My part - Jan. 2, 2006
Today I read Isaiah 45. This chapter is the message of God revealing himself to a pagan, foreign King, Cyrus, who would allow Israel to go back to their homeland from exile in 538 B.C. The ancient historian Josephus relates that King Cyrus decided to let Israel go when he read this passage about himself.
Isaiah 45
1 "This is what the LORD says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains [a] ;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
5 I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.
8 "You heavens above, rain down righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness grow with it;
I, the LORD, have created it.
9 "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
'What are you making?'
Does your work say,
'He has no hands'?
10 Woe to him who says to his father,
'What have you begotten?'
or to his mother,
'What have you brought to birth?'
11 "This is what the LORD says
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 It is I who made the earth
and created mankind upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts.
13 I will raise up Cyrus [b] in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,
says the LORD Almighty."
14 This is what the LORD says:
"The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, [c]
and those tall Sabeans
they will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,
coming over to you in chains.
They will bow down before you
and plead with you, saying,
'Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other god.' "
15 Truly you are a God who hides himself,
O God and Savior of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved by the LORD
with an everlasting salvation;
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,
to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the LORD says
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited
he says:
"I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob's descendants,
'Seek me in vain.'
I, the LORD, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 "Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Declare what is to be, present it
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the LORD ?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.
22 "Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
24 They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone
are righteousness and strength.' "
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
25 But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel
will be found righteous and will exult.
The thing that strikes me so prominently from this scripture is that
God had a plan and a purpose for His people and Cyrus was part of that
plan. God obviously had a plan and a purpose for the life of King
Cyrus. I think some would say that Cyrus was just a pawn in the
hands of a chess master, being played but for the purpose of another.
I don't see it that way.
There was great significance to Cyrus' life, a purpose to change the
fate of God's people. God has a plan and a purpose for His people
today, Jew and Gentile alike. He has a plan and my life has
significance. I have a role to play, a part in the scene, the
act, the play. I cannot know my part if I am not studying the
creation of the author: the words He has inspired, the works His hands
have done, the lives that He has knit together for His purpose and His
pleasure. I am in His story. My story is HIS story. I
want to live my part well.
Comments
Jan. 4, 2006 - Very Significant!!
Posted by kimbercaldwell
Cyndi,
I came across this section of Isaiah when studying The Book of Daniel. Isaiah lived and prophesied from 739 BC to 681 BC. Daniel lived from 605 BC until 536 BC. Daniel was born fully over 75 years after Isaiah died! This prophecy was given 175 years before the birth of Cyrus! Yet God gave Isaiah his name! This would be the king that would set the exiles free, return the vessels that were taken from the house of God by Nebuchadnezzar, and he would give glory to God.
(In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
" 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among youmay his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.' " Ezra1:1-4)
It is amazing to me how utterly sovereign God is!
Jan. 8, 2006 - Hey Dear Friend!
Posted by Belinda
I have missed you and your entries!
Enjoyed this one. The Lord seems to always want us to see the 'bigger picture' and sense His Hand and guidance even when we feel alone.
May God richly bless you, Chris and all your children this year.
Love in Jesus,
Belinda
Jan. 13, 2006 - Staying With Him
Posted by abidinglove
Amen! He has shown me so clearly that He has a plan for each one of our lives - we were created for a special purpose....may we by faith stay WITH HIM throughout our days so that He can reveal it to us!
Jan. 17, 2006 - Glad you are back
Posted by hsmom23
I've been praying about my purpose as well. Right now I'm taking things day by day.
Christina
