Isaiah 45:1–7
1 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
2 ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’
In verse 1 we see that God is speaking through Isaiah to Cyrus who was the king of Babylon according to history and to Ezra 4:1-6. Cyrus then was a pagan king of a pagan government. But look at how God addresses King Cyrus of Persia: “His anointed.”
The God of heaven and the God of His people raised up a Persian king who would take over Babylon when the men and women whose parents had been taken into captivity were ready to return to Jerusalem. God sent Israel into captivity for 70 years and then raised up Cyrus, who would do God’s bidding in God’s timing to return the exiles, rebuild their temple and rebuild the city walls. We see in this Isaiah passage that God was in control of all things regarding His people at all times.
Every generation can put the name of their king, their president, and their prime minister in this passage. Romans 14 tells us that every government power is of God and does God’s bidding. A few years ago we could say that President Obama was God’s instrument doing God’s bidding. This year we can say that President Trump is God’s instrument doing God’s bidding. Whichever one you have trouble with, rest assured that God is in control doing His work through these national leaders.
In the book of Daniel we see great prophesies concerning kingdoms that were yet to come. As those prophesied nations rose and fell we could see God’s hand behind them all accomplishing His overall purposes in the earth. As cruel as the Roman government and its army was, God put them in place so in the fullness of time Jesus could come to earth.
As we read the book of Revelation we see that there are prophecies yet to be fulfilled. God is using every ruler of every country to bring about His divine plan for the fulfillment of all things. In the end we will see and know that God was in control doing His bidding through godless leaders and we will praise God forever for His great will.
* https://graceforlifebc.com/2017/05/23/god-puts-kings-and-rulers-in-place/
Carl, This is so true. Scripture is HIS Story. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows each of us and cares for us with lovingkindness. When we put our faith in Him, we can do our part in the knowledge that He is watching over us and protecting us on every step of the way. We need not be afraid at all.
Carl, This is so true. Scripture is HIS Story. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows each of us and cares for us with lovingkindness. When we put our faith in Him, we can do our part in the knowledge that He is watching over us and protecting us on every step of the way. We need not be afraid at all.
Psalm 17:7
Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
Psalm 25:6
Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
Psalm 26:3
For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
Psalm 36:7
How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Psalm 36:10
O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
Psalm 40:10
I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
Psalm 40:11
Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
Psalm 42:8
Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
Psalm 48:9
We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
Psalm 51:1
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psalm 63:3
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
Psalm 69:16
Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
Psalm 88:11
Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Psalm 89:33
Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
Psalm 89:49
Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
Psalm 92:2
To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
Psalm 103:4
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psalm 107:43
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Psalm 119:88
Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
Psalm 119:149
Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O Lord, quicken me according to thy judgment.
Psalm 119:159
Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord, according to thy lovingkindness.
Psalm 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Psalm 143:8
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Isaiah 63:7
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
Jeremiah 9:24
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.
King James Version (KJV)
Sorry for repeating the first paragraph. Or, maybe it just needs to be constantly repeated until we really know and understand the Lord.
Thank you Elizabeth, we can not hear that encouragement too many times. By believing it we would act like we believe it by resting in that knowledge.
All I know is without Zerobama we would not have gotten Trump.
What’s amazing to me is that God did all the work to provide all the needs of the Israelites in the desert yet when it came time to rebuild Jerusalem, God had them do the work.
It was God’s plan to have Trump be president but we had to do the work to get him there. And again we have to work to keep him there.
Teamwork.
WOW Thank you thank you …bakocarl AMEN
This election year has been harder than 2016 and I do have to remind myself that God is in control and reason I post this song with the lyrics.
We Will NOT be overtaken
We Will NOT be overcome
Same power that rose Jesus from grave Lives in Us
Same power that moves mountains when He speaks
Same power that can calm raging sea
SAME POWER ESTABLISHED TRUMP AS POTUS
Someday…..
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” – Revelation 11:15
PSALM 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
In depth – word by word:
Be Still – Rapha – H7505 – Stop, cease, let go, as in death.
Know – Yada – H3045 – Know completely with certainty, intimately as in marriage
Certainly Truly – Kiy – H3588- Truly, absolutely, assuredly
I AM – ANO – H595 – I AM
Certainly Truly – Kiy – H 3588 – Truly, absolutely, assuredly
GOD – Elohiyim – H430 – Holy, Good, Redemptive, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Sovereign GOD
Exalted – Ruwm – H7311 – Rise Exalted Above, Rule over
Among (and over) the nations – Gowy – H1471 – People, nations, multitudes, peoples, movements, hearts, souls, spirits.
Exalted – Ruwm – H7311 – Rise Exalted Above, Rule over
In the Earth – all creation – Erets – H766 – Earth – All Creation – Heaven – Space – Sheol – All physical forces, dynamics, material and celestial entities, all time and eternity.
Where did you get that in depth word by word info for that was very powerful? Thank you!
It was from my personal notes and Bible Study. Someone told me to look up Scripture word by word in the Concordance in Greek and Hebrew, and meditate on each word slowly one at a time.
It is a powerful way to read and understand a Bible verse in depth.
Thanks you. Very powerful & I appreciate you sharing that verse in that way!!! God Bless <3
Thanks for all you do to keep us informed! 🙂
YW 🙂
PRAYER IS A MAJOR FACTOR!
Prayer and Repentance and Return to the LORD!
Franklin Graham is calling for a day of Prayer and Fasting for our country:
Remember when Franklin Graham went to every state Capitol Building and held a prayer service in 2016?
And held a prayer service the night of the 2016 Election?
And held a 2020 Prayer March in Washington, DC last month?
All those people plus millions around the world are STILL PRAYING FOR OUR COUNTRY and for OUR PRESIDENT!!!
Remember in the Old Testament when the straying, sinful people of Israel rediscovered the Book of the WORD, Law, Commandments, were pricked in their hearts, repented and returned to GOD?
Without a repentance and return to Christ and God’s Commandments, this nation and indeed, the entire West is lost. (Leviticus 26:17, Isaiah 10:5, 31:8-9, Nehemiah 8, II Chronicles 7:14)
Interesting…..
What is remarkable about that Isaiah passage is that it named Cyrus a couple hundred years before his time.
Well, there are no clocks or calendars in Heaven. For good reason – time is for humans.
Carl, thank you so much for this important reminder.
Carl, thank you for this. While I believe it is true, I admit freely I struggle with accepting that God allowed Obama to be our leader for eight terrible years. He is such a creature of the underworld he reeks of sulphur. Thank you again, such an important message.
The struggle is over, or it should be. He’s not prez any more and his painful deeds are being used by DJT to build upon.
Four more years!
An very wise teacher (Derek Prince, I believe), said that God gives a nation the rulers that will best motivate them to remember Him and return to Him.