Friday, December 14, 2018

Friday - Isaiah 45 - The God Who Raised up Cyrus

  
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NE of the greatest invitations to be found anywhere in the Bible is found here in Isaiah 45:22. As we have learned before (and have been reminded of over and again), the God of the Bible is both willing and able to save sinners. Concerning His ability, God chose a man named Cyrus to deliver kindnesses to His people. That may seem like a small thing, except that Isaiah wrote these things 2 centuries before Cyrus came onto the scene. God certainly knows how to make all of the arrangements that are necessary for the salvation of His people. Of course, God also had a plan for our salvation; a plan which became most graciously obvious on the first Christmas at the birth of our Savior.

This section of Scripture actually begins in the prior chapter. Isaiah 44:28 & 45:1 should clearly be connected. There are several themes that rise quickly to the surface in this chapter. One: we see the role of Cyrus in the eventual return of the Jewish remnant to Jerusalem. Two: we see the elevated position of Israel in the plan of God. Three: the infinite and exclusive greatness of God takes up the bulk of the territory in this chapter. But, hallelujah, there is another theme that shines through, and that is the offer of salvation to the whole of humanity.

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