Isaiah 44-45
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
Isaiah 44:6
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the First and I am the Last;
besides Me there is no god.”
The LORD again emphasizes His preeminence. Time and again He declares that He is God and there is no other. (Isaiah 44:6,8; 45:5,6,14,18,21,22) Idols of wood certainly cannot compete. The LORD mocks those who take a block of wood, burn half of it to cook their supper, and bow down before the other half. (Isaiah 44:9-17) How obviously ridiculous that is! And yet the idolator is blind to his folly. (Isaiah 44:18-20) (I wonder how blind we, too, might be sometimes. Oh, sure, we’re not as silly as these ancient peoples, bowing down before figures made of wood, clay, or metal. We’re far more sophisticated than that! Or are we?)
The LORD declares that He will demonstrate His sovereignty by raising up Cyrus (the Great of Persia) to accomplish the LORD’s purposes. He even goes so far as to call Cyrus His “anointed” — that is, “messiah”. (Isaiah 45:1) Although we should recognize that this term has been used before (e.g., for Saul, David, and other kings of Israel and Judah) and that it is not completely reserved specifically for the Messiah, Jesus, we should not disregard the significance of this designation. Cyrus is the LORD’s specific choice for working out His purposes, and the LORD declares it well ahead of time, as no one else can. Even though Cyrus does not know the LORD, the LORD knows Cyrus. (Isaiah 45:4) So Who is responsible for Cyrus’ success? How is it that Cyrus rises to power? How is it that he is able to conquer mighty Babylon and other kingdoms?
It is entirely because of the LORD that Cyrus ever becomes “the Great”. And that is something we need to remember when we look around at our world today, when we see various leaders rise or fall. It is the LORD Who raises up and Who tears down. That is not to say that we should be politically passive, not at all. But regardless of whether we view certain world leaders as “good” or “bad”, we need to trust that the LORD is always fully in control.
One more thing…
Turn to Me and be saved,
Isaiah 45:22-23
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By Myself I have sworn;
from My mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’”
If that sounds a bit familiar, consider what Saint Paul later writes to the Philippians:
Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so 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
Paul knows Isaiah. Paul’s echo of Isaiah in his letter to the Philippians is by no means accidental.