December 22: THE PAGAN KING CYRUS (part 2)
I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect*, I have even called you [Cyrus] by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. Isaiah 45:3-4
From Isaiah’s perspective, Cyrus was a future king sent by God to defeat the oppressors of His people, to deliver them out from under a yoke of bondage, and restore their habitation to its intended state. Because of Isaiah’s close personal relationship with his God, his view of events to come was meaningful on a very personal level. Our God is saving people individually. Salvation is very personal indeed. Each of us is called to receive hidden riches of secret places… When an understanding of God’s plan eludes us, we need to wrestle – like Jacob, who was renamed Israel – and take a firm hold upon the One whose word it is (see Genesis 32:26). Jacob’s descendants became known as the nation of Israel, whom [God had] chosen. But lest anyone fall into the trap of believing that the application of a group name renders one in possession of the divine salvation plan, remember that God’s plan is to have a “nation” of individual overcomers who choose to follow the One Who has overcome the world (John 16:33). The mentioning of any specific name, therefore, carries with it a lesson…
The prophecy concerning Cyrus was so stunning in its collection of details, that some skeptics have jumped to the conclusion that it was written after it had happened. In unbelief, they latched on to a theory that “another Isaiah” came along in the days of Cyrus and wrote chapters 40-66 (the “New Testament” portion of Isaiah’s book). But there is no historical witness whatsoever to the existence of a second Isaiah. In addition, the artistic literary style of Isaiah’s writings are uniquely phenomenal. And cohesive. The oldest manuscript (from Qumran) shows no break at all between chapters 39 and 40; no indication of a transition to the work of a new author.
Extrabiblical records show that Isaiah’s death was accomplished by being sawn in two while he was hiding inside a hollow tree, by order of the wicked King Manasseh, who later repented. In a spiritual sense, the aforementioned skeptics have “sawn Isaiah in two” by suggesting the artificial divide between the two major sections of Isaiah’s writings. Chapters 1-39 carries a focus on the Assyrian period of persecution while chapters 40-66 focus on the various forms of Babylonian persecution. But far above each of these foci is the shining message: trust only in the true God and allow His Deliverer to deliver you personally.
God used a pagan king, Cyrus, to bring about relief from Babylonian captivity. He can use anyone He chooses. This relief came right on time, in accordance with the end of the prophesied seventy years **(Jeremiah 29:10; Daniel 9:2). Beloved, divine prophecy is about providing unfailing hope for each believer who overcomes by trusting fully in the only One who knows the future.
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy… Hebrews 11:37-38a
* For the sake of Israel My elect – God chose to work through the nation of Israel, but only those who personally choose Him back become [His] elect.
**Seventy years is a lifetime (Psalm 90:10) and this prophecy is a clue that most of the world spends a lifetime in Babylon.