The Lord's Anointed

Depiction of Cyrus the Great by Jean Fouquet, 1470.

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“Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed” (Isaiah 45:1).    

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Cyrus was the king of Persia, who conquered the great Babylonian empire in 539 BC. It was a surprisingly easy victory considering the reputation the army of Babylon had for ruthlessness. As Cyrus’ army surrounded the city of Babylon, the priests of Marduk surrendered, declared him to be Marduk’s chosen new monarch, and then opened the city gates to allow him to enter peacefully.

The Babylonians had been the ones who had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and had deported the Jews from Judah and Jerusalem. The prophets had explained that this devastating work had been the judgment of God on His people for not obeying His Word and failing to worship Him faithfully.

Scripture doesn’t record exactly what happened, but picture this scene. Imagine Cyrus, dressed in regal splendor, surrounded by scores of attendants and dignitaries. A few of the Jewish elders are led in before him. They read from a scroll written by Isaiah: “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed” (45:1).

Imagine the original shock. Written 150 years earlier, the Lord addressed this portion of Scripture specifically to Cyrus. The Lord calls him My “anointed,” or “messiah,” which means the same thing. A title generally reserved for prophets, priests, and kings, Cyrus is the only non-Jew the Bible addresses this way. What’s more, he didn’t even know the Lord. Nevertheless, God was equipping him and enabling him to conquer and consolidate one of the greatest empires in history.

It was a divine plan that unfolded as Cyrus’s troops marched from Mesopotamia to the borders of India and from there to the borders of Egypt and up through all of what we now call Turkey. His new lands included those from which the Jews had been deported–God’s Promised Land. It was God’s timing that His people should go home, and Cyrus was God’s agent to accomplish that purpose.

God named Cyrus for the first time in the last verse of chapter 44, where He called Cyrus “My shepherd” who would rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Of course, Cyrus did not build Jerusalem and the temple himself, but he did sign the edict that allowed the remnant of the Jewish people to return to Palestine and rebuild. Cyrus further ordered the return of the gold and silver articles that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the house of God. In addition, he paid for the rebuilding of the temple from his own royal treasury (Ezra 6:3-5).

Isaiah’s prophecy, made over 150 years before the events unfolded, is astonishing. Its detail still raises many questions and causes so many to insist that this passage had to have been added after the events happened. Yet led by the Holy Spirit, Isaiah wove the specific references to Cyrus into the very fabric of the prophecy. The Persian king for all his faults and imperfections, foreshadows the perfect and complete Servant of the Lord and helps prepare the way for Him.

You see, if God’s people don’t return to Judah, Jesus can’t be born of the Virgin Mary in the little town of Bethlehem. If Jerusalem doesn’t get rebuilt, Jesus can’t ride into Jerusalem or get led out of it to be crucified 500 years later. If the temple doesn’t get rebuilt, Jesus can’t go there either as prophesied. It is necessary that these things take place to prepare the way for the Shepherd of the Lord, the Lord’s Anointed One, the Messiah. Jesus is the ultimate Anointed One who, with His sacrificial death and resurrection, releases God’s people from the captivity of sin, death, and hell—a more significant deliverance than Cyrus could ever imagine. God uses the events and people of history for the purposes of the Gospel.

I know, it seems a strange way of salvation—whether for the saving of a nation or the world or the individual soul; but, as Isaiah reminds us elsewhere, God’s ways are not our ways (55:8). And, indeed, as Paul affirms, all things do work together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28). The ultimate reason for all things is that you and I and others might meet up with God, through Christ, His Son, make His acquaintance, and live with Him forever. The rise and fall of nations, the coming and going of cultures, the decrees and events of history are but the stage for the enactment of this drama, the machinery to bring about this goal.

As God used Cyrus, so God uses rulers as His instruments today. He makes it quite clear in the New Testament that those who are placed in positions of authority are there because He puts them there for His purposes. For instance, He says in Romans 13: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God… Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (vv. 1, 7). In his first letter, Peter writes: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by Him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God” (2:13-15). And of course, in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus says, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21).

Note that God doesn’t command that you honor rulers only if they’re Christian or moral or nice. He simply tells you to honor them, and to believe that the Lord is at work for your good behind the bad times as well as the good. When He declares Cyrus to be His guy, He also declares, “I make well-being and create calamity” (Isaiah 45:7). God doesn’t create evil, but because there is evil in the world He uses both well-being and calamity to bless and strengthen your faith so that He might deliver you to eternal life.

Keep this in mind if you’re tempted to fret and worry about the events in the news. The world that seems so out of control is fully in the Lord’s almighty hand. Be certain that God is at work to accomplish His will for His people—even through missiles threats and mass-shootings, political gridlock and global warming, ISIS and Ebola, tough times and terrorist attacks.

So, honor those in authority. God doesn’t say you must like them or trust them or agree with them; but you do need to honor them, obey any laws that don’t contradict God’s Word, and keep your leaders in your prayers. If you want, give thanks for the opportunity to vote every few years; after all, when Jesus said “Render unto Caesar,” He was speaking at the time of the unelected ruler-for-life Octavian, who would be followed by Tiberius, who would be followed by Caligula, who would be followed by Nero—none of whom were especially known for being godly men. Suddenly “the lesser of two evils” we are occasionally asked to choose in our elections doesn’t seem so evil, does it?

So don’t fret or despair or threaten to move to Canada if your candidate is not elected. God can work through the opposing party as well.

Also, don’t fall for the silly line of some Christians who say you can’t vote for a candidate who isn’t a born-again Christian. Cyrus is Exhibit A that God uses rulers of all sorts of religions to work things for the good of His people.

It’s not just true of rulers, but of everyone. In His mercy and grace for you, the Lord appoints all sorts of people as His instruments for your good. Imagine for a moment that you need surgery, and there are two doctors willing to perform it. One it is a Christian who pulled straight Cs in medical school and has a 50% success rate with the procedure, while the other is a Buddhist who was valedictorian and has a 95% success rate. Some will argue that you should go with the Christian because he’s a Christian, but that isn’t how God runs things in this world. If I were you, I’d go with the Buddhist because he has proven himself.

The Lord can use all people as His instruments for your good, even unpleasant types and hostile enemies. He might even use you as His instrument for the well-being of others, even if you’re being grumpy and unpleasant at the time. That doesn’t justify your sin, but demonstrates the faithfulness of God. Furthermore, He uses times of well-being that you might know His blessings, and He uses times of calamity to teach you not to trust in the things or the rulers of this world, but to trust in Jesus, your Savior.

He does all this because of Jesus. Because you’re washed clean of sin and baptized into the family, for the sake of Jesus, God looks upon you as a beloved child. If you’re hospitalized, every staff member down to the laundry guy is His instrument for your care, because Christ died for you. The grouchy boss and the unhappy teacher are His instruments for your good too. And the guy who just stole your wallet? The Lord says, “I will not reward the man for his thievery, but I will use that loss to bless you. I make well-being and create calamity, and I use them for your good. I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

In times of well-being and in times of calamity, you can be sure that you are not forsaken and that God isn’t out to get you. He can’t be out to get you, because you’re His beloved child for the sake of Jesus: God has no wrath left for your sins, because Jesus has suffered all of it on the cross already. In every situation and with every person you encounter, you can be sure that God uses all things for your good, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.