Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 45:1-13
Consider these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 45:1-13:
1. How does the prophecy in Isaiah 45 regarding Cyrus highlight the distinction between the Creator and pagan gods?
2. Why is it significant that God chose Cyrus, a Gentile, to free the exiled Israelites and bring them back to their land?
3. In what ways does God's use of Cyrus to fulfill His purposes reflect His sovereign power and the ultimate purpose of bringing glory to Himself?
Transcript:
So we see a clear, prophetic word here in the Book of Isaiah as we come to Chapter 45. Cyrus hasn't even come to power. He hasn't even been born yet, yet Isaiah is speaking this word about this one, Cyrus, who is going to do a great work. Now, this is strange because Cyrus is not a Hebrew. He is not from the nation of Judah. He is not from the nation of Israel. He is a Gentile. And yet God is ordaining that this one is going to be the one who will bring the people back, that he will free the people from where they have been exiled to, that they will come back to the land. And again, he is a Gentile. This is off. But why is God doing this? Well, we know the answer, as reformed folk, we know the basic concept behind the glory of God. Westminster Short of Catechism, question and answer one, what is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. This is going to bring glory to God. This is why this is being done. We see here specifically, it's being done for the people of Israel, for God's servant, Jacob.
How is God glorified in them? Just simply in that these people are able to come back to the land that God is doing amazing things? Yes, that is absolutely happening. But we have to remember the underlying promise, the messianic promise that is flowing through here. When they're brought back, when they are brought in, they are protected, they are preserved, and the line to the Messiah is kept intact. They are being protected here, right? The line, the red thread to the Messiah is happening, it's being preserved. And so we see that is how God is bringing glory because, again, He's doing it for His servant, Jacob, for Israel, His chosen. It's not that Cyrus is great, that Cyrus is good. He's doing this for His people. He says, I'm going to call you by your name, Cyrus. I name you. You don't know me, but here's who I am. I'm the Lord. There is no other. There's no other gods. There's none. I am the all powerful, Almighty one, and I'm going to equip you to do this even though you don't know me. And that again, doesn't that seem bizarre to us? But God does these things.
He uses these vessels, even when they aren't set apart for Him, like they're not one of the chosen people, He will set Cyrus apart for this purpose. And so why is that? That people may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none besides me, that He is the only God, there is no other. And look at the power that He alludes to here and what these people need to know that He forms light, He creates darkness. I make well-being and create clamony. I am the Lord who does all these things. He is all powerful. I've been talking a lot in the sermons about the Ten Commandments, this idea of the differences between the creator and the creation, that creator-creation distinction and how it is so important. And here we see this. God is saying, I am the creator. I am able to do these things, these things that your pagan gods cannot do. There is no distinction necessarily between you and them. You see them as being higher than you, but they don't have the power to do what I'm talking about. They don't have the power to ordain that Cyrus is going to bring the people back to the land.
Like the God who is the one who forms light and creates darkness, they don't have that power. There's a distinction between their pagan gods and between the God who is the one who says, I'm the Lord, I am Yahwey, and there is no other. And so we see what God is doing here. And again, we have this distinctiveness being pointed out to us of the God of the Bible, of Yahwey, of the one who is the creator of heaven and earth. Verse 12, I made the earth and created man on it. Again, creator creation distinction is important. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their hosts. I have stirred him up in righteousness and I will make all his ways level. This one who has created the earth, who's done these amazing things like stretching out the heavens, shouldn't be a big deal for him to make the path straight for Cyrus to bring the people back to the land. If God can make the heavens, create man, make the earth stretch out the heavens, commanded all the hosts of heaven, setting this up is no big deal for him, right?
And so what do we see here? Something important. He shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for the price reward, not because he's being paid off to do so, not because it's financially beneficial for him, but because God is ordaining it. He is doing this. God is in control. He is using Cyrus for this purpose. So as I think about what we might want to do with this passage, as we think about this, we see that God does use people for His purposes. And as I think about this, I think, How amazing is it that here is Cyrus, who was this Gentile man that God used for His purposes, and He didn't even really know it. He didn't understand it. But how blessed are we that God has called us, us Gentile sinners. He has called us to Himself, and He has saved us. He has redeemed us, and He is using us for His ultimate purpose, right? That we are to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, that we proclaim this message that sets people free. We raise our children. We proclaim the Gospel to them. We do all of this to the glory of God, and we know it.
What a blessing that is. So may we relish in the fact that we are God's instruments for His glory, that every day we might wake up and see the opportunities that we have to bring glory to the one who has created us and the one who has redeemed us.
