So You May Know

The LORD ends this portion of the prophecy to Hezekiah, Judah, and Jerusalem by pointing out future things. Yes, Judah and Jerusalem would be destroyed. They would be taken away into exile by Babylon. Assyria would be gone also. But there would come a future day when cities would be inhabited again and Jerusalem and its temple would be built again. And God names the man who would make it happen long before he was ever born. Isaiah wrote these words around 700 BC. But Cyrus, whom God calls by name here, would not be born for another 100 years, and would not do that task God appointed for him until 539 BC. 

‘Remember these things, O Jacob,’ YHWH begins.  ‘And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud and your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.’ When the destruction of Jerusalem came, Israel and Judah may think God had forsaken and forgotten them, but here God reminds them that they will never be forgotten by Him. And Never means Never when God speaks. There will never be a time that God will not remember the everlasting covenant He made with them. Even though they are rebellious and have rejected Him, walking after other gods and seeking other kings and nations to be their protector and savior, God would always intervene and remind them that He alone is their God and that He alone can save. 

The response to the Word of the LORD is that nature itself will shout forth for joy, for the redemption of Israel is where the LORD will show forth His glory. God formed that nation. God preserved that nation even though He exiled that nation throughout all other nations. He is the maker of heaven and earth, who alone stretched forth the heavens and spread out the earth. He makes the diviner out to be a fool, and causes wise men to draw back by turning their wisdom into foolishness. He confirm the Word of His Servant and performs the purpose of His messengers. God is the One who says that Jerusalem shall agin be inhabited and the cities of Judah rebuilt. He will raise up the ruins. He says to the sea, ‘Be dried up!’ And the rivers dry up! 

God’s sovereign control over nature, time, and even the future are set up in display here. He calls out the man He will use long before he is even born. Cyrus would be the one God raises up to shepherd His people for a short time, to declare that Jerusalem would be rebuilt and that the Temple foundation would be laid. Cyrus is named as the anointed of God to perform this. God would subdue nations before Cyrus, giving him authority over many kings and God would open doors before Cyrus that no man could shut. He would make the rough place smooth before him and shatter doors of bronze, cutting through bars of iron. God would even give Cyrus the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places. 

Why would God do this? So that Cyrus would know that YHWH, the God of Israel, had called him by name. Cyrus would be raised up and given a title of honor though he would not know God, fulfilling this Word to Isaiah, so that he and the nations would know that YHWH is the only God. ‘I am YHWH, and there is no other; besides Me there is no other God,’ YHWH stated and had Isaiah write it down. This testimony was for Cyrus, but it was also for Israel and Judah, so they would remember that He alone is God. Their current idols could neither stop the desolation God was bringing on them, nor save them in the present of future. Only YHWH was their real God and He would remind them and everyone else that there are no other gods besides Him!

To Cyrus YHWH said, ‘that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am YHWH, and there is no other. The One forming light and creating darkness, causing wellbeing and creating calamity (which He promised in the Law of Moses against the sins of Israel!); I am YHWH who does all these. Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down righteousness; let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, and righteousness spring up with it. I, YHWH, have created it.’

God created all things. He chose a nation for Himself. He set them aside and redeemed them from slavery, taught them His ways, and warned them of calamities for disobedience. And ever since then He has been fulfilling His covenant with them. He will never forget that covenant, for He keeps His Word. He did raise up Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The decree of Cyrus allowed the Jews to return in 539 BC. Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah record the return.

If God kept His Word then, He is still keeping His Word even now. One Day, Jesus will return and redeem the remnant of this disobedient nation and they will truly know their God. All the nations will see Jesus redeem His remnant of Israel, and then He will sit on His glorious throne in Jerusalem and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords until the Day of Judgment comes and we pass into eternity.