Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed (Isaiah 45:1)

So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name (Isaiah 45:3).

“For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have not known Me (Isaiah 45:4).

“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me; (Isaiah 45:5)

That men may know...That there is no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:6).

When Isaiah gave this prophecy sometime between 740 -701 BC, Cyrus the Great, who would become the king of Persia, had not even been born (600 BC). And it would be another 59 years before he took the throne (559 BC). 

God gave this amazing prophecy over a hundred and fifty years before it came to pass to demonstrate that He is "the Lord, and there is no other!" (Isaiah 45:5,6). This was no generic prophecy that could apply to just anyone. God named the very one to be born (Isaiah 45:1,3,4), the very authority he would possess ("Cyrus the Great," Isaiah 45:4 "a title of honor") and the very task he would perform (Isaiah 44:28, "Jerusalem will be built...foundation will be laid"; 44:13, "He will build my city and will let My exiles go free"), even "Cyrus" even though Cyrus himself had no knowledge of the LORD (Isaiah 45:4-5, Cyrus had not even been born).

To contrast the false gods and claims of idol worshippers, God manifested His uniqueness by declaring this prophecy with both specificity (e.g. naming "Cyrus") and antiquity (i.e. cannot be claimed as something able to be surmised from current events):

"Who has announced this from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other God besides Me" (Isaiah 45:21).

Although liberal scholars try to argue that these chapters from Isaiah must have been written by a different person at a different time,the oldest record of the Old Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, document the scroll of Isaiah as being a single, unified book. Also, such a view fails to appreciate the premise of this prophecy, which is that God knows, declares and determines future events. He is the sovereign and only God!

Excavations in Babylon from 1872-1882 led to the discovery of a clay barrel, known as the Cyrus Cylinder. Written on this cylinder was the account of the reign of King Cyrus the Great. It revealed his benevelonce toward conquered nations and his decree that “all of their peoples I gathered together and restored to their dwelling-places" (Price, Ira M. 1902. The Monuments and the Old Testament. Chicago, IL: Christian Culture Press.), which validates both the biblical account (2 Chronicles 36:22, 23 and Ezra 1:1-4, 7, 8; 3:7; 4:3) and the prophecy of Isaiah. 

Friends, what are we to make of all this? We should know and acknowledge that God's Word is fully trustworthy; that the LORD alone is God and sovereign over the affairs of man; that what God prophecies and promises WILL INDEED be fulfilled. Praise God!

I have also called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have not known Me... 

I will gird you, though you have not known Me. (Isaiah 45:4-5).

God says that He chose that generation to give them title and honor and strength, even though they had not known Him. Why? Because God was acting in keeping with His promises to the Patriarchs (i.e. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, cf. Isaiah 45:4). And it was not the Patriarchs but God, who gave the promises, that is the key. It was by God's sovereign choice that they experienced God's deliverance and blessing. In considering this sovereign choice and act by God, Isaiah proceeds to answer the obvious objection, namely, 'Why did you make me this way?' Isaiah writes,

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—
An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’” (Isaiah 45:9-10)

Simply put, it is not man's place to quarrel with his Maker! Will clay argue with the Potter, who molds it? Does a baby, who is being born, quarrel with his father or mother? Rather, to those who are given the ability to perceive what God is doing, they ought simply to give glory to their Maker and Savior, thanking Him for giving them both understanding and salvation and for not subjecting them to the fate of the ignorant masses.

In the New Testament, Paul makes a very similar argument with respect to those God chooses for salvation:

Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? (Romans 9:18-21)

But it is not as though God chooses some for salvation and others for damnation. Rather, in the operation of free will, God shows how we all universally and foolishly choose to reject Him. And it is simply in His forebearance, by which He demonstrates His glorious power through the self-condemned masses and His glorious grace through His chosen few, that He does not bring all the wicked to a swift and final end:

What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared (In the Greek middle voice, so read as "prepared themselves") for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared (i.e. God did this) in advance for glory (Romans 9:22-23).

Praise God for choosing us for salvation! I am daily reminded how I would never have chosen Him of my own free will. Whether by self-delusion or rebellious volition, I would have insisted in finding my own way. Even now I feel the battle going on within me between a free will that is energized by my sinful human nature and a Spirit-empowered faith, which constantly reminds me of Who's I am and leads me to live in keeping with His will:

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want (Galatians 5:17).

Friends, let us live in keeping with the leading of the indwelling Spirit of God! 

Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other. I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to me.” The people will declare, “The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength.” And all who were angry with him will come to him and be ashamed. In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified, and in him they will boast. (Isaiah 45:22-25 NLT)

Even in the Old Testament salvation comes by God alone: "Let all the world look to me for salvation!" God will command  their allegiance, and they will acknowledge that their righteousness and their strength come not from themselves but from God. It is "in the LORD" that "all the generations of Israel will be justified." It is "in him" alone "they will boast."

Isaiah affirms a righteousness that is from God, a justification (i.e. declaration of righteousness) that is "in God". The language of Isaiah 45:23 ("Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to me") should remind us of the expression used to exalt Christ in Philippians:

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NLT)

When people confess their allegiance to God the Father, they will also be confessing their allegiance to the Son, Jesus Christ, for He is the means by which our righteousness and justification come:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)

How did God deal with our sins? He made Jesus, who was sinless, to become a sin offering for us. That is why Jesus was also called the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" by John the Baptist. Just as the sacrificial lamb was the substitute for the sins of Israel, so Jesus became the substitute for our sins. What is more, as the Book of Hebrews teaches, whereas the blood of lambs was only temporary and a shadow, the blood of Christ is real and enduring. Praise the LORD for giving us the righteousness of Christ, even the strength ("faith") to receive it. 

 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth;
  for I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22)

God used Cyrus in a very special way.  God raises up Cyrus for the purpose of allowing the remnant to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.  As it says in Isaiah 45:4-5,

"I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me."

God's annointing of Cyrus testified to His ability to use even those who do not recognize or follow Him for the good of His people.  It is clear that it is not Cyrus just having a moment of goodness or righteousness as it says in Isaiah 45:13,

"I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight."

Today's reading gives encouragement to the oppressed and downtrodden.  There are many who are experiencing persecution and suffering at the hands of others.  Is this suffering a gift from God?  As our reading states, it can be just that.  Or better yet, a tool God uses to mold us.  It also tells us that God is in control during these times.  As a child it is hard to understand why we have to suffer.  Romans 3:3-5 puts suffering in context to God's love,

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

Why does God allow this?  Chapter 48 reveals that it can be due to one's stubborness toward God.  Isaiah 48:4,

"For I knew how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck were iron, your forehead was bronze."

If only the Israelites would have paid attention and listened to God's commands in the first place (Isa. 48:18).  We too can take heed to this warning and learn without learning the hard way.  Even in times when we find ourselves not the most attentitve to God's voice we have a Redeemer and can repent just as easily.  It is a choice that we all make many times throughout our lives.  God knows this and his faithfulness is enough.  The same type of deliverance is available to us as we submit ourselves to God and return to him during these times of suffering.

I know God is unchanging.  I wonder even though we consider ourselves to be learning, growing and changing how much of our behaviour is so extremely cyclical to our God.  It seems the problems of 2000 or 3000 years ago are still our problems today.  I also find myself no better, smarter or stronger than any of the confused faithful from years ago.  I am just glad God loves us enough to keep repeating his efforts to allow us salvation.