Devotion 10.14.26

Isaiah 45

Cyrus, God's Instrument

"1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,

  whose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him

  and to loose the belts of kings,

to open doors before him

  that gates may not be closed:

2 “I will go before you

  and level the exalted places,

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

  and cut through the bars of iron,

3 I will give you the treasures of darkness

  and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

  the God of Israel, who call you by your name"

God uses the unlikely to do his deeds to deliver us into his own hands.

This passage is settling and unsettling at the same time. God has used Babylon to subdue and disperse Israel as a nation, and now he is ending Babylon's rule by allowing, even anointing, Persia's King Cyrus to defeat Babylon. 

In fact, God speaks of Cyrus earlier in Isaiah 44 in almost Davidic terms:

"28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,

  and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;

saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’

  and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Does God allow this today in our own age? It's best to say, "I don't know, but possibly," simply because we cannot know God beyond his own Word. Paul will remind us by asking, "For who can know the mind of God?" (1 Corinthian 2)

We do know God desires nothing more than for us to turn to him (repent) and return to him. We know that God desires us to fear him and love him with our whole heart, mind, body and soul. When we stray, God allows our actions to bring the consequences of our sin to turn us back to him. And sometimes God allows others to return us to him. We know God tests us at times, and we know, as in the case of Joseph, that what others intend as "evil" God takes and uses it for good.

God completes the hope he's giving to Israel (and to us) through his chosen instrument Cyrus, the Persian king, by saying:

"5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,

  besides me there is no God;

  I equip you, though you do not know me,

6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun

  and from the west, that there is none besides me;

  I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7 I form light and create darkness;

  I make well-being and create calamity;

  I am the Lord, who does all these things."

Cyrus will be the king who makes way for Persia to occupy the territory after expelling Babylon. Persia will eventually yield a king who allows Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem and then the temple.

God creates, through his chosen instruments, calamity, and ultimately through calamity we turn to him to know the peace he gives. He is light to us and that light pierces the darkness. He does this to know that he alone is God.

His ultimate servant, Christ, is given into death and raised again as final triumph over darkness. He is God's right hand and has triumphed over chaos and calamity and brings us peace. We turn to him in time of need to seek the peace he alone can give. He is our light in time of darkness.

Pray with me: God, Help me in time of calamity and chaos to know you are there. Send your Spirit to give me strength during such times, to raise my eyes to you and to seek your will. These things we ask in your Son's name, Amen.