and be saved, 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 righteousness and strength.’ ” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.

Yup – we’re getting through the entire chapter of Isaiah 45 today.  This is pretty interesting, though.  For the first time … ever … God speaks to a king outside of Israel.  Yes, He spoke to others in dreams, but this is pretty profound. 

Not only does He speak to Cyrus, but He says that he is anointed by God and that the Lord will go before Cyrus to prepare the way.  The Lord will open doors and bring treasure before him – even though Cyrus doesn’t acknowledge that the Lord is God!

Why?  Because of Jacob, because of Israel – God’s chosen.

He loves His people that much – though they have strayed and ignored Him.

The Lord warns those who question Him.  He is the creator and He will not be questioned.  Cyrus will be raised up in God’s righteousness.  He will move through and conquer nations and then when the time is right, he will rebuild Jerusalem and allow the exiles to go free, simply because it needs to be done, not because he will receive any reward.

There are so many seemingly insignificant verses in this chapter that spit out great truths!  We don’t dare miss any of them.

“Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation …” (Isaiah 45:17a)

God is the Lord and there is no other.  He says, “I have not spoken in secret from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’  I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.” (Isaiah 45:19)

Look at Isaiah 45:22: “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked.”

God is sovereign!!  He is righteous!  He has declared salvation for His people, Israel.  He brings strength and righteousness.  In Him can salvation be found.  These are the truths that He brings through Cyrus to the world.

A Gentile is anointed to return the Israelites to their home.  Interestingly enough, through Jesus, an Israelite is anointed to return the Gentiles to our home in heaven!