Cyrus Cylinder

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The Lord Appoints Cyrus

Isaiah 45.1-7

Good News Translation (GNT)

1  The Lord has chosen Cyrus to be king.
   He has appointed him to conquer nations;
   he sends him to strip kings of their power;
   the Lord will open the gates of cities for him.
   To Cyrus the Lord says,
2  "I myself will prepare your way, levelling
   mountains and hills. I will break down bronze
   gates and smash their iron bars.
3  I will give you treasures from dark, secret
   places; then you will know that I am the Lord
   and that the God of Israel has called you by
   name.
4  I appoint you to help my servant Israel, the
   people that I have chosen. I have given you
   great honour, although you do not know me.
5  "I am the Lord; there is no other god. I will give
   you the strength you need, although you do
   not know me.
6  I do this so that everyone from one end of
   the world to the other may know that I am
   the Lord and that there is no other god.
7  I create both light and darkness; I bring both
   blessing and disaster. I, the Lord, do all
   these things.

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Commentary taken from 'word-on-the-web'
supplied by Scripture Union

Cyrus was the Lord's 'anointed'

Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, did not know God
(v 4).

Cyrus the Great was a Persian who ruled from 559-530 BC and founded the Achemenid Dynasty. His success, in this, aroused the hostility of the more powerful Babylon, but after consolidating his power Cyrus was able to take Babylon easily in 539 BC.

For Isaiah, Cyrus was the Lord's 'anointed' (45:1), which denotes a person specifically chosen and set apart for a specific task, to restore God's people from exile, to free them to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Notice also that God promised to intervene and help Cyrus conquer many nations (i.e., make hills level).

The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay barrel inscription discovered by archaeologist Hormuzd Razam in his excavations in Babylon 1879-82, confirms that it was his policy to allow captured people to return home and build sanctuaries to their gods. Cyrus also returned sacred vessels taken from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

This prophecy, about Cyrus, was written before his birth, but it was fulfilled in glorious detail (see Ezra 1:1-4). God still uses pagan powers to fulfil his purposes, because he does not change.

Imagine Cyrus' amazement and sober contemplation as he became aware of Isaiah's prophecy and realized that almost 150 years before his birth he had been named and ordained by the God of the Israelites to become a mighty conquering king.

Cyrus viewed the prophecy from the perspective of his many victorious battles and how easily he had conquered many nations, including the mighty Babylonian empire and its capital city.

The Creator God states, in verse 6, that one of the reasons for this prophecy is so that people will have a continual witness the he is God.

The prophecy concerning Cyrus and its fulfilment is a continual witness of the Creator God's power and authority over his creation.

In the end Cyrus will be a footnote in history, but the Lord will be history's main theme (v 6). Light and darkness, prosperity and disaster - everything ultimately serves the purposes of God.

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