Isaiah 45
==isaiah 45:1:
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Isaiah 45:1:
Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; |
 Martyn Percy
It was Franklin Graham who told millions of America’s evangelicals in 2016 that they could vote for Trump with a clean conscience, since Trump was comparable to the ancient Persian ruler Cyrus from the Old Testament. Cyrus the Great was an all-conquering Persian king. Around 550BC he overthrew the tyrannical Babylonians who had persecuted the Jews, driving them into captivity and stripping them of their freedoms and customs.
Having conquered the Babylonians, Cyrus released all their captives. Moreover, he respected the traditions and religions of the lands he captured. His regime offered liberation and devolved government to former captives of Babylon. Cyrus also ruled with a lean, decentralised administration. For American evangelicals and fundamentalists, the government of Cyrus, 2,500 years ago, was one that worked to the advantage of all its subjects—and especially God’s chosen people. Cyrus is the only foreign ruler referred to as “Messiah” (literally “His anointed one”) in the Old Testament (see Isaiah 45:1), and is the only non-Jewish figure in the Bible to be given this accolade. In claiming Trump is Cyrus, Franklin Graham was saying that Evangelicals and fundamentalists could now rid themselves of a once dominant, centralising liberal hegemony and reclaim their religious freedoms. They could do this by voting for someone who doesn’t share their evangelical faith and values. Trump is presented as simultaneously pagan and the messiah-ruler. Washington DC is often portrayed in evangelical press and social media as a simulacra of a centralising Babylon. And you don’t need to be a genius to work out that Trump is the Cyrus who delivers all God-fearing Americans from that awful prospect of the Whore of Babylon (Book of Revelation, chapters 17 and 18) living in the White House. “Drain the swamp” and “lock her up” were implicit religious rallying calls, not just injudicious hate-speech. These were the chants of the self-proclaimed righteous—chants that swung across the bandwidth of rage, hate and exuberant joy. --Martyn Percy; Prospect: The Roots of Trumps Religion; 12/23/23 |
January 20, 2025: NPR Delaware reported: Lance Wallnau is a conservative evangelical Christian preacher in Dallas. He refers to Trump in sermons and at rallies as a modern version of the 6th Century BCE Persian king Cyrus. "Thus says the Lord to Cyrus, whom I've anointed," says Wallnau in a video posted online. "Donald Trump has an anointing upon him. The hand of God is on him. Oh, I know a bunch of people say, 'Well, how can you say that he does this and he does that?' Cyrus wasn't even a Jew. He was a Persian." The idea is that even if Trump does not embody Christian values such as humility, some of his actions have brought results that many evangelicals support. They often point to his U.S. Supreme Court appointments that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a prime example. Another biblical figure commonly likened to Trump is the 9th Century BCE Israelite king Jehu. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic Jewish leader, gave a fiery speech at a National Faith Advisory Board meeting last year making the comparison. "President Trump, you were born into the world to be a trumpet of God, a vessel of the Lord in the hands of God," said Cahn. "God called you to walk according to the template. He called you according to the template of Jehu, the warrior king. He called Jehu to make his nation great again." These comparisons to the ancient Persian king Cyrus and the ancient Israelite king Jehu may have swayed some conservative Christians to vote for Trump. But the analogies have those who study biblical texts concerned about what evangelicals expect from a second Trump administration. |
Wayne Jackson
One of the truly astounding prophecies of the Bible is found in the last verse of Isaiah 44, together with 45:1ff, (an unfortunate chapter break). It has to do with Cyrus, king of Persia. According to the historian Herodotus (The Histories i.46), Cyrus was the son of Cambyses I. He came to the Persian throne in 559 B.C. Nine years later he conquered the Medes, thus unifying the kingdoms of the Medes and the Persians.
Cyrus is mentioned some twenty-three times in the literature of the Old Testament. Isaiah refers to Cyrus as Jehovah’s “shepherd,” the Lord’s “anointed,” who was providentially appointed to facilitate the divine plan. God would lead this monarch to “subdue nations” and “open doors” (an allusion to the Jews’ release from Babylonian captivity). He would make “rough places smooth,” i.e., accommodate the Hebrews’ return to their Palestinean homeland. He would ultimately be responsible for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the temple.
Amazingly, the king would accomplish these noble tasks even though he did not “know” Jehovah (45:4, 5). In other words, though he was a pagan in sentiment and practice, yet, as an unconscious tool in the hands of the Lord, he would contribute mightily to the Jewish cause, and so, indirectly, to the coming of God’s greater Anointed, Jesus of Nazareth.
Cyrus is mentioned some twenty-three times in the literature of the Old Testament. Isaiah refers to Cyrus as Jehovah’s “shepherd,” the Lord’s “anointed,” who was providentially appointed to facilitate the divine plan. God would lead this monarch to “subdue nations” and “open doors” (an allusion to the Jews’ release from Babylonian captivity). He would make “rough places smooth,” i.e., accommodate the Hebrews’ return to their Palestinean homeland. He would ultimately be responsible for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the temple.
Amazingly, the king would accomplish these noble tasks even though he did not “know” Jehovah (45:4, 5). In other words, though he was a pagan in sentiment and practice, yet, as an unconscious tool in the hands of the Lord, he would contribute mightily to the Jewish cause, and so, indirectly, to the coming of God’s greater Anointed, Jesus of Nazareth.
==isaiah 45:6-7:
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I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
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The Hebrew word translated as “evil” in the above King James translation is translated as “calamity” (NASB, ESV) or “disaster” (NIV) in other major translations. Even the updated New King James translation renders it as “calamity.” That’s because, like any word, it can have multiple meanings, and it’s usually the context that determines which meaning was intended by the author. That brings us to the final point.
Third, the context of this passage (and the message of the prophets of the Old Testament in general) is about blessing those who are faithful and punishing those who disobey (Isa. 45:9, 24). It’s within this principle that God declares that he creates “well-being” and “calamity.” He’s responsible for bringing prosperity to those who are faithful and calamity to those who rebel. That’s even consistent with his treatment of his own people—Israel. He rewards them when they obey and punishes them (e.g., slavery, exile, etc.) when they disobey. In that sense, yes, it is God who creates calamity. God didn’t bring evil into existence. It’s the result of sin and our fallen world. God, however, does bring instances of calamity on people. In fact, it’s his prerogative to do so. Even in these cases, though, it is good for him to render judgment on guilty people. Though we might subjectively not like the calamity we face, it is objectively good to punish those who do wrong. Present-day justice systems operate in a similar fashion. Prison is subjectively a bad experience for prisoners, but it is an objectively good thing for justice to be rendered. The same is true for God. Isaiah 45:7 was a reminder that God blessed those who honored him and brought calamity upon those who disobeyed. -Alan Shlemon; Stand To Reason |
Jacobus Arminius
“God himself is the object of theology.... He is the best; that is, he is the first and highest good and goodness itself, and he alone is good, as good as goodness itself, ready to communicate it as far as it can be communicated; his great liberality is matched by the treasures he possesses.... He is the greatest, and he alone is great.” ― Jacob Arminius
At the present day, I am afraid that nine people out of ten do not believe in the God who is revealed to us in the Bible. “What?” you say. It is so, I grieve to say. I can point you to newspapers, to magazines, to periodicals, and also to pulpits by the score, in which there is a new god set up to be worshiped; not the God of the Old Testament, he is said to be too strict, too severe, too stern for our modern teachers.
They do not believe in him. The God of Abraham is dethroned by many nowadays; and in his place they have a molluscous god, like those of whom Moses spoke, “new gods that come newly up, whom your fathers feared not.” They shudder at the very mention of the God of the Puritans. If Jonathan Edwards were to rise from the dead, they would not listen to him for a minute, they would say that they had quite a new god since his day.
But brethren, I believe in the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; this God is my God—ay, the God that drowned Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea, and moved his people to sing “Hallelujah” as he did it; the God that caused the earth to open, and swallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all their company—a terrible God is the God whom I adore—he is the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, full of mercy, compassion, and grace, tender and gentle, yet just and dreadful in his holiness, and terrible out of his holy places.
This is the God whom we worship, and he who come to him in Christ, and trusts in him, will take him to be his Instructor, and so shall he learn aright all that he needs to know. But woe unto the men of this day, we have made unto themselves a calf of their own devising, which has no power to bless or to save them!
They do not believe in him. The God of Abraham is dethroned by many nowadays; and in his place they have a molluscous god, like those of whom Moses spoke, “new gods that come newly up, whom your fathers feared not.” They shudder at the very mention of the God of the Puritans. If Jonathan Edwards were to rise from the dead, they would not listen to him for a minute, they would say that they had quite a new god since his day.
But brethren, I believe in the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; this God is my God—ay, the God that drowned Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea, and moved his people to sing “Hallelujah” as he did it; the God that caused the earth to open, and swallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all their company—a terrible God is the God whom I adore—he is the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, full of mercy, compassion, and grace, tender and gentle, yet just and dreadful in his holiness, and terrible out of his holy places.
This is the God whom we worship, and he who come to him in Christ, and trusts in him, will take him to be his Instructor, and so shall he learn aright all that he needs to know. But woe unto the men of this day, we have made unto themselves a calf of their own devising, which has no power to bless or to save them!
==isaiah 45:15:
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Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour
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God is often portrayed as the initiator, yet sets a high premium on his people living by faith, which can only be exercised in circumstances that allow for us to have doubts.
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==isaiah 45:23:
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I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
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 Ed Rea
Since God said one day, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10–11), we can all be certain that sooner or later we will bow our knee to God the Son. The decision is ours whether we will bow now, confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, or bow later, when we are called before His judgment seat. Bowing today will bring forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life. But waiting until that later date, when we bow because we are forced to do so, will not result in any eternal benefits. So wisdom cries out that every thinking person do it now. -Pastor Ed Rea
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