Isaiah 45:1

The Bible says in Isaiah 45:1-5, “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; 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.”

Cyrus, King of Persia, and then King of Babylon is mentioned by name in this passage. Cyrus became King of Persia and King of Babylon because God raised him up and gave him power. Persia is what is known today as Iran. Babylon was the first of the great world empires that are mentioned in some detail in the book of Daniel. Cyrus became king, and Cyrus created the first great world empire because God made it happen. This tells us some important information about the people in this world. It reminds us that God is involved in everything. Cyrus is called the “anointed” of the Lord. Using the word “anointed” refers to the fact that God has a specific purpose for Cyrus’ life. That is true of every person’s life. Of course, Jesus was the “anointed” in a very unique sense. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world and to be the Savior of the world.

God raised up Cyrus for a purpose: the purpose was to return the children of Israel from enslavement in Babylon back to the promised land. God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and to his seed forever. God kept His promise, and used Cyrus to make sure the promise did not fall by the wayside. God is involved in everything that happens in this earth. God has a plan. God is interested in preserving and guiding and using His people, and God uses everything and everyone to accomplish that purpose. Jesus is King of kings, not only because He is greater than all other kings, but also because He raises up and gives power to all other kings and to all who are in authority on this earth. God raises them up and then He uses them to accomplish His will. That is one of the reasons that Christians are told to honor those in authority. God has raised up those who are in authority and God does not make mistakes. The Bible says in Romans 13:1-7, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

What the Lord did in the life of Cyrus, King of Persia and King of Babylon, is important to remember because the Lord Jesus does the very same thing in the life of every person who is on this earth. He is all-powerful. He controls all things. He gives life. He not only gives life, but He makes every life what it is: in every detail of every person. That includes their character and their strengths and weaknesses. God said concerning King Cyrus in Isaiah 45:1, “whose right hand I have holden.” In other words Cyrus was able to do what he was able to do only because God strengthened and helped him and made it all come to pass. Cyrus did not know the Lord and he did not know that the Lord was helping him, but that was exactly what was taking place. God was using Cyrus and working in his life in order to bring to pass the purpose that God had for Cyrus’ life. The same is true for every life that is upon this earth. Maybe we see the weaknesses and failures of human beings when we look at an individual, but never forget that in some way God is there using and guiding that person to fulfill God’s purpose for that person’s life. God does not make mistakes, and He is in control.

The Bible says in Isaiah 45:6-10, “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. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. 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. 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? Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?” There are several important truths to notice from these verses. To carry over what had just been said about King Cyrus, let’s look at verse 10. God forms every person. The formation involves their birth and all the things that happen to them that make each person who he or she really is. A man and a woman are brought together by the love of God and a child results from their union. But the child is not formed by that man and that woman. The child is formed by God. That is one of the reasons that children can turn out so differently from what the parents had hoped or planned for. God has a plan. Each life has a purpose no matter how that life turned out. No one should ever say to the father, “What begettest thou?” And no one should ever say to the mother, “What hast thou brought forth?” There should be no regrets, no second guesses, and no doubts. As the child grows it is being formed by God. Things happened to that child that God allowed, and only God knew how those events would affect the formation of that human being. That human being belongs to God. It does not belong to the mother or the father. God decides who that person becomes, and who that person becomes fits into God’s purpose for the universe.

God does everything. He is involved in everything. Jesus says in Isaiah 45:6 and 7, “I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” We are being told in this passage about the sovereignty of God over all things. God has created all things, God controls all things, and God is involved in all things. Every person not only has their life from God, but also every person has every detail of their life from God. The character and personality of every person come from God. The weaknesses and strengths of every person come from God. God is everywhere doing all things. That is why God says, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” When evil takes place, it only takes place because God permitted it. Even more evil would happen except that God retrains it when He chooses to restrain. He is God, “and there is none else.” Of course, there is a purpose to everything that God creates and everything that God allows. The infinite all-powerful God is quite able to take all the evil and to make it turn out for good. Even though we may not see the good results now, we will see it at the judgment when we will know even as we are now known of God.

Of course, the Bible teaches us about the free-will of man. It says in Revelation 22:17, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” And it says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But the Bible also teaches about the sovereignty of God. Do not make the mistake of emphasizing the sovereignty of God in every detail of your theology. But do not make the mistake either of neglecting the sovereignty of God. There will come times in your life when you will need to rely totally upon the sovereignty of God if you are going to keep the faith. That time may be for some mother or father after they visit their child now in prison. That time may be when one of you will stand at the graveside of a loved one who departed in disastrous or tragic circumstances. At such times you may need to come to Isaiah chapter 45 and read and remember that God is sovereign. He is involved in all things to such an intimate degree that we prove it by quoting the very words of God and relying upon His words: “I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”

When we think of the smallness of man compared to the greatness of Almighty God, we are surprised at the arrogance that people sometimes have. We would think that people would be still and know that God is God, and that people would readily and easily bow at the feet of Jesus Christ. But such is often not the case. The tendency for the heart of man is to resist God. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.” That is why Isaiah 45:9 says, “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!” Destruction will be the result for those who continue to be at odds with God, and who refuse to fall at the feet of Jesus and believe on Him.

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