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Today's reading
December 18, 2024
Picture: Humbled not Humble
Isaiah 45:1-7, 9-11; Romans 8:28
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.