Leading up to the presidential election, we all had a favorite candidate whom we desired to win; someone who would represent our values. We envisioned how he would bring about prosperity and freedom to our nation; but if he lost, we envisioned the end of the world. Anyone of any political party whose candidate fell into the loser’s position would feel absolutely devastated! If Biden lost, it would be the end of the word. If Trump lost, it would be the end of the world. You see, we would all feel the same way if the candidate we admired lost the election. But how many of us have considered that no matter who wins the election, that it might be God’s will and that the Lord might have a purpose in it? Well, this is the spiritual concept that we’re going to explore in our message this morning.
A Nation Falls by God’s Appointed (Jeremiah 25:1-11)
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:
3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me, says the LORD, that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.”
8 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
I think it’s important that we begin by seeking to understand the historical context under which Jeremiah spoke these words. The location where he spoke was Judah, which was southern Israel. “Jeremiah began his prophetic [ministry] in the thirteenth year of king Josiah (627 B.C.), and finished in the eleventh year of king Zedekiah when Jerusalem went into exile, during the sixth month. During this period, Josiah changed the [country’s] religion, Babylon . . . made Judah a Babylonian vassal (605 B.C.), Judah revolted but was subjugated again by Babylon (597 B.C.), and [then] Judah revolted once more. This revolt was the final one, [for] Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple and exiled its king and many of the leading citizens in 587 B.C.”(1)
“Four times in this message, Jeremiah pronounced the solemn indictment, ‘You have not listened’ (vv. 3–4, 7–8). The earlier prophets . . . had warned of great judgment if the nation didn’t repent and turn to [God], but their ministry went unheeded.”(2) In Matthew 21:34-36, Jesus elaborated on how the prophets’ message was ignored, saying, “He sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.” “Jeremiah had preached to the leaders and common people of Judah for twenty-three years . . . As they disobeyed the law, worshipped idols, and rejected God’s servants, the people deliberately provoked God to anger, and the day of His wrath was fast approaching.”(3)
In 2 Chronicles 7:19-22, the Lord warned His people as follows: “If you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore, He has brought all this calamity on them’.”
Notice how the verses I read from 2 Chronicles chapter 7 echo the words in Jeremiah chapter 25. For example, Jeremiah 25:9 says, “[I] will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants . . . and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations,” and then verse 11 says, “This whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment.” In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the Lord shared the preventative measures His people could take to see that this calamity would never happen. He said, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” But the people failed to seek the Lord; and as a result, they would come under judgement at the hands of another nation.
“Jeremiah announced that Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon would be God’s tool for punishing Judah (21:7, 10), and he . . . [called] the Babylonian king ‘My servant’.”(4) Look at verse 9: “Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.” King Nebuchadnezzar was also referred to as “My servant” in Jeremiah 27:7 and 43:10. “Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t [even] a believer in the God of Israel, but in his conquests, he was accomplishing God’s will (51:20–23).”(5)
“God’s own people wouldn’t obey the Lord when they had everything to gain, but pagan rulers like Pharaoh . . . and Nebuchadnezzar were servants of God to fulfill His purposes.”(6) For example, in quoting Exodus 9:16, the apostle Paul expounded in Romans 9:17-18, “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.’ Therefore, He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” According to the Scripture, the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart against His people, so that by his resistance, God could show forth His signs and wonders; thus, bringing glory to His holy name. This made Pharaoh an instrument of the Lord.
We even read in the Scripture that those involved in Jesus’ trial and crucifixion were the Lord’s servants in bringing about the purpose that God had planned by having His one and only Son die on the cross. Acts 4:27-28 says, “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.” Commentator Warren Wiersbe says, “The church today needs to remember that the Lord is sovereign and can use whatever tools He deigns to use to accomplish His purposes on earth, even unconverted leaders.”(7)
Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” How many of us have considered that if we have an ungodly leader that he has been appointed by God? Whether our new president leads us into a time of prosperity, or economic and national ruin and persecution of the church, we must trust that God is in control – even if our country’s leader doesn’t act like a Christian or isn’t a Christian.
Keep in mind that Israel was God’s chosen group of people who felt that – as God’s elect – they could never be defeated; but because they continually disobeyed the Lord, He allowed judgement to fall. Also, keep in mind how Peter said, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God?” (1 Peter 4:17). If the time of judgment is upon us, then God will appoint a leader to bring about our nation’s demise; the way He used Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon to temporarily bring about Israel’s demise.
A Nation Saved by God’s Appointed (Isaiah 44:24-28)
24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: I am the LORD, who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; 25 who frustrates the signs of the babblers, and drives diviners mad; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolishness; 26 who confirms the word of His servant, and performs the counsel of His messengers; who says to Jerusalem, “You shall be inhabited,” to the cities of Judah, “You shall be built,” and I will raise up her waste places; 27 who says to the deep, “Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers;” 28 who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure,” saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” and to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”
So, we’re going to start here the same as we did before, by looking at the historical context. Like Jeremiah, the prophet Isaiah lived in Judah, or southern Israel; but Isaiah was earlier, having lived during the eight-century B.C. What is amazing is that, in this particular prophecy, he spoke about Israel’s deliverance from Babylon nearly 200 years before it happened. Through Isaiah, God “announced that He would raise up a ruler named Cyrus, who would do His righteous work on earth by defeating other nations for the sake of His people . . . Cyrus would be a shepherd (44:28) anointed by God (45:1), [and] a ravenous bird that could not be stopped (46:11).”(8) Isaiah 41:25, in the New International Version, says that “he treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay,” speaking about Cyrus.
“Isaiah called Cyrus by name over a century before he was born (590–529 B.C.), and while Isaiah nowhere call[ed] Cyrus ‘God’s servant,’ Cyrus did serve the Lord by fulfilling God’s purposes.”(9) He was, however, called, “My shepherd” (v. 28). “God handed the nations over to Cyrus and helped him conquer great kings (45:1–4). The enemy was blown away like chaff and dust because the eternal God was leading the army . . . Cyrus may have thought that he was accomplishing his own plans, but actually he was doing the pleasure of the Lord [according to verse 28]. By defeating Babylon, Cyrus made it possible for the Jewish captives to be released and allowed to return to their land to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.”(10) Listen as I read Ezra 1:1-4:
“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem’.”
I feel that I must point out how Ezra 1:1 says that Cyrus fulfilled “the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah,” however, Cyrus is not mentioned by name in the book of Jeremiah. Maybe Jeremiah alluded to him, rather than using his name, and perhaps I need to do some more digging. Or maybe, some of Jeremiah’s prophecies just didn’t make it into his book. But this matter is trivial compared to the main point, which is that prophecy was fulfilled. For example, Isaiah declared of Cyrus in Isaiah 45:13, “I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build My city and let My exiles go free, not for price nor reward, says the LORD of hosts” – and we learn from Ezra that it actually happened!
Warren Wiersbe says, “Sometimes we forget that God can use even unconverted world leaders for the ‘good’ of His people and the ‘progress of His work’.”(11) In Proverbs 21:1, we read, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He [or God] turns it wherever He wishes.” Let us keep in mind that the president’s heart is also in the hand of the Lord, and God can turn it wherever He desires it to go.
So, now that we’ve looked at this passage from Isaiah chapter 44, let me take what we learned earlier in looking at Jeremiah chapter 25, and say it again another way. Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” God can use even a heathen to bring a nation to a place of property and His people to a place of abundance. So, it isn’t our job to say, “He doesn’t act like a believer, so lets’ not support him!” It’s our duty to trust that God is in control – even if our country’s leader doesn’t act like a Christian or isn’t a Christian.
Let me close by sharing one final thing that Isaiah declared of Cyrus. In Isaiah chapter 45, verses 1 and 4, we read, “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 . . . I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.”
Time of Reflection
So, let’s put this all together. If our president leads our nation into a time of prosperity, but acts like a hypocrite and an unbeliever, we must trust that God is in control. And if our president leads us into economic and national ruin, and even persecution of the church, claiming to be a believer while acting like a heathen, we must trust that God is in control; because there is a chance that neither elected president is a Christian and the Lord is using them despite that fact. God told Cyrus, “I have named you, though you have not known Me” (Isaiah 45:4). God can use an unbeliever for His plans. In the end, no matter who wins the election, the Lord has a purpose in it.
So, will we allow ourselves to “be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1) in all ways that do not contradict our Christian beliefs? Paul said, in Romans 13:1-2, “The authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God.” The Lord laid this message on my heart when it appeared that my desired candidate would not win; and I had to ask myself if I was going to trust the Lord no matter what the outcome of the election, and I had to consider how I was going to conduct myself as a believer, even if our nation enters into a time of godlessness and lawlessness, and even if the church comes under persecution. We all need to search our heart this morning and ask if we are willing to trust the Lord to appoint His servants who will serve His purposes for the necessary time and season.
So, God told Cyrus, “I have named you, though you have not known Me” (Isaiah 45:4). That’s the same thing as saying, “I have called you, even though you’re not a believer and even though you are lost.” In the same way, no one has to know God to be called into a relationship with Jesus Christ. No one has to be sinless before approaching the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). In fact, God didn’t even require us to be perfect before He had His Son die on the cross. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Perhaps you are someone who knows for a fact that you are not saved. Maybe you realize that you’re a sinner, and so you’re afraid that God won’t accept you. But He has named you for salvation; He has called you into a relationship with Him by confessing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
(1) “Book of Jeremiah,” Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Jeremiah (Accessed November 4, 2020).
(2) Warren Wiersbe, “The Complete Old Testament,” The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 1239.
(3) Ibid., p. 1239.
(4) Ibid., p. 1239.
(5) Ibid., p. 1239.
(6) Ibid., p. 1239.
(7) Ibid., p. 1239.
(8) Ibid., p. 1185.
(9) Ibid., p. 1185.
(10) Ibid., pp. 1185-1186.
(11) Ibid., p. 1186.
