Verses 1-13, “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ “Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it. “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ” Thus says 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, you command Me. I have made the earth, And created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,' Says the Lord of hosts.”
Cyrus was prophesied about two hundred years before he was even born. He was anointed by God to deliver the Jewish people from captivity. Cyrus conquered Babylon and took from them all of their treasures. What is really amazing is that Cyrus was a pagan king who didn't even know God, but he would be raised up to accomplish God's will nonetheless. We know from Abraham that God can do the impossible. Romans 4:17, “...(as it is written, 'I have made you a father of many nations') in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” The events concerning Cyrus were so unlikely, that the fulfillment of this prophesy is just one more testimony to the accuracy of the Word and greatness of God. In fact, you would be absolutely foolish to ever contend with Him. No matter what you are going through today, God can go before you removing barriers and giving you hidden treasures...if you believe and obey.
Verses 14-25, “Thus says the Lord: 'The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over in chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God.’ ” Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever. For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save. Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. In the Lord all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”
Israel would go from a lowly place of captivity to leading the other nations. They would be acknowledged for being people of God, and respected as such. And those who worshipped idols would be ashamed and disgraced, no matter how important they seemed to the world. As Christians, we may feel persecuted by the world at times, but we know that one day all will be set right. God will bring low all those who exalt themselves against Him (and us if we are His representatives), and all of their idols will be proven worthless. Simply put, all disobedience to Him will be punished. II Corinthians 10:4-6, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
So ask yourself, where is your hope? Your faith better be in the God who can actually save. Those who think they know better than God and redefine His word to allow their unrighteousness are going to find out that they were sorely mistaken. Those who put their trust in people and other things are going to be let down miserably and left ashamed. You can bring forth your case, but it will not stand. There is One who is worthy of our praise and full obedience, and He has given us more than enough reason to believe. Therefore, we are left without excuse on the day of judgement.
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