Summoned by Name

 Texas Bob hurt so bad he went to see Doc. Doc examined him. "Bob, I've got good news & bad news." "What's the bad ?" asked Bob. "I don't know what's wrong." "And the good news?" Doc answered, "I'll know more after the autopsy." Bob was scared & got a 2nd opinion. But it was worse! "You have hours to live." Bob decided, "I'll spend my last hours where I'm happiest: golfing with Mrs. Bob." He started telling her. But she interrupted, "Don't even think about golfing." Bob cried out, "Why not? I only have hours,". Mrs. Bob was firm. "I need to rest for the funeral." He died. Mrs. Bob pondered his headstone. "What do I write?" The stone smith suggested "Rest in Peace." Mrs. Bob agreed. "It'll be ready in a week." A few days after burying Bob, she read his will. Mrs. Bob was shocked. Bob left 1/2 to his secretary, & the other 1/2 to his alma mater. In a rage, Mrs. Bob went back to the monument maker. "I need a change." "Sorry, ma'am. It's already carved." "Well, can you add a line?" "Yes, there's room for one line." Mrs. Bob thought. "Below 'Rest in Peace,' carve 'till I get there.' " Meanwhile, Bob arrived at heaven's gate. St. Peter felt sorry for him. "You can be restored to life as anything you want." Bob thought. "I want to be a stud in Dallas." Instantly, he was transformed into a 2 x 4. What's this got to do with Isaiah 45:1-7? Even if Bob's story were true, it wasn't bad luck. God says that good or bad, He causes it. God is the 1st & only cause. He is Sovereign. Want to know God as He really is? We better understand what God says about Himself in Isa 45:1-7. 1a"This is what the LORD [יְהוָה֮, Yahweh] says to his anointed, to Cyrus." Beyond shocked, Israel is stunned. An unbeliever, Cyrus, is He's God's anointed (מָשִׁיחַ, messiah)? Only 39 times does the OT call someone מָשִׁיחַ. Usually, it's a king (Saul, David), or a high priest. Once, even God's chosen people, Israel. But Cyrus? Why??? God is saying plainly: He'll use unbelievers & believers alike. Those we think good. Those we think evil. No matter! Since Adam & Eve fell, God has used everyone & everything to work His ultimate plan. Think about it. Every detail. Every circumstance. No accidents. It's all God, working out His plan. Once we realize that, what God says next isn't so stunning. 1b"I take hold of his right hand to subdue nations before him." Nation after nation will fall to Cyrus. Even if their kings armor up? "I'll 1cstrip kings of their armor." Some will take it off in surrender. The others will fall in battle. Their armor, spoils of war. And the massive, double-door gates of their cities? "I'll open doors before him so that gates won't be shut." No barrier will, or can, stop God's plan. Cyrus likely thinks he's all that. But God announces it almost 200 yrs. before. It's all God. What mountains stand between Cyrus & God's plan? 2a"I'll go before you & level the mountains." God will clear the way. For His future King, the Messiah, God will again level the road. And Babylon? The world's reigning superpower? Impregnable. Her gates? Iron bars set in bronze doors. Impenetrable! Except to God. 2b"I'll break down gates of bronze & cut through bars of iron." The ancient historian Herodotus says it happened while Babylon's King Belshazzar was partying. As he partied, Cyrus diverted the flow of the Euphrates into a nearby swamp. That lowered the level of the river. Cyrus's troops marched in through the water, under the river-gates. Yet they still couldn't have entered, if the bronze gates of the inner walls hadn't been unlocked. God opened the doors for Cyrus! After he entered? God says, 3a"I'll give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places." Nebuchadnezzar had amassed gold & jewels. Ancient rabbis said when he was near death, he wouldn't leave it to the next king. So, he ordered brass containers to be built. He filled them with gold & jewels. He dug a place near the Euphrates River & rerouted the river to cover over it up. One source says that the very day Cyrus ordered the Jewish temple to be rebuilt, his soldiers discovered those brass urns! What's most amazing of all? God puts it all in writing, almost 200 years before it happened! Why does God do that? His ultimate plan 3b"So you [sg.] may know that I'm the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you [sg.] by name." Before he's born, the LORD, Yahweh (Jesus), summons Cyrus by name. The LORD's plan? For 1 Gentile, Cyrus, to know Him. But it's also 4a"For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name." As messiah, Cyrus will save the Lord's people, Israel. How? By returning them to their land. That's the LORD's plan for Cyrus. His plan for Israel? That they too will know Him in their new exodus, from Babylon. Why'd God choose Israel as His people? So they'd know Him. Knowing Him, they're supposed to reveal Him to the Gentiles. To be a light. Israel was to help Gentiles, also, to know the LORD! That's the LORD's ultimate plan for all of us: that we'll know Him. Why? Jesus, the LORD, will tell us in Jn 17:3. 3This is eternal life: that they (all peoples) may know You, the only true God, & Jesus Christ, Whom You've sent. Knowing God is His ultimate plan. Knowing God is eternal life. How will God achieve His plan? Salvation. With Cyrus, the Lord will save His people by returning them to their land. That, too, is part of God's plan of salvation. How so? The Lord wants His people returned to the land where His greater Messiah will be born. The Lord chose Cyrus to accomplish that return. Isaiah wrote almost 200 years before Cyrus arose to power. It's highly likely, this prophecy was read to him. So we wonder. Did Cyrus ever come to faith? I 4b"bestow on you a title of honor, though you don't acknowledge me." No. There's no evidence Cyrus ever paid more than lip service to the Lord. One god among many. Cyrus' high title? Messiah. Previously reserved for Israel's priests & kings. Once for the people. Once for all the prophets. Even Moses, the greatest prophet? He was the Lord's servant, עֶ֫בֶד. Messiah is a high title for an unbeliever! The LORD now signs this decree. 5a"I'm the LORD." The LORD can use anyone for any purpose that pleases Him. Anyone. No matter what we think of them! No matter what they think of God. Even if they don't serve Him, God is totally sovereign! 5a"I'm the LORD. There's no other. Apart from me there's no God." All those Persian gods Cyrus worships? Not gods at all. Even if there's power in them, it isn't from the Lord. 5b"I'll strengthen you, though you haven't acknowledged me." God will equip Cyrus & enable him to do what God calls him to do. Why? 6a"So that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me." There it is again. God's ultimate purpose. That everyone will know Him. 6b"I'm the LORD. There is no other." One God. 7a"I form the light & create darkness." He's Creator. 7b"I bring prosperity & create disaster." God is the first & prime cause of all that happens. God is good & does no evil. But God may use methods & people that we may think are evil. (Think pandemic.) Am I sure? Look how the Lord concludes. 7c"I, the LORD, do all these things." What should we take away? God is absolutely Sovereign over all Creation. It's no accident that the Lord teaches us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Do we think Satan is behind all the bad that happens to us? This passage calls that idea into serious question. And Cyrus? God summoned one unbeliever by name, almost 200 years before he walks onto history's stage. Those who love Him- even more so, won't He summon us by name? The Lord had a plan for one unbeliever's life. How much more does He have a plan for us? God called, enabled, & equipped one unbeliever, Cyrus, to accomplish all God called him to do. As believers, won't He equip & enable us even more so to do what He calls us to do? As unbelieving Cyrus obeyed, God cleared the way before him. Won't He do the same for us who love Him? God does love us. He's good. Even so, we can't judge what God by our standards of good & evil. He's the only the prime cause. He'll use even Satan to accomplish His will. (Job's story.) God is absolutely Sovereign. And He's always working toward His ultimate goal: that all can know Him. That all can come to saving faith. Praise be to our Sovereign Lord! Summoned by Name - Isaiah 45:1-7 Page 1 of 1