Isaiah 45:1-12
Isa 45:1
Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose
right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the
loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not
be shut;
As you recall Cyrus would not be born for about 170 years
yet and here God is showing that he can foretell the future and will bring what
he says to pass unlike the false gods.
The LORD appointed Cyrus to be king of the Medes.
Cyrus was called the LORD’s anointed not because he was anointed with oil
like a prophet was but that he will be raised up to perform specific duties for
the LORD. In 539 B.C. he will
conquer Babylon and then he will begin to free the Israelites which were kept in
bondage in Babylon. His right hand
would be strengthened which means that the LORD will grant him the unabated
strength to fulfill the tasks which he will undertake in the name of the LORD.
He will also subdue many nations.
From John Gill “Xenophon relates, that he
subdued the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, both the countries of
Phrygia, the Lydians, Carians, Phoenicians, and Babylonians; also the Bactrians,
Indians, Cilicians, the Sacae, Paphlagonians, and Megadinians; likewise the
Greeks that inhabit Asia, Cyprians and Egyptians. Herodotus says, that he ruled
over all Asia.” Xenophon was a
military leader and philosopher born in Athens and lived 430-354 B.C.
The loins of kings which the LORD loosened were Croesus of Lydia and
Belshazzar of Babylon.
Then the king's countenance was changed,
and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and
his knees smote one against another. (Daniel 5:6) This is speaking of
Belshazzar. The leaved gates were
the main gates of Babylon and were opened to him as the conqueror and were not
shut.
Isa 45:2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places
straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars
of iron:
God would personally intervene in the battle for Babylon.
He will go before them and would remove all the hindrances and
obstructions which could bog down an army.
He will make their paths easier to complete the task at hand.
Historians reported that the main gates of Babylon were made of brass.
This was wise because wooden gates can be burned but brass cannot.
There were over 100 gates into the city of Babylon.
The bars of iron were what the doors were fastened shut with as they were
laid horizontally across the gates to secure them shut.
Isa 45:3
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and
hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which
call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
It is believed that Nebuchadnezzar had amassed so much
treasure in his conquests that he actually had trouble wondering who to leave it
to. So he built brass ships and
loaded the treasure into them and then placed them into the Euphrates and then
overran the ships with the river to hide the treasure.
Then the LORD revealed the location of the treasure of the king of Lydia.
Lydia was located just south of modern Istanbul in Turkey and existed
between 1200-546 B.C. The fact that
the LORD was going to reveal the location of the treasure which was hidden shows
that no secrets can ever be withheld from the LORD and that he has full
knowledge of what is going on in the entire world.
This would assure Cyrus that he was called by his name specifically and
that God was the true God of Israel having omniscience.
Isa 45:4
For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I
have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not
known me.
Here God tells Judah that he will perform their release
through Cyrus because of the body of believers within the nation of Israel plus
he chose national Israel to bring forth the Messiah.
The Israel of God is the true body of believers as all those chosen are
the Elect of God.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be
multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2) For
the purpose of returning the Jews to the land, God specifically named Cyrus to
perform that task which he did.
Cyrus would have been a polytheist and did not know the one true God at this
time yet God knew him and chose him to free Israel upon conquering Babylon.
Isa 45:5
I am the LORD, and there is none else,
there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
In response to the polytheism (the worship of multiple
deities) God is confirming that he is the LORD alone and there is no other gods
and there is no other primary god beside him.
God is the one who strengthened Cyrus to defeat Babylon and free the
captives even though Cyrus did not know it and maybe thought that he was the one
who was the conqueror in his own power.
Isa 45:6
That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from
the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and
there is none else.
Here God is stating that all the inhabitants of the world
which are represented by the east and the west, that they will know there are no
other gods, no matter how deeply embedded idols are in a false religion, that
there is only one true God in three persons.
There are no other gods ruling from anywhere as they are all figments of
the imaginations of unsaved man normally for the purpose of controlling the
people through fear.
Isa 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and
create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Then Cyrus must remember that he is still a man and is
under the authority of the Creator of all human beings.
The LORD declares that he is the one who created light.
Not only the physical light of the sun but also the light of the gospel
which brings people out of darkness.
Then the LORD created the night so his creation is able to sleep and
refresh themselves. He creates
darkness in the sense that he withholds the light of the gospel from those who
are not predestined for salvation.
He withheld it from those people groups who chose to adopt idols and live in
false religion. Only God can open
the spiritual eyes of the spiritually blind.
Then the LORD states that he makes peace.
Not only does he make peace between warring nations or people having
personal conflicts but the peace he makes was peace with God for the true
believer by means of the cross of Christ.
Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)
Then the LORD creates evil and this is speaking of the calamities that
come into this world. He creates
tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones, blizzards, etc. not to be cruel but to remind
the world that they were the ones who disobeyed him and walked away from him to
adopt their own religions like evolution, new age, cults, etc.
These calamities are designed to bring people’s minds back to the LORD
and to seek him. The LORD makes no
excuses in that he is the one who brings all these things upon the earth.
Isa 45:8
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour
down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and
let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
Let the righteousness of God pour down from Heaven to
bless the elect of God by the righteous acts that God will do on behalf of his
elect. Then let the earth open and
receive those blessings from the LORD.
Let these blessings come to the people God has chosen for salvation and
with that salvation shall they be deemed righteous.
God is the one who has created and put into motion his great plan of
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ who will die for the elect of God upon
Calvary thus giving all the named elect everlasting life.
God’s righteousness will effect both justice and faithfulness.
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord,
who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the
ministry; (1 Timothy 1:12 )
Isa 45:9
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the
potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to
him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
The word “striveth” carries with it a meaning of
“controversy, adversary or dispute.”
This would apply to both the Israelites and the Babylonians.
To the Israelites for adopting the ways of false religion because they
thought bad things about the LORD and abandoned him.
To the Babylonians because they would not let the captives return to
Israel. Then God uses Cyrus, a
Gentile, to free the captives and allow them to be brought back to Israel.
They may have expected a deliverance akin to that of when Israel came out
of Egypt. Then God uses the picture
of someone who fashions pottery.
The potsherds striving with the potsherds of the earth, that is, man who also
came from the earth. They may
strive with each other but they do not have the power or authority to strive
with their Creator. Then the clay
which represents man, should he question the potter as to what he making out of
the clay? The potter has authority
over the clay, not the clay over the potter.
The clay is complaining that the potter has no hands, that is, he does
not have the ability or right to make whatever he wants even if his creative
abilities are wanting and what he makes does not turn out the way the clay wants
it to. In other words, just because
we do not understand everything the LORD is up to, we must not question his
ability nor what his goals are in accomplishing what he sets out to do.
Isa 45:10
Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What
begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
The same situation exists as if a child questions a
father as to why he was made like this or how come he wasn’t born into a rich
family or wasn’t born the opposite sex.
Then a child would question his or her mother, how come I look like this
or why am I so short and how come I don’t have blond hair or why am I weak of
body? A child should never question
their parents and blaming them for things out of their control and a child
should be satisfied who they are, the way the LORD made them.
Israel should not complain that the LORD is using Cyrus to free them, as
long as they are freed to return to the land and build the temple.
Behold, I will send my messenger,
and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight
in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)
Isa 45:11
Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his
Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of
my hands command ye me.
The LORD, the Holy One of Israel, is the one who brings
the nation forth and sets them apart as his people, especially the true
believers within the nation. God
invites them to make inquiries as to what is going to be their future concerning
the Babylonian captivity. We
previously read the God is the potter and his people are the clay but here God
shows how he interacts with his people by allowing them to inquire of him the
plans he has for them. Will God
allow them to command him or will they trust him enough to bring them through
the upcoming trying times in Babylon.
Many times when we face trying times, we think that we know what is best
for us and at times we go to God and basically tell him how things should be
worked out but in reality we do not have all the facts as God does and that is
why we are to trust him through every situation we do not understand.
Isa 45:12
I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I,
even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I
commanded.