God Equips Those Who Don’t Know Him! Isaiah 45-50

Isaiah 45:2-5 (ESV)

“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,

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.

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.

I am the LORD, and there is no other,

besides me there is no God;

I equip you, though you do not know me,

The above passage is an amazing prophecy spoken by Isaiah.   It is spoken to Israel but about a king in Assyria.    The kings name is Cyrus.  There is much debate as to who this king is.   We do know from ancient archeological findings that there was a king of the Babylonian-Assyrian time frame that fits this story.    It would have been hard for the nation of Israel to hear Isaiah’s prophecy about a foreign king having the attributes of the above poem.   These types of things were said about the Messiah, not a wicked king who didn’t even know God.   Many theologians ascribe to the thought that the Cyrus in the above picture is a type of Messiah.    It is more likely to take the text for what it says, I equip you, though you don’t know me.    This is a great indication of God’s sovereignty over the political and military powers of the world.   There is no doubt that this Cyrus is going to be equipped by God to conquer the world.   Cyrus, based on simple historical findings, is used by God to set the people of Israel free from their up-coming captivity.  So the above prophecy is both an encouragement and an enigma to them.   The fact that God can take a human being, who knows no relationship with God, and use him to accomplish the will of God, is an amazing truth to latch onto.   God uses the powerful political leaders of this day to impact and fulfill His plan for the world.   We think these leaders act on their own accord.   God does use their agendas and personalities and hunger for power.  But He conducts them like an orchestra maestro who has complete control over each an every instrument and note the members of the orchestra plays.   God is sovereign and we can rest in assurance He rises up the leaders He wants to accomplish the plan He wants.