Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Cyrus. King of Babylon and one of the most fun paradoxes there are. Did the Lord prophesy that Cyrus would let the Jews rebuild the Temple because he was going to decide that, or did Cyrus let the Jews rebuild the Temple because the Lord prophesied that he would? After all, there were Jewish ministers to Cyrus. Trusted wise men who could have shown the hundreds of years old prophesy and say ‘Look! The Lord declares you will do this.’ I think it’s a bit of both. The Lord called Cyrus into his position in order that Cyrus could do a work that the Lord had for him to do: let the remnant return.

The Holy One of Israel (Jesus) can tell us of the things to come. And He did in this instance, letting Isaiah know what would happen. That a king would walk and do what the Lord had for him to do. But the Lord was also clear. Cyrus was an instrument of the only Saviour the people of the world have. Only the God of Israel, the Saviour could engineer such a thing. It was not the produce of Egypt. It was not the merchandise of the Ethiopians. It was not the might and reach of Cyrus. It was the Saviour (Jesus) the Maker who engineered it. Who brought it to pass in the proper time. This Saviour made the same offer that He had been making for thousands of years: turn to Him and be saved! Sooner or later every knee would bow before Him. It was a declared Word that could NOT come back unfulfilled. It would be better to bow as a dedicated and loving servant and worshipper than to bow as a conquered and rebellious rejector.

The granter of salvation (Jesus) and the glory of Israel (Jesus) was making something VERY clear to the surviving remnant of His children: He was God and HE did this thing. It was not the idols of the nations to which they had been carted off in slavery. It was not the idols of the nations who conquered them. It was not the idols they saw people all around them worshipping. It was ONLY Him. It was ONLY Him who moved heaven, moved Earth, and brought to pass all the goodness in their lives. He made this opportunity. He made this come to pass. He had made a promise and He was fulfilling it. No one and NOTHING else did it.

“And you felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me.” Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and besides me there is no one.”” (Isaiah 47:10)

What is it about humanity that we think OUR eyes are the end-all and be-all of perception? I mean, even with the most BASIC of technology we can have better ‘sight’ than we do naturally. We can see in the dark, see through our skin, see through walls, thermally image people hundreds of metres away, use satellites, drones, and CCTV cameras (plus others) to surveil this entire planet nearly to the inch and quite a ways through the ground too. Yet we think that GOD can’t? We actually choose to determine in our hearts that HE cannot see US? It is LAUGHABLE. Yet in so many ways, that is how we act. That is how we go about our lives. Here the Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, the Holy One of Israel (Jesus) says no, I CAN see and I WILL act.

Babylon might be a tool in the hand of the Lord to accomplish a good thing, it would not escape judgment. The people of that city and nation had decided they could do no wrong. They had put their trust in idols. They had said, no one can see us so we can do whatever we want. We are so great and powerful no one can call us to task. The Lord was prophesying in a time where they seemed to be THE world power that they would not stay at the peak. Their actions would bring judgment.

The Lord had given His children over for punishment, but no mercy was shown to them. He had taken His children to task using Babylon, but Babylon had chosen to go the extra mile into TOTAL oppression (much like Egypt had hundreds of years previous – Exodus 1-14). Though they were wise, they would become ignorant. They wore riches now, but they would wear dust. They had finery and power, but they would be naked and destitute. They would be as stubble. They would not be saved. No one could save them.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jesus, Isaiah

Key Verse(s): Isaiah 45:1-3, 11-13, 18-19; 46:8-13; 47:1-4, 8-11