A book by book chapter by chapter study of the Old Testament.
Welcome to the book of Isaiah, chapter 45, where things have been getting divinely intriguing! Isaiah 45 paints a vivid picture of God's sovereignty, His omnipotence, and His plan of redemption for His people. This chapter, serves as a strong reminder that God's ways may be mysterious, yet they are with purpose, and His sovereignty is absolute.
One of the most awesome points is that God through Isaiah has announced to Judah that they will go into captivity in Babylon. Yet before they are even taken captive He is telling them how it will all turn out. That it will be okay, He knows the beginning from the end and will take care of His people.
God unveils His master plan by calling Cyrus, a pagan king, His anointed one to rebuild Jerusalem and release His people from captivity. This unexpected choice showcases God's sovereignty and power over all nations, using even those outside the covenant to accomplish His will. It’s like a celestial plot twist that leaves everyone scratching their heads in awe. But hey, when God's in charge, expect the unexpected!
God announces that He has taken Cyrus, a Persian king, by his right hand to subdue nations and disarm kings. Interestingly, God is using a foreign, pagan non-Israelite king, to fulfill His divine purposes is used as an instrument of God's will, for His divine purpose for the deliverance of Israel.
He is to pave the way for the Israelites to return from Babylon. Through the utilization of Cyrus, God's redemptive love shines, showing His desire for all nations to turn to Him. It encourages us to trust in the divine potter, even when circumstances are challenging, and to acknowledge the exclusive divinity of God, for in Him is salvation found.
The chapter devides like this.
Verses 1-4: The Anointing of Cyrus
The purpose behind God’s calling and mission for Cyrus.
Verses 5-8: The Sole Sovereign
The chapter again emphasizes God's unique role as the Creator and Savior, calling all nations to acknowledge Him as the one true God.
Here, God establishes His sole sovereignty and asserts His role as the creator of everything - light, darkness, prosperity, disaster. He emphasizes that there is no god besides Him.
Verses 9-17 The foolishness of resisting our Creator.
God calls upon the heavens to rain down righteousness. At the same time, He cautions against questioning His plans or actions, reminding them of His position as the divine potter shaping His creations. God encourages His people to ask Him about future events and reaffirms His intention to raise Cyrus for His righteous purpose. The God of all creation will raise up Cyrus and deliver His people.
When the LORD is revealed as the true God, idolaters submit, and God’s people are saved.
Verses 18-25: God, the Creator and Redeemer
The LORD declares His greatness and the foolishness of idolatry. God reminds the Israelites that He created the earth to be inhabited and that there is no god apart from Him. He invites everyone to turn to Him and be saved, for every knee shall bow and every tongue confess His divinity.
God also asserts that nations will come to Israel's aid and acknowledge Israel's God as the only God. Those who make idols will be put to shame.
The prophetic words in this chapter serve as a reminder that God's ways are not our ways, and His plans often defy human understanding. So, let's be amazed and enjoy, God's mysterious ways, and trust in His divine wisdom as we journey through the fascinating mosaic of Isaiah 45.
As we begin chapter 45, I want to take you back to the last verse of chapter 44. It is the lead in for this chapter.
God announced that Cyrus would be the person who would allow Jerusalem to be rebuilt and the temple foundations relayed. Cyrus would be the Lord's shepherd, the one who would lead the Israelites back into their land by permitting its restoration. He would carry out all God's desire. We mentioned in the last chapter the title "My Shepherd" is interesting because it is a title that God used of the Davidic kings. This had to grab the children of Israel’s attention.
The fact that He used this title here of a pagan monarch shows that God would use pagans to fulfill His wishes since the Davidic kings had proved unreliable. This was unquestionably a new thing that God had not done before.