Season 6, Podcast 103, Isaiah 45:1-7, “I Am the Lord, and There is None Else Pt 1.”

Season 6, Podcast 103, Isaiah 45:1-7, “I Am the Lord, and There is None Else Pt 1.”

Cyrus, king of Persia, 559-530 BC, was known as Cyrus the Great. He ruled the largest empire known to the world at that time. He was unique. He conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return home to rebuild their temple. The Lord used Cyrus to bless Judah, Isaiah wrote,

Isaiah 44:28

That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

And in Isaiah 45 we learn.

Isaiah 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;

Isaiah’s ministry was from about 740-686 BC. At the time that Isaiah gave his prophecy, Cyrus had not even been born. Babylon was the greatest empire, and Persia was divided into tribes. About 90 years separated Isaiah’s death and the Babylonian captivity. About 150 years Separated Isaiah’s prophecies and the reign of Cyrus.  Though Jewish and Christian tradition hold that the entire book of Isaiah was written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz who prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, Isaiah’ prophecies were so spectacular that some modern skeptics, without sufficient evidence, claim that the Book of Isaiah was written by three separate people or groups of people. That way they can explain away the divine nature of revelation. However, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which showed the Book of Isaiah as one document, supports the Jewish and Christian point of view. 

The Lord is with Cyrus, a gentile king.

Isaiah 45:2-5

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: 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. 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. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

That teaches one of the great lessons of the Holy Bible. The Lord is no respecter of persons. He uses great men and women of the ages to further his work. That is why studying the great books of the world is so very important. The Lord gives all of his children everything they are willing to accept in their own language. Truth is greater than orthodoxy. The Holy Scriptures do not contain all truth, but they give us standards of judgment by which we can judge all spiritual truth.

Christ is the God of the whole earth. John expresses this so beautifully that the following is perhaps the world’s favorite scripture. I present it in the context in which it was written.

John 3:13-17

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Fighting against the sin of idol worship, Isaiah teaches,

Isaiah 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.