Isa 45:1-7 NASB Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: (2) “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. (3) “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. (4) “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. (5) “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; (6) That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, (7) The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

• Verse 1 – What do you think about the specifics mentioned in this verse? (Cyrus, doors, gates)
• What blessings does God bestow on Cyrus? What has Cyrus done to merit this (verse 5 and 6)? Why does God do this?
• What do you think about God\’s description of himself in verse 7? (see also Jer 18:6-10, Acts 4:27-31)

Isa 45:8-13 GNB I will send victory from the sky like rain; the earth will open to receive it and will blossom with freedom and justice. I, the LORD, will make this happen.” (9) Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker, a pot that is like all the others? Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing? Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill? (10) Do we dare say to our parents, “Why did you make me like this?” (11) The LORD, the holy God of Israel, the one who shapes the future, says: “You have no right to question me about my children or to tell me what I ought to do! (12) I am the one who made the earth and created human beings to live there. By my power I stretched out the heavens; I control the sun, the moon, and the stars. (13) I myself have stirred Cyrus to action to fulfill my purpose and put things right. I will straighten out every road that he travels. He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem, and set my captive people free. No one has hired him or bribed him to do this.” The LORD Almighty has spoken.

• What comes to mind when you think of victory (righteousness) coming from the sky and the earth opening to receive it and sprouting freedom and justice (righteousness and salvation)? (Verse 8)
• How does God’s admonition in verses 9-12 apply to your own life?
• What does it mean “straighten out every road” or “make his way smooth”? (Verse 13)

Isa 45:14-25 NASB Thus says the LORD, “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains And will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.'” (15) Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior! (16) They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them; The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation. (17) Israel has been saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated To all eternity. (18) For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am the LORD, and there is none else. (19) “I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a waste place’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright. (20) “Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save. (21) “Declare and set forth your case;Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. (22) “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. (23) “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. (24) “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. (25) “In the LORD all the offspring of Israel Will be justified and will glory.”

• Who is God speaking to?
• When do you think all these things happen?
• Who is being glorified? Who is being humiliated? Who is receiving tribute?
• How long is Israel’s salvation to last? (Verse 17) What do you think about this?
• What do you see of God in verses 18-25?

THEME

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

APPLICATIONS

Herodotus (i. 191) says, ‘If the besieged had been aware of the designs of Cyrus, or had discovered the project before its actual accomplishment, they might have effected the total destruction of these troops. They had only to secure the little gates which led to the river, and to have manned the embankments on either side, and they might have enclosed the Persians in a net from which they could never have escaped; as it happened they were taken by surprise; and such is the extent of that city, that, as the inhabitants themselves affirm, they who lived in the extremities were made prisoners before the alarm was communicated to the center of the palace.’

Jer 18:6-10 NASB “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. (7) “At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; (8) if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. (9) “Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; (10) if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.

Act 4:27-31 NASB “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, (28) to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. (29) “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, (30) while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.