I really enjoyed the sessions I was able to attend at “A Summer Intensive” in Houston with Dr. N.T. Wright, organized by Baylor’s Truett Seminary Online Program and Admirato, a fantastic website to help you understand and apply the Scriptures. Their byline is “Engage Theology.”
Isaiah 44 to Isaiah 48 – the theme is unexpected and significant
The people of Israel have lost faith, hope, and courage. They doubt they could ever emerge from the mess they are in.
How the Hebrews in Babylonian must have felt after hearing Isaiah 40-42, “forgiveness and freedom? Dream on! That seems like naive wishful thinking.”
Everybody knew that a strong and mighty world power that destroys a tiny kingdom will never give up those they have captured.
There were so many possible revolutions that ended poorly it is no wonder they were lacking hope.
The people of Israel are blind and death! They have worshipped idols or have been overwhelmed by their “power.” (Isaiah 42:18-25)
Far too many Christians fall away from their faith because they do not understand God is not promising a life without challenges. He is promising to be with us in the challenges and tragedies.
God’s work will not be thwarted. He works through his servants. Sometimes these servants are very unlikely – like Cyrus.
10 October 539 BC – the fall of Babylon at the hands of King Cyrus
24 “This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself,
25 who foils the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,
who overthrows the learning of the wise
and turns it into nonsense,
26 who carries out the words of his servants
and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
and I will dry up your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’ – Isaiah 44:24-28
Did Cyrus know God was working through him for His purposes? We are not sure. There is a Cyrus Cylinder that describes his policy of returning exiles to their homes as he did not fear their ability to rise up against him and his nation. The Cyrus Cylinder attributes victory to his god Marduk.
In fact it was Yahweh doing for His people what they could not do for themselves.
The last verse of the Hebrews Scriptures is this:
23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’” – 2 Chronicles 36:23
Luke began his gospel with Genesis and ended it with Chronicles.
As a follower of Jesus, we are to be about building the New Temple – the Church.
God grabs Cyrus’ hands and works through him to free his people. Eventually, Cyrus will know that the God of Israel will look at Yahweh with reverence.
“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:
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 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.
5 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,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it. – Isaiah 45:1-8
Are all kings in place to do God’s will? (see also Romans 13)
Cyrus is the exception not the rule. Most pagan kings are evil and receive their comeuppance.
The New Testament suggests that God wants the world to be run by wise authorities – even if they do not recognize Him. Perhaps even tyranny is better than anarchy.
Perhaps the new thing God is doing at this time becomes obvious in Isaiah 44-45 – a rescuer no one expected in Cyrus. He was referred to as “Yahweh’s anointed.”
In Isaiah 10:5-19, God allows Assyria to destroy the idolatrous Israelites, but He also gave the Assyrians over to their evil.
God will make all things right, even if you have to go through some very dark days to get there.
You can take Judea out of Babylon, but you cannot as easily take Babylon out of Judea.
Perhaps the people of God in exile became too comfortable in Babylon so that they were missing God at work.
The return of some of the exiles will come through God’s chosen instrument in Cyria, but there is a much deeper work to be done by another Servant.
“In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.” Proverbs 21:1
God mocks the man-made idols in Isaiah 44
6 “This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let them foretell what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
9 All who make idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up for them are blind;
they are ignorant, to their own shame.
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
which can profit nothing?
11 People who do that will be put to shame;
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.
12 The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.
13 The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
“Save me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?” – Isaiah 44:9-20
God will display His powerful and mighty power by rescuing His people.
This is our Father’s world!
24 “This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself,
25 who foils the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,
who overthrows the learning of the wise
and turns it into nonsense,
26 who carries out the words of his servants
and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
and I will dry up your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’ – Isaiah 44:9-20
In Isaiah 45 we see that God is working through Cyrus. Cyrus should not get the glory, but God does.
God is sovereign. We need to have humility as we do not know fully what He is doing but willingly surrendering to Him and His work.
“I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. – Isaiah 45:7
The gods of Babylon are demolished in Isaiah 46 and the city was soon to follow in Isaiah 47.
In Romans 8:30 Paul follows Isaiah’s train of thought when he refers to Isaiah 45:25 which says: “But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in him.”
“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22) The people of Israel need a heart change not a location change. Isaiah 49-55 shows the solution to this issue.
The new heaven and new earth to come prophesied by Yahweh.
“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it. – Isaiah 45:8
This is a foreshadowing of the end of the poem in Isaiah 55.
Take notice of how God is at work.
We see God working through Roman and Judean officials for His purposes over and over in the Gospels and in Acts.
Christian history is riddled with people trying to connect current events with what we read in the Scriptures. Avoid oversimple solutions.
Instead think and act with prayerful meditation.