Should We Ask God Tough Questions, Or Not? (Isaiah 45:9-25) Series

Before I jump in, I should just say that these verses are a little tricky. It's hard to figure out who is speaking, and who is being addressed. The speaker changes twice, and we have to try to keep up (and these type of speaker changes are evidence that these verses were originally performed, using different voices or something, in the public square.].

Verse 14 starts off addressed to Jerusalem/Zion. That's not obvious right away, but eventually the addressee clears up. And what these verses do, I think, is answer one of the objections of God's exiled people. If God has anointed Cyrus, and God is blessing Cyrus, and God is treating Cyrus like He treated King David, then what blessings are left over for them? It feels a bit like Isaac giving all of the blessings he can think of to Jacob. What's left for Esau (Genesis 27:37)? And so what these verses do, is reassure God's people that God will make them rich, and that He will give them honor. They won't miss out because of Cyrus-- it will actually be through Cyrus that God blesses them. I'm just going to read this straight through to the end of verse 25. We won't catch everything, but just focus on three ideas: wealth, honor, and humiliation. These three ideas are a thread that run through the whole section:

(14) Thus has said Yahweh: [addressed to Jerusalem]

"The hard earned wealth of Egypt's labor, and the profit/merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans-- men of tribute [Ezra 4:20; 7:24] --

to you they shall pass over, ["to you" is focused; "you" is feminine singular],

and yours, they will be, ["yours" is focused, and feminine; "they" is the wealth of those 3].

Behind you, they will walk ["behind you" is focused"; =loyalty; Deut. 13:5; 1 Kings 14:8; *Paul].

In chains, they will pass over,

while to you [feminine singular] they will bow down, [Isaiah 60; they will treated as a Davidic king; Ps. 72:10-11; vassal language *Paul]

and to you [feminine] they will pray/plead."

[The speech of the nations, what they will say at that time, probably, to Zion and to God. "To you they will pray/plead," and this is what they will say:]

"Surely, with you, El/God [is],

and there is apart from him no god/elohim."

(15) Certainly, you [are] an El/God [who has been? who is?] hiding yourself-- the God/Elohim of Israel-- the Savior."

(16) They were ashamed,

and, what's more, they were humiliated-- all of them.

Together/as one (in unity) [Exodus 19:8], they have walked in disgrace-- the craftsmen of idols.

(17) Israel is being saved/rescued by Yahweh-- a long-lasting/forever salvation."

[The prophet to God's exiled people, applying the nations' future words to them; "This is what you should learn from their future speech"]:

You will not be ashamed,

and you will not be humiliated up to forever and ever,

(18) because thus has said Yahweh, the One Creating the heavens--

He [is] the God/Elohim Forming the earth,