Good Day Dear Friend,
It was a day probably not much different from any other. The sun rose to His Glory, the birds sang for their Creator, families stirred into their daily routines, somewhere babies were born, while other lives were fading, like a vapor in the wind. Yet, on this one day in the latter part of the eighth century B.C., God had a conversation with us, which was recorded for posterity, by one of His servants. And this is what the Lord said about one He had chosen: “…to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him… 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 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. 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. 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 men may know there is none besides me. I AM the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:1-7 NIV)
Now, there is so much going on here that we can’t possibly do it justice in one short discussion, but here are just a few tasty morsels for us to digest. First of all, for all those who don’t believe in God and those who struggle with prophecy, you need to know these irrefutable and historically confirmed facts. Isaiah lived and served the Lord from around 760-700 B.C., and the great king Cyrus, whom God summonsed “by name” wasn’t even born until 599 B.C., didn’t come to power in Persia until 559 B.C., and didn’t control Palestine until 536 B.C, which then opened the way for him to carryout God’s plan for the return of His people to Jerusalem. A pagan king, who clearly did “not acknowledge” the God of Israel, was declared the Great I AM’s chosen servant some two centuries before it all took place. Does it make any sense? Of course it does, because it proves the Power of the One Who is in charge… whether His Word goes out centuries or even millennia in advance, they never return empty (Re Isaiah 55:11; Matt 24:35), which is something critical for us to remember as we read the NT, and especially the Book of Revelation!
Secondly, there are only three places in Scripture, (and you have to dig through a number of translations to find three) where God’s Word uses the term for Himself, “God and Saviour.” With all of David’s heartfelt cries in the Psalms, one would think there’d be many places, but not so. One of the places we find this self-description of the Almighty is right here in Isaiah 45, as the Most High continues His conversation with us. The Lord declares all that He is and all that He does- “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. Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker…” (Isaiah 45:8-9 NIV) Then the prophet calls the Eternal, Almighty One for Who He truly is- “Truly you are a God Who hides Himself, O God and Savior of Israel… Israel will be Saved by the Lord with an Everlasting Salvation; You will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.” (Vv. 15-17) And He’s not just the God and Saviour of Israel (See Romans 11 & Galatians 3) “Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations… there is no God apart from Me, a Righteous God and a Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be Saved, all you ends of the earth; for I AM God, and there is no other.” (Vv.20-22)
Lastly, the other two places we find this grand description of our Lord comes to us through two more pillars of the Faith, and inextricably ties the OT with the New. As Peter was nearing the end of his service to Christ, he blesses us with his second letter which opens: “To those who have received a Faith of the same value as ours, by the Righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and Peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” (2Peter 1:1-2 NASB) And, in his letter of guidance and encouragement to Christ’s Followers, Paul writes: “For the Grace of God has appeared, bringing Salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the Blessed Hope and the appearing of the Glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” (Titus 2:11-13)
The Lord Almighty is speaking to us; open your Bible to the glorious Word He has for us in Isaiah 45 and be part of the conversation. And know that God’s entire Word is dedicated to the Truth that Jesus the Christ was, is and always will be the One Who is in charge as both our God and our Saviour. Praise His Glorious Name all you saints!
AMEN
Tom
