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Today's reading

December 18, 2024

Picture: Humbled not Humble

Isaiah 45:1-7, 9-11; Romans 8:28

Humbled not Humble
00:00 / 04:53

Without question the children of Israel had been humbled. God had systematically taken away all of the material blessing that they had enjoyed. They had lost the identity that they had carefully crafted among the nations. In many cases the rich had become poor and the poor had become slaves. The character of their culture was dimming as they lived as strangers in a strange land. They were raw, desperate, and ready for God's intervention. In order for this to happen God needed Israel to trust in Him. So once again He uses the words of Isaiah to disparage the false god's who had garnered their affection. In an effort to distinguish himself above all others He holds up an exact picture of Israel's deliverer. 

"Thus says the LORD to his

         anointed, to Cyrus,

whose right hand I have

         grasped,

to subdue nations before

        him

and to loose the belts of 

        kings, 

to open doors before him

that gates may not be

        closed:

'I will go before you 

and level the exalted

        places,

I will break in pieces the

        doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of

        iron,

I will give you the

       treasures of darkness

and the hoards in secret

       places,

that you may know that it

       is I, the LORD,

the God of Israel, who call

       you by your name.

For the sake of my servant

       Jacob,

and Israel my chosen,

I call you by your name,

I name you, though you do

        not know me.

I am the LORD, and there

        is no other,

besides me there is no God;

I equip you, though you do 

         not know me,

that people may know,

         from the rising of the

         sun

and from the west, that

         there is none besides

         me:

I am the LORD, and there is 

         no other.'"

​

Isaiah 45:1-6 (ESV)

In perhaps the most specific prophecy with a near fulfillment spoken by Isaiah, God gives the exact name of their deliverer. Cyrus would topple the Babylonian empire and place Darius the Mede as the governor of Babylon. The events are captured in detail in Daniel 5. This illustration of power assumes grand status with the repetition of the work "I". God is emphatically stating that a powerful leader would be moved around like a piece of chess at His whim and without Cyrus's knowledge. God's power and sovereignty is emphasized as he repeats, "You don't know me, but I know you". This specific prophesy should have stirred the energy and optimism of the Israel, but the next verse conveys the idea that this is not the case. Israel was waiting for their moment in the sun. When they would conquer and lead the world the way the Assyrians, and Babylonians had. The news that God would use a pagan king to rescue them instead of their own people threatened their sensibilities. 

"I form light and create

         darkness;

I make well-being and 

         create calamity;

I am the LORD, who does

         all these things."

​

Isaiah 45:7 (ESV)

God essentially answers Israel's cynicism by stating that God is the one who makes it possible for good and evil. Although He does not cause evil, He allows mankind to exercise freewill to accomplish it. Yet, through His power and sovereignty He is able to use every single decision to accomplish His will in the world. All the while His justice tallies judgement against the perpetrators of evil. This critical view of the actions of God was a symptom of a bigger problem.

"Woe to him who strives

      with him who formed

      him,

a pot among earthen pots!

Does the clay say to him

      who forms it, 'What

      are you making?'

or 'Your work has no

      handles'?

Woe to him who says to a

      father, 'What are you

      begetting?'

or to a woman, 'With what

      are you in labor?'

  Thus says the LORD,

the Holy One of Israel, and

      the one who formed

      him:

'Ask me of things to come;

will you command me

       concerning my

       children and the work

       of my hands?'"

 

Isaiah 45:9-11 (ESV)

​

Israel had been humbled but they had not become a humble people. The hallmark of a humble heart is trust in the character of God. When we prosecute His motives, we rob ourselves orf peace. Instead, we have the opportunity to celebrate His faithfulness and rest in the immortal words of the Apostle Paul.

     "And we know that

for those who love God all

things work together for

good, for those who are

called according to his

purpose."

 

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

​

This is Christmas to you.

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