The All-Encompassing Sovereignty Of God

THE ALL-ENCOMPASSING SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD.

Isaiah 45:1-7.

This chapter opens with the astonishing reference to Cyrus, King of Persia, as the LORD’s “anointed” - literally, “messiah” (Isaiah 45:1). It is designed to shock us with the fact that the LORD not only uses Gentiles to fulfil His purposes for Israel/the Church, but even ‘anoints’ a non-Davidic, non-Jewish, non-Christian to that end. I believe Nero was Emperor in Rome when the Apostle Paul wrote, ‘the powers that be are ordained of God’ (Romans 13:1-4).

Isaiah has already introduced King Cyrus to his readers. Although not there named, Cyrus is the one whom the LORD has ‘raised up’ from the east (Isaiah 41:2-4). However, the emphasis there is not upon Cyrus, but on the LORD, who raised him up.

Then in Isaiah 44:28 the name first appears: literally, ‘Cyrus my shepherd.’ Not of David’s line, not Jewish, not a worshipper of the one true God: nevertheless, for the LORD’s purposes, and at a time when the house of David was in disarray, Cyrus was raised up specifically to ‘shepherd’ the LORD’s people back to their land. Cyrus also decreed the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 1:2), from whence the gospel would one day wend its path into ‘all the world’ (Mark 16:15).

Now neither Cyrus nor Ezra could accomplish this in their own strength. The LORD was the prime mover, as it were “holding” Cyrus’ right hand “to subdue nations before him” (Isaiah 45:1). That the LORD would go before him is illustrated by a nature miracle (Isaiah 45:2; cf. Isaiah 41:18-19; Isaiah 42:15-16).

Furthermore, Cyrus being “called by name” and “surnamed, though thou hast not known me” was not for his own sake, but for “Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my elect” (Isaiah 45:4). Even today, sometimes, God raises up non-Christian leaders to fulfil His purposes. It is a miracle of His grace that He can raise up a ‘man for the hour’ in a national or international crisis, and that man (or woman) might not be at all sympathetic to the Christian cause.

This is done so that Cyrus might know that “I the LORD, which call (thee) by thy name, (am) the God of Israel” (Isaiah 45:3). It was the LORD, who alone is God, who “girded thee, though thou hast not known me” (Isaiah 45:5). It is also so that “they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that (there is) none beside me.” Literally, “I the LORD, and no one else (Isaiah 45:6).

There are manifestations of God’s grace even to unbelievers, as Jesus indicated: ‘He makes His sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust’ (Matthew 5:45). Our short passage today closes with the LORD declaring His sovereignty over all eventualities (Isaiah 45:7).

First, “I form the light and create darkness.” All WAS darkness when the LORD said, ‘Let there be light’ (Genesis 1:3). And it is only light that shows up darkness to be just that: darkness (John 3:19).

Second, “I make peace, and create evil.” Peace and evil are set over against each other in the same way as light and darkness, so that instead of peace we have all sorts of calamities. This is not to make God the author of moral evil (cf. James 1:13), but there is the evil consequence of sin, which God allows (Amos 3:6). Moses warned, ‘EVIL will befall you in the latter days; because you will DO EVIL in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger with the work of your hands’ (Deuteronomy 31:29).

Third, "I the LORD do all these things." Job was resigned to this sovereignty: ‘What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?’ (Job 2:10). Evil in this context no doubt means adversity, as the word is sometimes translated (Psalm 94:13; Ecclesiastes 7:14).

God is not the author of evil, but uses the evil that is in the world, always to His own ends, and for the good of His people. To His name be praise.