It has been my observation while reading Isaiah 45 that Cyrus was given incredible understanding of his role in God’s Plan for the emancipation of the Hebrews held captive in Babylon. God pushes his agenda forward as the sole and sovereign overseer for Israel. God then asserts his plan to use Cyrus to crush the Babylonian’s and free the Hebrews. As I review Isaiah 45, I can see Elohim’s sovereignty defined by two statements: (1) I am the Lord and there is no other; (2) I the Lord, have done these things.
Isaiah 45:5-10 says — I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. You, heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it. Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? Woe to the one who says to a father, what have you begotten? or to a mother, what have you brought to birth? [NIV].
There are several fundamental truths present in this passage. The repetition of ‘I am the Lord’ drives home the point. We can do nothing else but engage in a firm belief built upon immutable truth.
I think if any person reads and embraces the purity of this message, they will not be able to form any conclusion except to abandon idolatry and self-worship immediately. I get the feeling that God was not pleased, he speaks with commanding authority, the air of majesty infuses the words, power, dominance, and sheer animosity displayed for all pretenders. This message thunders power to the world. How much stronger can it be — I am the Lord, there is no other, there is no God besides me, there is no other self-existent, self-sufficient, infinite, and eternal God. Selah.
Sometimes I drive downtown Tucson and wander through the shops on Fourth Street. Over and over, I see defiance of the one true living God. Some of the shops sell trinkets and tools that mislead and entice our people away from the things they might have learned as children. God thunders out – There is none besides me. None! The enemy smiles and continues to sell things (tools of necromancy) that appear to be innocent but compete with the one true living God, these things are counterfeits; they are mere distractions. These resellers are like a potter who makes and sells idols. They sell chaff to distract the mind and prevent the truth of God from hitting the mark. Who gave the earthly potter permission to use clay from God’s earth to build their distractions. Who gave the earthly potter permission to use things from earth to discern the future? Lucifer’s day of reckoning is coming. Selah.
Here is the deeper truth – Jehovah Shammah is the first cause of all things we can see, hear, feel, smell, taste and know. Lightening surrounds his voice when he speaks. None can stand in his presence. He says — I am the Lord, the origin of all beings, the source of all power and wisdom. He who formed the natural light (Genesis 1:3) forms the spiritual light in our hearts.
He who at first made our peace with the principles of nature has also offered peace in the affairs of men. He who allowed the absence of light, created natural light. He who brings grace to all, is slow to judgment. He who stands against evil, offers a hand of peace to avert our afflictions. Our God, in all his wisdom, brings order to chaos. I choose Jesus.