- Isaiah 45 (Contemporary English Version)
- The LORD said to Cyrus, his chosen one: I have taken hold of your right hand to help you capture nations and remove kings from power. City gates will open for you; not one will stay closed.
- As I lead you, I will level mountains and break the iron bars on bronze gates of cities.
- I will give you treasures hidden in dark and secret places. Then you will know that I, the LORD God of Israel, have called you by name.
- Cyrus, you don't even know me! But I have called you by name and highly honored you because of Israel, my chosen servant.
- Only I am the LORD! There are no other gods. I have made you strong, though you don't know me.
- Now everyone from east to west will learn that I am the LORD. No other gods are real.
- I create light and darkness, happiness and sorrow. I, the LORD, do all of this.
- Tell the heavens to send down justice like showers of rain. Prepare the earth for my saving power to sprout and produce justice that I, the LORD, create.
- Israel, you have no right to argue with your Creator. You are merely a clay pot shaped by a potter. The clay doesn't ask, "Why did you make me this way? Where are the handles?"
- Children don't have the right to demand of their parents, "What have you done to make us what we are?"
- I am the LORD, the Creator, the holy God of Israel. Do you dare question me about my own nation or about what I have done?
- I created the world and covered it with people; I stretched out the sky and filled it with stars.
- I have done the right thing by placing Cyrus in power, and I will make the roads easy for him to follow. I am the LORD All-Powerful! Cyrus will rebuild my city and set my people free without being paid a thing. I, the LORD, have spoken.
- My people, I, the LORD, promise that the riches of Egypt and the treasures of Ethiopia will belong to you. You will force into slavery those tall people of Seba. They will bow down and say, "The only true God is with you; there are no other gods."
- People of Israel, your God is a mystery, though he alone can save.
- Anyone who makes idols will be confused and terribly disgraced.
- But Israel, I, the LORD, will always keep you safe and free from shame.
- The LORD alone is God! He created the heavens and made a world where people can live, instead of creating an empty desert. The LORD alone is God; there are no others.
- The LORD did not speak in a dark secret place or command Jacob's descendants to search for him in vain. The LORD speaks the truth, and this is what he says
- to every survivor from every nation: "Gather around me! Learn how senseless it is to worship wooden idols or pray to helpless gods.
- "Why don't you get together and meet me in court? Didn't I tell you long ago what would happen? I am the only God! There are no others. I bring about justice, and have the power to save.
- "I invite the whole world to turn to me and be saved. I alone am God! No others are real.
- I have made a solemn promise, one that won't be broken: Everyone will bow down and worship me.
- They will admit that I alone can bring about justice. Everyone who is angry with me will be terribly ashamed and will turn to me.
- I, the LORD, will give victory and great honor to the people of Israel."
The theme continues into this chapter of God's use of Cyrus as His anointed one to deliver Israel, and of God as the only God who has made everything. Also prominent in this theme is the re-settlement of Israel and the coming of Gentiles to recognize God as the only God.
The reference to Cyrus as God's anointed in verse one might be seen in a similar light as the references to Saul and David as God's anointed kings over Israel. In exile, Israel would have no king and God was anointing Cyrus to serve that role to re-establish Israel once again in her homeland. As God's anointed, Cyrus would find that God had gone before him to "level the uneven places." In other words, the way would be prepared for him to have victory over his enemies and to gather treasures from those he conquered. But even in all this, Cyrus was not a believer. He was not a God-worshiper. This relationship as God's anointed was bestowed upon him, not because of his faithfulness to God, but for the benefit of Israel, that she might be freed and her enemies brought to task. God is not dependent only on those who acknowledge Him to accomplish His purposes. He also uses those who do not acknowledge Him to accomplish His purposes. God will not be restrained by the boxes we might be prone to draw around Him.
Just as it is foolish to attempt to restrain God by drawing our boxes around Him and His activities, it is also foolish to question what He does. It is compared in verse 9 to a clay pot that argues with the potter who made it concerning the way the pot was made. Or, in verse 10, to a child questioning its parents as to why he was born. For whatever reasons people make idols and worship them, I suspect that the underlying motivation is to have a god they can control, one that is predictable, and one that can be seen. We do not like submitting ourselves to another to be led as they see fit. And yet, this is what the one God asks of us - to submit ourselves to Him and trust Him to direct our lives according to the good plan He has for us. But we don't trust that His plan is good or is what we want. We think we have a better plan. However, once our plan has run its course, we inevitably discover that it was not so good. On the other hand, those who submit to God's plan do inevitably learn that it is good and discover in the end it was what they desired as well.
This is what God wanted to do for Israel but she did not cooperate fully enough to see God accomplish it. But one day, in Christ's millennial reign, God's plans will be accomplished for Israel. At that time Israel will "be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation." Then the people of the various nations will bow down to Israel and will confess that "God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God." (45:14)
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