Isaiah 45:1-13--Cyrus, God's Instrument

Isaiah 45:1-13
English Standard Version

Cyrus, God's Instrument
45 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
    that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
    and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the LORD,
    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
    I name you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the LORD, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and create calamity;
    I am the LORD, who does all these things.

8 “Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
    let the earth cause them both to sprout;
    I the LORD have created it.

9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
    a pot among earthen pots!
Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
    or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

​11 Thus says the LORD,
    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
“Ask me of things to come;
    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?
12 I made the earth
    and created man on it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
    and I commanded all their host.
13 I have stirred him up in righteousness,
    and I will make all his ways level;
he shall build my city
    and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
    says the LORD of hosts.

---

This message is addressed to King Cyrus, who hasn't even been born yet.  Messianic language is used to refer to him as "The LORD's anointed" (the same language is used to refer to Jesus as the Messiah (the LORD's Annointed).  Being anointed was a sign that someone would be filled with the Holy Spirit and set apart for a special task or purpose.  In this case, Cyrus would be filled with the Spirit so that He could return the Israelites to the Land and rebuild the Temple.  He would also protect Israel from her enemies, and he would proclaim the Name of the LORD throughout all His empire.

The LORD will also bless him with military successes.  The LORD would do this though Cyrus did not know Him at first and at first did not worship Him.  Why?  For the sake of His people that He calls both Jacob and Israel--I think this means that God intends to save all of the ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob again even if they have not been born again and received a new identity like Jacob becoming Israel.  God will still save them for the sake of His Name and His covenant that He made with them and with their forefathers.

The LORD said He was doing this so that all nations everywhere would know that He alone is the one and only God.  He is the God in the East and the West.  He is the only God in the North and the South.  All others that are idols or gods without form that people worship are cheap imitations.  He is the one who separated light from darkness and made day and night, but this also speaks to Him being the one who makes moral law and determines good and evil.  Good ss that which is consistent with His nature and what He would do--He always does what is good.  Evil is what is contrary to His nature and what He would never do--He cannot sin or be tempted to sin.  5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  (1 John 1:5).

​Then the prophet prays that the blessings of the Mosaic Covenant (see the blessings and curses from the book of Deuteronomy) would come upon the People and the Land once again.  First that the rains would fall, and the land would become fertile and produce fruit, but that this also would be connected with the spiritual harvest of a people's hearts turning back to the LORD and being saved not only from their physical exile, but also their spiritual exile.

The LORD proclaims judgment on any would try to contest Cyrus's legitimacy to be used by the LORD (probably because he was from a Gentile nation and started off as a pagan who did not know the LORD).  The LORD is the potter and all of us (Jews and Gentiles alike) are the clay.  20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” (Romans 9:20).  Israel had no right, nor did any other people or nation) to be jealous of what the LORD was doing through Cyrus.  God made Him exactly how He wanted him to be and equipped him for the exact purposed and work He had set forth for Cyrus to do.  To speak ill of Cyrus to the LORD would be as foolish and rude as to question a mother or father about why they would love their child--even a child who had a disability, defect, or deformity.  You would not ask a mother, "How could you give birth to such an ugly child?" However, that is essentially what people were asking God.  God uses the things we think are "ugly" to accomplish His beautiful plans, especially when the ones we think are "beautiful" reject Him and have ugly hearts that rebel against the LORD and His Spirit.

God encourages the Israelites to ask questions, but He does not promise them answers as to why He does what He does.  The LORD, knowing the heart of Cyrus, says He will stir Cyrus up to righteousness and make his ways level.  He would rebuild Jerusalem, the LORD's City, and set His exiles free.  He would do this because it was right and at great cost to himself, seeking no reward for himself in this life, but I believe that the LORD has said enough in enough places to cause me to think that Cyrus was truly saved and that he will receive his reward when the LORD blesses his people.  Cyrus will be counted among the spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacbo, right there alongside the apostles and all the others from the great multitude that the LORD has redeemed unto Himself, 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:9-12).