Isaiah 44:23-45:13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Isaiah 44:23-45:13. Let’s go!
Isaiah 44:23-27 (NIV)
23 Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
24 “This is what the LORD says– your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread 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 built,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’
On verses 23-27: These verses speak of how God will speak into existence the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem and have them rebuild their ruined city. God will do this to the chagrin of false prophets, diviners and so-called experts who claimed this would never happen (v25). As verse 23 suggests, it would be a glorious day when God would redeem His people by allowing the Jewish exiles to be set free. In verse 27, God seems to compare this miracle to His earlier miracles in Exodus when He would allow His people to cross the Red Sea and the Jordan River on dry land.
Isaiah 44:28 (NIV)
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.”‘
On verse 28: Here Isaiah writes that God will choose a leader called Cyrus who will somehow be responsible for ordering the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple. Keep in mind that Isaiah is writing all this down about 100 years before Babylon would conquer Jerusalem and take the Jewish people as exiles, and over 150 years before King Cyrus of Persia would defeat Babylon and order the return of the Jewish exiles to their homeland.
Isaiah 45:1-3 (NIV)
1 “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 the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
On verses 1-3: Imagine that you’re Cyrus and you’re reading this 150 year old scroll from Isaiah that contains a message personally from God to you, saying that God will enable you to conquer nations and amass great wealth (v1-2). History suggests that Cyrus took this message seriously. And notice God’s reason for doing this: it is so that Cyrus, who grew up worshiping many gods, would know the LORD (v3), who calls him by name.
Whenever God blesses you, it is ultimately not for your comfort or prosperity alone, but so that you would know God personally, who calls you by name. It reminds me of Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Let not the rich person boast of their riches, or the wise person boast of their wisdom, or the strong person boast of their strength. But let the one who boasts boast about this: that they know Me and understand Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.”
Isaiah 45:4-6 (NIV)
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 men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
On verses 4-6: For the sake of His chosen people, God chooses to use Cyrus, even though he does not acknowledge the LORD. God can use whomever He likes. He is sovereign. So whenever God uses you to make a difference in someone else’s life, stay humble and don’t give yourself too much credit. God could easily have chosen to use someone else if He wanted to.
Wait, JB, here God says that Cyrus does not acknowledge the LORD, and yet you say that Isaiah 41:25 is also talking about Cyrus as “the one from the rising sun who calls on my name”. How can Cyrus call on God’s name and also not acknowledge the LORD? That’s exactly it. Cyrus had the habit of calling on the gods of the nations he conquered, but did he really know and acknowledge who the LORD is? No. God does not want you simply to call on His name out of ritual or superstition. God wants you to acknowledge Him, to know Him personally.
Isaiah 44:7 (NIV)
7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
On verse 7: Cyrus had most likely grown up believing that there are many gods, and that some gods are responsible for good whereas some gods are responsible for destruction. God clarifies that He is the one true God and that everything is in His hands.
Isaiah 44:8 (NIV)
8 “You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.
On verse 8: When verse 8 says, “let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it”, there is a lesson we can learn here: In God’s kingdom, you can’t have salvation without righteousness. You and I cannot be saved without being righteous (i.e. pure and holy in God’s sight). The problem is that none of us is righteous, not even one. That is why God would send a Saviour, a Messiah, Jesus Christ, to be our righteousness and also to die for our sins. Through Jesus Christ, we can be righteous in God’s sight and saved from our sins.
Isaiah 44:9-12 (NIV)
9 “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’
11 “This is what the LORD says– the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.
On verses 9-12: God is our potter, our maker. We are His clay. At the end of the day we have no right to criticize God for what He does or think that we know better than Him. To say that He is on another level compared to us is an understatement.
Isaiah 44:13 (NIV)
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.”
Father, You are sovereign and You can choose to do whatever You please. You are also good and trustworthy. Thank You that every blessing You pour into my life is not only for my own happiness or convenience; even more, it’s so that I can know You personally. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
