Community Bible Study -- Isaiah
Text of Presentation, Lesson 15, Isa 45:1-25
Click Here for Lesson 15 Photos -- Click Here to return to Isaiah Home Page
The LORD Delivers His Servants
Turning to God
Tonights session covers chapter 45,
skipping most of chapter 44 (which we read but didnt
discuss). However, 44:6 includes a one-liner from God that were
familiar with:
This is what the LORD says . . . : I am the first and I am the last (Isa 44:6 )
This line is familiar because God also says it in
the first chapter of the book of Revelation (Re 1:17). Here it a
way to reemphasize a main point in this part of Isaiah: the LORD
is the all-powerful God, and the only God.
Also in chapter 44 is Gods first revelation of the name of
Gods agent to deliver the Jews from the Babylonian exile
(44:28). This is of critical importance, because a main point of
the last 5 chapters has been that the LORDs ability to
predict the future is proof of His Godhood. Hence tonights
session starts with 44:23 instead of 45:1.
44:23 is a call to praise, in which the heavens" and
the earth" are called to rejoice over the salvation of
the Jewish exiles . . . now to be revealed (44:24-45:7). All
nature (mountains," forests," and trees")
is commanded to join the song of redemption. this is a change
from the beginning of the book when they were called to witness
Israel's rebellion (1:2). Nature, in whom God's creative glory"
is seen, is called to praise God for his greater redemptive
glory" that will be displayed in Israel."
Truly his glory fills the earth (cf 6:3). In this visual (and
auditory) way, Isaiah emphasizes again that the Creator of the
world is the only One who can redeem the world.
44:24-28 now detail God's redemptive plans which Isaiah
has built up to since chapter 40. He names the one from the
east" (41:2) who will be Israel's savior: Cyrus, the Persian
king who will conquer Babylon and order Jerusalem's temple
rebuilt (44:28).
But naming Cyrus is only the climax of a list of participles in
44:24-28 defining I am the LORD" (44:24). God
identifies Himself and His lordship by what he does. (Recall: in
the Middle Eastern mindset, God is what God does.)
God the Creator made" everything, stretching out
the heavens" and spreading out the earth."
God the Lord of history (44:25-26a) reveals Himself through
his servants" the prophets; He makes fools"
of those who try to predict the future with magic. God the
Redeemer (44:26b-28) will rebuild the ruined Jerusalem and its
surrounding towns. Creator, Lord of history, and Redeemer: God
can even use the pagan emperor Cyrus to accomplish His purposes.
In 45:1-8 Cyrus receives his commission from God. He is called
God's "anointed" which is the Hebrew term for
Messiah (45:1). His victories will be gifts from God's hand
(45:1-3), provided for two purposes: so that Cyrus might know
YHWH, the God of Israel," is the LORD," and
so that Gods work in history will be done "for the
sake of Jacob my servant."
Twice God calls Cyrus "by name," emphasizing that
naming Cyrus as an important act of predictive prophecy. Isaiah
has repeatedly insisted God alone can tell the future; attempts
to do so by idol worshipers only make them look like
"fools" (44:25). His ability to name the deliverer so
far in advance is the climactic demonstration of this fact. Hence
although naming Cyrus is the dramatic center of this passage, the
focus is really on God, not Cyrus. If Isaiah ben Amoz is not the
one making a predictive claim here if some unknown
historian wrote after the fact that Cyrus was God's man
this unknown writer denies the very thing he claims! Hes
not writing great theology . . . but a pack of lies!
One evidence of God's lordship is that even though Cyrus does not
acknowledge Him (45:4-5), He knows about Cyrus before
Cyrus is born. The LORD rules the world of time and space. Some
scholars believe the statement that Cyrus will recognize this
eventually is confirmed in the book of Daniel (cf Dan. 6:26-27)
and/or by Cyrus's acknowledgment recorded in Ezra 1:2
that he was called by the LORD to release the Jews.
45:5-8 reiterate the power and absolute uniqueness of God. There
is none like Him; His goal is that people all over the world will
recognize His uniqueness. Three different times the Lord makes
the statement there is no other god than He (45:5-6), and He sums
things up (45:7) with a dramatic statement that nothing on earth
occurs apart from Him. In this assertion, Isaiah denys the pagan
understanding that good and evil (or light and dark) are two
eternally coexistent principles battling in the universe. Isaiah
claims there is only good and light: God. Evil and darkness exist
only because God permits them to exist.
But this does not mean God is neutral; God passionately cares
about the direction creation takes. He "created" the
earth for "righteousness" to prevail and
"salvation" to rule, delivering man from the effects of
evil (45:8).
45:9-13 answer an unspoken challenge to the propriety of what God
has just promised: using someone who does not know God to save
Gods people. A faithful remnant during the Babylonian exile
devoted their lives to studying Scripture; they would expect God
to raise up a deliverer like Moses, who knew and loved the Lord
and through whom God could reveal himself. But God asserts he has
a right as Creator and Redeemer to do whatever He likes, and He
pronounces doom ("woe," 45:9-10) on any who challenge
this. Its like a pot criticizing the potter for his design,
or a baby challenging his parents for having birthed it.
Furthermore, as Maker of the universe and Creator of all
"mankind" as well as Israel's "Holy
One" and "Maker" God has a right to set his
"exiles free" in the way he chooses as an expression of
his own "righteousness" (45:11-13)!
The phrase "I am the Lord" is repeated four times
(44:24; 45:3,5,6) as God makes clear once again: He is the only
God! This brings those who read and believe Isaiah into direct
conflict with todays mindset, which emphasizes tolerance as
the prime virtue. In modern America we can persecute rednecks and
smokers and pro-life activists, but otherwise the only thing we
are allowed to be intolerant of is intolerance . . . certainly
not atheists or other religions not even terrorists
masquerading as Moslems. But Isaiah wants the Jews to be
intolerant. Isaiah says the gods" of Babylon and of
other religions are not gods at all, and we sin if we do not
insist firmly on God's uniqueness.
We ought to have that same concern today. Islam is the fastest
growing religion in America and many Hindus and others
from Eastern religions come here because of economic opportunity.
There is intense political pressure emanating from
well-funded anti-Christian groups like the ACLU to
eliminate Judeo-Christian values from our society as a way to
welcome these people. But Isaiah would say the
opposite; this is not the time to dilute our faith and claim
other faiths "contain a lot of the truth too." This is
the time to share the Judeo-Christian values which have made
America what it is!
The grace we have received gives us no grounds for feeling
superior to those who have not responded to this grace; Jesus
commands us to love unbelieving neighbors as ourselves (Lk
10:27-37). Hence we must not be rude or vicious with persons of
other faiths or of no faith . . . but neither should we confirm
them in their error! Nevertheless, since this puts us out of step
with postmodern political correctness, we can expect persecution
. . . and were already experiencing it!
The balance of chapter 45 sums up God's superiority over the
idols by contrasting God's ability to save with the inability of
the idols. 45:14 paints a picture of people from the ends of the
earth coming humbly to Israel, admitting Israel's God is the only
God. The gods of the idol makers fail and leave them in disgrace"
as they go off" into captivity (45:16). But God's
people are not disgraced"; they are saved"
from captivity (45:17).
The reason is that God is the sole Creator of the universe, and
he created it for a saving purpose, revealed in his promises to
Jacob's descendants (45:18-19). Though His essence may be hidden
(cf 45:15), His desire for relationship with mankind has been
revealed over and over as he has "spoken" to them,
inviting them to seek" him (45:19).
The idol makers, described as fugitives from the
nations," are called before God (45:20). Everyone knows the
idols have failed; their worshipers have been carrying useless
hunks of wood. The LORD asks who predicted this; He alone did; He
is the only God (45:21).
One might now expect gloating or words of judgment (as in
44:9-20), but instead in a surprising illustration of
grace God gives an invitation to these people from the
ends of the earth" to turn" to the Lord
"and be saved" (45:22). God's ultimate purpose in this
conflict with the idols is to save the idol worshipers, not
destroy them. As with Israel, his ultimate purpose in judgment is
redemption.
If he is the only God, he is also the only Savior. And if he
created mankind and the world for good, he is the One to whom
everyone must eventually turn to realize the purpose of their
lives. But this is not an offer of universal salvation. Some
accept God's offer and come; others refuse . . . and suffer
"shame" and defeat (45:24).
One interesting thing we learn from this and previous chapters is
that any impression the Old Testament Jewish faith was narrow and
ethnically based is wrong; worldwide outreach was always part of
core Judaism. YHWH is sole Creator and the only God
of the whole world, so God's purposes are not just for Israel,
but for the whole world; Israel is only the means by which those
purposes are realized. The motivation that impels Christians to
go to the ends of the earth is an Old Testament idea: that there
is only one God and only one Savior; and the ends of the earth
wait for him. The new thought introduced by Christianity was the
concept of meeting God directly in Jesus the Messiah . . . that
the image of the invisible God our Savior is manifested in Jesus,
the Son of God.
Its also interesting that 45:20 speaks of ignorant
people who go around carrying idols of wood. No 21st
century Americans carry idols around with them . . . yet when we
talk about someone burdened with guilt and burdened
with cares, we use the same adverb we would use for someone
burdened by carrying a bundle of wooden statues
wherever he goes. We worry about things like a job, a house, a
car, a love relationship, and other things that enhance our
self-image. We dont call them gods, but the
concept is the same, because they provide our sense of identity
and meaning in life. Yet many suffer from burnout or breakdown
because of overriding concerns about these things. Some borrow to
the hilt live and beyond their means like the tragic-comic
Stanley Johnson in a TV commercial, who brags of all the good
things he has, but laments I can barely pay my finance
charges; someone help me! Stanley Johnsons toys
control him; they are a devastatingly heavy burden.
Isaiah has an answer to modern burdens . . . the same
answer he gave 2700 years ago. We must put our burdens down and
turn things over to God. The issue is whether were willing
to trust God with the things we feel are so necessary to give us
identity and meaning to life. Yet when we relinquish these things
into God's hands, we begin to experience God carrying us.
Meaning, purpose, identity, and fulfillment are ultimately things
only God can provide in any case; so if we refuse to turn these
things over to God, we effectively make them our idols.
So why is it so difficult to trust God with our lives? Were
not sure wed like Gods choices. As ridiculous as it
sounds, this really means we are afraid God will do a worse job
directing our lives than we do! But we are just doing the same
thing the Jews did during the Exile: allowing our fears to keep
us from knowing God's care and deliverance.
We close with a comment about "righteousness." The
Lord's righteousness and human righteousness are paralleled in
45:24-25. We are told righteousness is in the Lord and that the
descendants of Israel will be found righteous in the Lord. What
does this mean? The best illustration may be the story in Genesis
15 that Abraham was accounted righteous because he believed the
incredible promises of God (Gen. 15:6). Abraham did the one right
thing a human can do: He believed God. Thats also what the
exiles are called upon to do: to believe God's promises and not
cast away their faith. In God they can "be found
righteous" if they believe what he says (45:25) . . . and so
can we.
But this righteousness" also means an ongoing life of
faith. We do the right" thing when we turn to God if
faced with an impossible obstacle believing he will carry
us through it or around it or over it. To try to surmount it in
our own strength or to allow it to defeat us is definitely not
right," because God's intention is that we should be
"more than conquerors." So the life of faith is the
life of righteousness. And as we live in constant surrender to
God and trust in his promises, we will discover His plan of
transformation for us, so that our behavior is more and more like
His: righteous.