First, I need to thank Salom Ben Yah. Due to his inquiry, I realized, I do not read Isaiah chapter 45 enough. It is jammed packed with the beauty, the power, and the intelligence of our Creator. Salom sent me a very informative and well-written perspective of his view of Isaiah 45, focusing on verse 7 primarily. He asked that I respond to his inquiry, which I have done so below. Salom, feel free to comment below after reading this blog post response. Or, you may reply to our initial feed on Facebook. My Initial respond To Isaiah 45:7 INQUIRYWow! Isaiah 45 is a very powerful chapter. A chapter that I do not read enough of during my private reading. As I said before, this chapter is loaded with elements of God as what creation and the Holy Bible declares Him to be. That is, He is omnipresence (everywhere and anywhere in the past, present, and future); omniscience (knows anything and everything that can be known in past, present, and future); and omnipotence (the be-all and end-all to anything and everything past, present, and future). To appropriately respond to the perspective Salom provided, I started my reading from verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 45. As I read verses 1 through 6, everything is setting up for the climate that is stated at verse 7. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. These few verses, verses 1 through 6, especially verse 7, is establishing God's authority as the One True Living God. Hence, why God says about Himself in verse 6, So that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no other god more powerful than He. He the supreme GOD. And that is the point of Isaiah 45. That God is KING, LORD, and there is no other god that can match Him. So, as we read through verses 1 through 7 of Isaiah chapter 45, we see why God has earned the title as the #1 God and the Only True God in all the universe. But to make sure we do not miss the point, we need to look at this more closely by isolating the points stated that leads to verse 7 by looking at chapter 45 verse by verse. Isaiah 45 AnaylsisV1 - In verse one, we see that God has the power and ability to choose any man who He wants and guide that man throughout his childhood into manhood, to serve God's purpose at an appointed time in history. Take, for example, Jesus’ life. Before Jesus’ birth on the earth, God had decided a pinpointed time when Jesus would save mankind from themselves. Jesus, as a man stated his divine purpose at Luke 19:10. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Most of us, who have followed the life of Jesus from infancy until about 30 years old, know that God guided the parents of Jesus to ensure that Jesus was properly prepare for his life in ministry. And when he became a young man, God continued to groom Jesus for the purpose in which God had called Jesus to fulfill. (Compare to Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 2:23). So, Jesus finished the first half of his calling when he died, was resurrected 3 days later, and then ascended to his Father. The life of Jesus is an extraordinary example of God knowing any and everything that would occur in Jesus’ life (past, present, and future) that would try to prevent God’s purpose from occurring in Jesus' life. And because God is omnipresent (anywhere and everything at once), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipotent (the be-all and end-all to any and everything). God was able to counter any and everything that tried to impede His plan and His will for Jesus. This is why God is the irrefutable and undefeated champion – the GOD of all gods and the LORD of all lords. So, reflecting back to verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 45. As we mentioned before, God has the power and ability to choose any man who He wants throughout mankind’s history. And guide that man throughout his childhood into manhood to serve God's purpose at an appointed time in history. At Isaiah chapter 45 verse 1, that man was Cyrus. God selected Cyrus to be the king over the Persian nation prior to Cyrus’ birth. Just as God had done with Jesus or any other man or woman throughout mankind’s history. God appointed Cyrus to fulfill a specific purpose, at a specific time in the future, to save His chosen people who needed rescuing from the clutch of the Babylonian empire. And as the Bible and the historical accounts and books support, Cyrus, became the king of Medo-Persia and defeated and conquered the Babylonian empire which set God’s people free from their 70 years of enslavement under the regime of this pagan nation. (You can read about these events not only in the Bible but in secondary historical records). Vv2-3 - In verses 2 through 3, it tells you how God had planned to pull it all off. An intense study and research of the archaeology history of the nation of Babylon, the nation of Medo-Persia, and King Cyrus will easily validate everything that is written in God’s Word concerning the rise and fall of these nations and King Cyrus’ kingship and his military campaigns and conquests. The point we need to walk away from these verses are these: 1. In history, our glorious encyclopedias, history books, etc., credits Cyrus for all his successful military campaigns. But here, in the book of Isaiah, as we can see, all credit rightfully belongs to God. I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places…. (Isaiah 45:2-3) God certainly made King Cyrus' path straight – in the way, he should go in order to guarantee King Cyrus’ military success. Resulting in God’s plan, purpose, and will to be fulfilled (Proverbs 3:5-6). 2. What was the sole purpose behind all of this? To establish God as omnipotent – the be-all and the end-all to all of mankind’s woes as well as successes. To firmly establish that nothing is impossible with God because He is the Almighty, all-powerful, and monotheistic God. And as it is clearly stated here So that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name…. (Isaiah 45:3) It is God who calls forth a man, any man, at any given time in human history for His glory, His plan, His purpose, and His will. V4 – God is the promise or covenant keeper. When He says or declares a thing, it has already happened. Even when that promise will not literally take place until 500 years have passed from when He initially spoke it. As we can see in verse 4 of Isaiah chapter 45, God made a covenant or promise with Jacob, who God had chosen to lead His people – the nation of Israel. (See Genesis 28:13-15). And in keeping that promise to Jacob, they were many things that occurred throughout mankind’s history that tempted to impede that promise. But to ensure that God is always true to His word – the be-all and end-all to any and everything, that is omnipotent. God appointed Cyrus, a pagan king, who did not know God at all, as His anointed vessel to serve God’s purpose for His people. Isaiah 45:4 says, … I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me…. Vv5-6 – In verses 5 and 6, God establishes His authority as the Supreme Ruler, the Alpha and Omega, the all-knowing (omniscient), all-present (omnipresent), and all-powerful (omnipotent) God. He said, 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, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:5-6) And that is the point. There is no other god in our universe that is like the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. V7 – And now our final verse, verse 7. In this verse, God is simply establishing His ability as the monotheistic King in the universe. A God-King who can and has established
The point being. When it serves God’s purpose, His will, or His plan, there is nothing God cannot do, cannot create, cannot destroy, cannot build up or cannot tired down. There is nothing that can thwart the plans of God. There is nothing that can prevent God’s plan from occurring. Nothing. To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The Lord works out everything to its proper end—even the wicked for a day of disaster. (Proverbs 16:1-4)
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