Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Isaiah 45, part 1 - God Raises up a king

Chapter 44 of Isaiah should include the first 8 verses of chapter 45, as the end of 44 reveals God's choice of Cyrus to make the restoration of Jerusalem happen and the first part of 45 explains how He will do this.

Chapter 44 ends (vs 28) with God declaring He would use Cyrus for His good pleasure, not Cyrus', to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple therein. Our current chapter begins:

Isaiah 45:1 (HCSB) The LORD says this to Cyrus, His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him and the gates will not be shut:

The One True God is Creator of all and Lord/King/Judge over all. As He withheld Abimelech (king of Philistia) from sinning by taking Sarah as his wife, so He calls Cyrus (king of Persia) His right hand for the task at hand. Cyrus will subdue nations, disarm kings, open doors and keep gates open - all for the purpose of rebuilding Jerusalem and its temple. Is there any doubt Proverb 21:1 is true: "A king's heart is like streams of water in the LORD's hand: He directs it wherever He chooses." Let those who hold high office in our day be not deceived - God is not mocked, He is not asleep; His winnowing fork is in His hand.

Isaiah 45:2-4 (HCSB) “I will go before you and level the uneven places; I will shatter the bronze doors and cut the iron bars in two. I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I, Yahweh, the God of Israel call you by your name. I call you by your name, because of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one. I give a name to you, though you do not know Me."

Here it begins, God explaining to one who knows Him not how things will be laid out. All of these actions are similar to how God describes His provision for Israel - think back to the description of how they would take Canaan. YHWH tells Cyrus that He will make his way smooth, breaking down the barriers, giving him treasure from places Cyrus would never know; He does all this so Cyrus would know Who called him by name to be used in this glorious way. He chose Israel not because they were great; He chose them because He is great. So with Cyrus - a man we might not know if he hadn't been chosen by YHWH, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 45:5-8 (HCSB) I am Yahweh, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know Me, so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but Me. I am Yahweh, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I, Yahweh, do all these things. “Heavens, sprinkle from above, and let the skies shower righteousness. Let the earth open up so that salvation will sprout and righteousness will spring up with it. I, Yahweh, have created it."

YHWH drives home the point about Who He is; Cyrus doesn't know Him so God is making it clear. Reminds me of Paul on Mars Hill in Act 17, telling the Oprah Winfrey crowd of his day about the "unknown god" who really is the Lord of all things, seeing as how He created all things and does not need anything that human hands can give. Here YHWH explains that He is creator, Who creates light and darkness, makes success and disaster, causes the sun to rise and set, tells the rain where to fall, and creates righteousness; THERE IS NO ONE BUT YHWH!

Ponder this. We all have the tendency to think too highly of ourselves and not highly enough of God. We tend to humanize God in our mind so we can live with ourselves. If you claim Christ, make it your goal to see Him as He is, worthy of worship and beyond all you can imagine. Thanos is a gnat! Loki was a puny god. All of these tales tend to "help" us reduce God into one of these lesser things. He will have none of it and neither should we!

Isaiah 45:9-10 (HCSB) “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it, ‘What are you making?’ Or does your work say, He has no hands? How absurd is the one who says to his father, What are you fathering? or to his mother, What are you giving birth to?’”

We have a change in scenery, leaving Cyrus behind and picking up a warning to ALL who do not humble themselves before their maker. Woe! is pronounced on those who argue with Him. When you or I complain that life is unfair, unjust, or plain wrong, we are judging God's rule of providence - arguing with our Maker. The familiar metaphor of potter and clay is used to drive the point home: we have NO RIGHT to question or argue with Him. I like the wording of the HCSB here - how ABSURD for a child to question his birth, as if his parents didn't do it right.

Isaiah 45:11-13 (HCSB) This is what the LORD, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says: “Ask Me what is to happen to My sons, and instruct Me about 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 raised him up in righteousness, and will level all roads for him. He will rebuild My city, and set My exiles free, not for a price or a bribe,” says the LORD of Hosts.

YHWH builds on verse 10, turning it around, as that the Holy One of Israel, the One who is its Maker, asking Israel to tell Him about His work. He is the Creator of all things and all people; He stretched out the heavens and will one day roll them up like a scroll! He has raised up Cyrus to rebuild His city and He is telling Israel not to bark at the idea of a pagan king doing them a favor. All of this is the Lord's doing - is it marvelous in your eyes? It should be!

I'll stop here and pick the second half of this chapter later. Think about what God has revealed here in this passage. He is so far more than we can comprehend, God help us to not imagine any less than we're able.

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