I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God. – Isaiah 45:5
Cyrus II, the founder of the Persian empire, was appointed by God with a special assignment to help the nation of Israel. Under his rule, King Cyrus created the largest kingdom in the world at that time. Yahweh called Cyrus His “anointed,” which the Hebrew word can be translated as “messiah.” In fact, the book of Isaiah is the only place in the Bible where a Gentile ruler is said to be “anointed.”
Cyrus conquered Babylon in order to free the Jews from captivity. In 538 B.C, he made a public declaration granting the Jews the right to return to Judah and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, all without expecting anything in return. Yet Isaiah knew that God would raise Cyrus up almost 150 years before he ruled beginning in 559 B.C. Isaiah also predicted that Jerusalem would fall more than 100 years before it happened in 586 B.C. and the temple would be rebuilt about 200 years before it happened.
The Lord is Creator of all things and He is sovereign over His creation. He is the source of all blessing and judgement. He brings success and calamity. Heaven and Earth are at His command. He is ruler over light and darkness, over prosperity and disaster. So even during crises, you can know that God establishes leaders and removes them and uses them to fulfill His master plan for the universe.
As you spend time in His Word and seek His direction for your life, remember to pray for this nation. Intercede for His appointed leaders in America today. Pray especially for strength, courage and wisdom for President Trump and his administration.
Today’s Verse: Isaiah 45:5
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Isaiah 45:1-13
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 “Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear
fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me concerning my children
and the work of my hands?
12 I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
13 I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
