Isaiah 45 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 45

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

45:1   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,¹
  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.
9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
    a pot among earthen pots!
  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
    or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11   Thus says the LORD,
    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
  “Ask me of things to come;
    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?²
12   I made the earth
    and created man on it;
  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
    and I commanded all their host.
13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,
    and I will make all his ways level;
  he shall build my city
    and set my exiles free,
  not for price or reward,”
    says the LORD of hosts.

The Lord, the Only Savior

14   Thus says the LORD:
  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
    and the Sabeans, men of stature,
  shall come over to you and be yours;
    they shall follow you;
    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
  They will plead with you, saying:
    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
    no god besides him.’”
15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
    O God of Israel, the Savior.
16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;
    the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17   But Israel is saved by the LORD
    with everlasting salvation;
  you shall not be put to shame or confounded
    to all eternity.
18   For thus says the LORD,
  who created the heavens
    (he is God!),
  who formed the earth and made it
    (he established it;
  he did not create it empty,
    he formed it to be inhabited!):
  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19   I did not speak in secret,
    in a land of darkness;
  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
    ‘Seek me in vain.’³
  I the LORD speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.
20   “Assemble yourselves and come;
    draw near together,
    you survivors of the nations!
  They have no knowledge
    who carry about their wooden idols,
  and keep on praying to a god
    that cannot save.
21   Declare and present your case;
    let them take counsel together!
  Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
  Was it not I, the LORD?
    And there is no other god besides me,
  a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is none besides me.
22   “Turn to me and be saved,
    all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
23   By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
  ‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’⁴
24   “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,
    are righteousness and strength;
  to him shall come and be ashamed
    all who were incensed against him.
25   In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
    shall be justified and shall glory.”

Footnotes

[1] 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains
[2] 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?
[3] 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
[4] 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God

Commentary

v1: Cyrus "my shepherd," as in 44.28. It was 150 years before these things would be fulfilled, see Ezra 1.1. Cyrus is also described as the Lord's anointed, set apart for God's purposes, his right hand held by the God of Heaven. Although he was ignorant of God (v4-5), his life and decisions were directed by God. This direction is in contrast to;

the impotence of idolatry;
the apparent guesswork of occultism (44.25).

v2-3: The testimony to God's power, as God's works witness to His character.

v4-5: The blessing of Israel and the uniqueness of God are tied together; for centuries, His work on the earth centred around this one nation. Cyrus, ignorant of these spiritual realities, became the tool in God's hand for blessing upon His people.

v6-7: The works of God vary, but remain constant with His character. This revelation of God is the answer to Judah's empty, ritualistic religion, 1.10-15. The Levitical forms, although commanded by God, had become empty because the people were ignorant of God.

v8: Righteousness and salvation, in which God delights.

v9-10: See Rom 11.11-34; the grumbling man, striving against God. It is easier to see God's hand upon Cyrus' life, but we sometimes resist the idea that God's hand is similarly at work in our own lives.

v11-12: God is described as omnipotent; all creation is His work, and so is the future.

v13: Cyrus; - raised up in righteousness;

directed by God;
rebuilding the city of God;
freeing God's exiles;
and receiving no price nor reward.

This is a pre-figurement of Christ's work on behalf of Israel.

v14: God's blessings upon Israel, before whom the nations shall bow down. The exaltation of Israel is seen as God's work. These peoples, Egypt, Cush, Seba, were given as a ransom for Israel, 43.3. But they too, in time, will humble themselves and bow before God.

v15-17: Again, Israel is set apart from the idolatrous nations, and promised everlasting salvation. From the Gentile nations, there is ignorance of the true God, who hides Himself. Yet He will make Himself known.

v18-19: God the creator, God the righteous one; God who has spoken. We must recognise who God really is; enabling us to see other things in their proper perspective. The only wise thing to do is to trust in Him, for He will not fail us.

The invitation, "seek me" is absolutely genuine, and we will not be disappointed. The contrast is with occultic religion, which depends on some secret initiation; in the NT times, Gnosticism was an issue.

v20-21: The only true God; Israel was to be set apart as belonging to this God. The idolaters are described as ignorant.

v22: The opportunity to break from idolatry, as the message goes out to Gentile nations, inviting them to trust in the one true God. The gospel of Christ is presented in the NT as a universal offer.

v23-25: One day all will recognise God's utter authority, Phil 2.10-11, which will be fulfilled in Christ. We have the privilege of looking back to these words, written 600 years before Christ's coming, and seeing that they can only find their fulfilment in Him.