It has been my observation that God has little respect for the soothsayers and star readers. He called Cyrus to pull God’s people out of Babylon and allow them to return to their homeland after 70 years of isolation and captivity in Babylon. I think there were two different things happening at the same time. First God was using Cyrus (in his heathen state) for a mission, and I think God was trying to get his attention. The message in Isaiah 47 seems to address problems in Babylon, but in a broader sense to problems with those who tried ridiculously hard to make their own version of God.
This message is partially for Cyrus, to bring him out of the sin of his legacy, to walk away from the idolatry of his ancestors, which included sorcery, star gazing, and worship of wood, metal, and stone images. Often, when people conquered a culture, they tried to act benevolent; this caused them to integrate their culture with the conquered culture. Additionally, they would often get a ‘big head’ and add a new god into the mix – themselves. I think the one true living God was trying to help Cyrus, when he when he settled into Babylon, he becomes rich and more powerful than ever. Yet he must remember that still he is but a man, and there is no God but one. Babylon fell because of Elohim, not because of Cyrus. If God wanted the Hebrews to stay in Babylon, Cyrus would have not been successful.
Isaiah 47:10-15 says You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me. Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you. Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror. All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely, they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by. That is all they are to you—these you have dealt with and labored with since childhood. All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you. [NIV]
I am not surprised to hear that the pagan rites had similar language about their puffed-up belief of self-deity. The message from the rebellious human is clear, I (the human) am, there is none (no other God) besides me. The human vainly declares – I am god! Are we astonished? Not really. The message has not changed for three centuries. Lucifer is on the job. From his viewpoint, if it is not broken, do not change it. We are told all the time by the mystics of today – look inside yourself, find the God that you are.
I have learned in my lifetime the stuff we pursue, the objects we place in our house (big boy toys) do not bring real comfort. The objects cannot feel the sound of my laugh or feel my gleeful giggle from the pleasure the objects provide. There is nothing. No response, no empathy, no power. Nothing. The tools of soothsayers and star gazers offer nothing that a 6-year-old cannot easily refute.
I have learned to appreciate why our glorious God formed the light we use every day, all day to see things. It is merely a precursor to the spiritual light that men feel enveloped around the throne. There is nothing like this in the universe. Spiritual light originates from the presence and person of God – injected into our heart. This light flows into our minds through the Holy Spirit who enlightens, teaches, and leads us to do the right thing (implied in John 14:26, John 16:13.) Selah.
I choose Jesus.