INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH CHAPTER 45

Cyrus is selected for the execution of this important and dangerous enterprise.  God says that the gates of the city will be standing open for him.  His invading army consisted of one hundred and twenty thousand horse, six thousand chariots of war, and six hundred thousand infantry.  God claims that he would punish Bel and bring out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up.  God claims that he is taking judgment on the idols of Babylon.  So well was the wall and ditch destroyed that those who have made search for it have not found it.  Two travelers, Buckingham and Fredrick says: “neither the wall or the ditch has been seen the least vestige by any modern traveler.  Within twenty-one miles distance along the Euphrates, and twelve miles across it in breadth, I was unable to perceive anything that could admit of any imagining, that either a wall or ditch had existed within this extensive area.  The astonishment that God predicts has been completely fulfilled.”

 EXPOSITION TO ISAIAH CHAPTER 45

1Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

God anointed Cyrus and took a firm grip on his hand and commissioned him to take the gird from, and loose the loins of kings.  When Cyrus arrived the gates were opened for him and his army.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT MAKE THE CASE:

Isa 44:28  That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Isa 41:13  For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

2Ch 36:22-23  Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,  Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

2I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

God promises to straighten out the rough and rugged ways before him.  He further promises to smash and shatter the gates that would prevent him from entering the city.

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THAT MAKE THE CASE:

Isa 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Psa 107:16  For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

3And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

The hoarded treasures that were garnered from the nation that she had defeated were hidden in dark vaults in secret places.  God led Cyrus straight to the treasures and Cyrus knew that it was of God.

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THAT INDORSE THE TEXT:

Jer 27:5-7  I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.  And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.  And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.   Read:  Jer 50:37; Ezr 1:2

4For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

God says he is doing this for the sake of his elect.  God called Cyrus and surnamed him 150 years before he was born.  The religion of Cyrus was monotheism (belief in one God).

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THAT LEND EVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

Job 12:18  He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.   Read:  Exo 19:5; Jer 50:17-20

5I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

He wants Cyrus to know that there is no God other than him and that he was going to arm him and make him ready for war.

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THAT DEMONSTRATE THE TEXT:

Isa 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

Deu 4:35  Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.

6That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

From the rising to the setting of the sun all over the world there is no God like the God of Abraham.

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THAT AUTHENTICATE THE TEXT:

Mal 1:11  For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

7I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

God creates light and darkness─prosperity and misfortune─calamity and well-being─good times and bad times.

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ESTABLISH THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEXT:

Jer 31:35  Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

Exo 10:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.  Read:  Isa 10:5-9

8Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

This is a picture of God pouring down his spirit and blessing on our offspring─sending us garments of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness (depression).

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PRESENT OVERWHELMING PROOF OF THE TEXT:

Isa 44:3  For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

9Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

Woe to you who fight against God.  Why be a pot that is at odds with the potter─have you ever seen clay talk back to the potter?

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THAT ARE CONCLUSIVE AND FINAL:

 

Isa 10:15  Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

10Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?

Picture the sperm saying to the father, “I never gave you permission to impregnate your wife, or the fetus saying to the mother, “why am I cooped up like this?”

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THAT RATIFY THE TEXT:

 

Deu 27:16  Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Mal 1:6  A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

11Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

No one tells God what he can or cannot do.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT BEAR OUT THE TEXT:

Jer 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Dan 9:2-3  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.   And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

12I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.

God has not only made man but he has handcrafted the heavens.  That’s why he is the only one qualified to carry out this mission against Babylon and return the exiles to their homeland.

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THAT SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT THE TEXT:

 

Isa 45:18  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Isa 40:12  Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Gen 2:1  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

13I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.

God raised Cyrus up─God is in charge of the operation Cyrus has God holding his hand and has no choice but to let the exiles go.  God didn’t hire him─he told him.

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THAT SHED LIGHT ON THE TEXT:

 

Isa 48:14-15  All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.  I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

Isa 44:28  That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Isa 52:2-3  Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.  For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

14Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.

They came over and volunteered their service─they believed that God was in Israel and that his God was the one and only God.

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THAT VERIFY THE TEXT:

 

Isa 61:5-6  And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.  But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.   Read:  Isa 19:24-25

15Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.

God is a God that works behind the scenes─the entire book of Esther shows the providence of God at work in his people.

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THAT GIVE COUNTEREVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

 

Isa 8:17  And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

16They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.

The idol makers are ashamed, confounded, humiliated, and are now out of work and unemployed.

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THAT CONFIRM THE TEXT:

 

Isa 42:17  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

Jer 10:14  Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

Jer 10:15  They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

17But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

Israel was promised to be saved from their captivity and they were not ashamed or disappointed in their deliverance.

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GIVE AUTHORITIVE DATA TO THE TEXT:

 

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Joe 2:26-27  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.  And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

18For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

The constant theme is a reminder of the fact that God is the source of their deliverance.  He is the one who built the earth from scratch and didn’t plan on it being empty─(the Holy land was at this time empty).

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT CARRY WEIGHT REGARDING THE TEXT:

 

Jer 10:12  He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

Psa 115:16  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

19I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

God does not speak in a secret or dark place like the mediums or spiritualist do.

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THAT MAKE THE CASE:

 

Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Isa 55:6-7  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

20Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

These fools walked around carrying an idol and praying to a make-believe god.  The pope carries an idol (crucifix) with him when he visits America.  Under Pope Stephen III (752 AD) worship of images was forbidden, however in (787 AD) under Pope Stefano III worship of images was restored.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT MAKE THE CASE:

 

Jer 2:27-28  Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.  But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.  Read:  Ex. 20:4 

21Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

If idol gods know anything about the future they needed to put their heads together and present the evidence.

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THAT INDORSE THE TEXT:

Isa 41:22-23  Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.  Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Jehovah is the only God there is and the only one who saves.

23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

God does not go back on his word.  His word is backed up with absolute fulfillment and will not be revoked.

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THAT DEMONSTRATE THE TEXT:

Rom 14:10-11  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

24Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

Surely those who are God haters and Christ deniers will be disgraced by their unbelief.

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THAT AUTHENTICATE THE TEXT:

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Zec 10:12  And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.

Isa 60:9  Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

25In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Everyone connected with the LORD should be living a robust disciplined spirituous life.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT

ESTABLISH THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEXT:

 

Isa 45:17  But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

Jer 9:23-24  Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.