e martë, 17 qershor 2008

Isaiah 45:1-8

Passage: Isaiah 45:1-8
Cyrus, God’s Instrument.
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.

4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.

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.
8 "Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the LORD have created it.

Journal: Who is this Cyrus? He would reign as the king of Persia about 150 years after these prophetic words were written by Isaiah. Judah in the years to come would fall to Babylon and is carried off into captivity. Babylon thereafter would fall to Persia, and Judah therefore would become subject to Persian rule, and to King Cyrus.

The calling of Cyrus evidences the sovereignty of God. That is, he was "anointed" by God though he did not "know" God. [v. 1a -- "Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him . . ."; v. 4-5 -- "For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me . . ."]

There is no event, international or otherwise, that occurs outside the counsel of our sovereign God. Here, Isaiah writes of a man that lives at least 100 years after him, and even calls him by name. God leaves the idea of His great intervention with no doubt or wavering -- "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things. Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it." [v.7-8] His most excellent sovereign ways produce "clouds that rain down righteousness."

Heard 'Round the House: I received a nice Father's Day present from Jill and the kids [a couple of pecan trees planted in the front yard]. Alex [age 13] decided to go an extra step, and bought some things for me from the dollar store with his own money. Very sweet. Anna took notice apparently on Saturday, and decided that she wanted to get me something extra as well. A road trip to a store was impossible, so I received [literally] a bag of rocks from Anna. These rocks were special, because she had painstakingly gathered interesting selections from our yard and placed them into a clear baggy. I love my rocks. My rocks brought a tear to my eye as she pointed out certain selections that had special marks, crystals, and the like. Father's Day Rocked!