God Calls Cyrus

The LORD addresses Cyrus as His anointed, the ruler whose hand He grasps in order to subdue nations, strip kings of resistance, and open gates that cannot remain shut. He promises to go before Cyrus, give him hidden treasures, and make His own name known through these acts for the sake of Jacob, while also declaring that there is no God besides Him, that He forms light and darkness, makes peace and creates calamity, and that righteousness and salvation should pour down from above because He Himself has created them.

T¹his is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, ²“I will go before you ³I will give you the treasures of darkness ⁴For the sake of Jacob My servant ⁵I am the LORD, and there is no other; ⁶so that all may know, ⁷I form the light and create the darkness; ⁸Drip down, O heavens, from above,

Those who quarrel with their Maker are rebuked like clay challenging the potter or children questioning the parents who begot them. The LORD of hosts insists that as the one who made the earth and stretched out the heavens, He is fully entitled to direct history as He pleases, and so He announces that He has raised up Cyrus in righteousness to rebuild His city and release His exiles without price or bribe.

⁹Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— ¹⁰Woe to him who says to his father, ¹¹Thus says the LORD, ¹²It is I who made the earth ¹³I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness,

The wealth and labor of nations like Egypt, Cush, and the Sabeans are pictured as coming over in submission, confessing that God is truly with Israel and that there is no other. Though He is a God who hides Himself, He is revealed in the contrast between the everlasting salvation given to Israel and the shame that will cover idol-makers forever.

¹⁴This is what the LORD says: ¹⁵Truly You are a God who hides Himself, ¹⁶They will all be put to shame and humiliated; ¹⁷But Israel will be saved by the LORD

The Creator who did not form the earth as chaos but made it to be inhabited states plainly that He has not spoken in secret or invited seekers to pursue emptiness. The nations carrying their wooden idols are summoned to gather and present their case, only to be confronted with the fact that no god but the LORD has declared these things beforehand or can compare with Him as a righteous God and Savior.

¹⁸For thus says the LORD, ¹⁹I have not spoken in secret, ²⁰Come, gather together, and draw near, ²¹Speak up and present your case—

The chapter ends with a universal invitation: the ends of the earth are called to turn to the LORD and be saved, because there is no other God. By His own oath He declares that every knee will bow and every tongue swear allegiance, and the final verdict is that righteousness and strength are found only in Him, while all who rage against Him come to shame and all the descendants of Israel are justified and glory in the LORD.

²²Turn to Me and be saved, ²³By Myself I have sworn; ²⁴Surely they will say of Me, ²⁵In the LORD all descendants of Israel