For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
4. The remainder of the section announces Jehovah’s purpose in raising up Cyrus, which is twofold: (1) the liberation and exaltation of His Servant Israel ( Isa 45:4), and (2) that His Godhead may be acknowledged throughout the world ( Isa 45:6). These two motives are inseparable, since it is only through Israel that the character of Jehovah can be made known to the nations. Hence great as the mission of Cyrus is, he is still but the instrument, while Israel is the goal of the Divine activity (Duhm).
I have surnamed thee ] i.e. bestowed on thee such honourable appellations as “My Shepherd,” “My Anointed.” See on ch. Isa 44:5.
though thou hast not known me ] Delitzsch and others somewhat strangely take this to mean “before thou hadst being.” But the words present no difficulty in their natural sense, which is that Cyrus entered on his career of conquest ignorant of the true God who made his way prosperous.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For Jacob my servants sake – (see the note at Isa 42:19). The statement here is, that God had raised up Cyrus on account of his own people. The sentiment is common in the Bible, that kings and nations are in the hand of God; and that he overrules and directs their actions for the accomplishment of his own purposes, and especially to protect, defend, and deliver his people (see the note at Isa 10:5; compare Isa 47:6).
I have surnamed thee – On the meaning of the word surname, see the notes at Isa 44:5. The reference here is to the fact that he had appointed him to accomplish important purposes, and had designated him as his shepherd Isa 44:28, and his anointed Isa 45:1.
Though thou hast not known me – Before he was called to accomplish these important services, he was a stranger to Yahweh, and it was only when he should have been so signally favored of heaven, and should be made acquainted with the divine will in regard to the deliverance of his people and the rebuilding of the temple Ezr 1:1-3, that he would be acquainted with the true God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 45:4-5
For Jacob My servants sake
Great men the servants of God
It appears from this prediction, taken in connection with its wonderful accomplishment, that God justly claims a sovereign right to make great men the instruments of executing His wise and benevolent designs.
God claims a supreme right to the services of great men, in almost every page of His Word. How often do we hear Him saying of this, of that, and of the other great character, He is My servant! How often do we meet with this sovereign language, My servant Moses; My servant Job; My servant Jacob; My servant Israel; My servant Isaiah; My servant Nebuchadnezzar! But He more fully displays this prerogative by publishing to the world what great men shall do, before they are brought into being. He claimed the services of Solomon, the wisest of men, and appointed the business of his life, before he was born (1Ch 22:9-10). In the prediction concerning Nebuchadnezzar, God claimed a sovereign right to employ him as the minister of His vengeance, in punishing the people of His wrath. He asserted His absolute Divinity and sovereignty, in His prophetic address to Cyrus. And He displayed the same sovereign right to the powers and influence of great men, in His predictions of Alexander the Great, of Augustus Caesar, of John the Baptist, of Constantine the Great, of Mohammed, and of the Man of Sin.
1. He gives men their superior natural capacity for doing good.
2. He presides over their education, and gives them the means of improving their superior talents, and forming themselves for eminent usefulness.
3. God gives them the disposition, which they at any time have, to employ their superior abilities in promoting the happiness of mankind.
4. God gives great men the opportunity of employing all their power and influence in executing His wise and benevolent designs.
5. It is God who succeeds their exertions for the benefit of the world. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
I have even called thee by thy name; I have called thee to this honour, and that by name; not for thy sake, but for Israels sake; therefore do not despise them, thou wilt find them a poor and enslaved people, neither be puffed up into a great opinion of thyself.
I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me; I knew and called thee by thy name, when thou didst neither know nor think of me; nay, when thou hadst no being.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. (See on Isa41:8; Isa 43:14).
surnamedthat is,designated to carry out My design of restoring Judah (see on Isa44:5; Isa 44:28; Isa45:1). MAURER here, asin Isa 44:5, translates, “Ihave addressed thee by an honorable name.”
hast not known mepreviousto My calling thee to this office; after God’s call, Cyrus didknow Him in some degree (Ezr1:1-3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name,…. Not so much for the sake of Cyrus, and to do honour to him, was it that he so long before he was born called him by his name; but to assure the people of the Jews, the Lord’s chosen people, and who were his servants, of the certainty of their deliverance, their deliverer being mentioned by name; and it was for their sakes, and not his, that he called him, and raised him up to do such great things as he did, that he might deliver them from their captivity: and it is for the sake of God’s elect, whom he has chosen to holiness and happiness, to serve him, and be with him for ever, that he has called Christ, of whom Cyrus was a type, and sent him into the world, to be the Saviour and Redeemer of them:
I have surnamed thee; not only called him by his name, Cyrus, but surnamed him his “shepherd”, and “his anointed”, Isa 44:28:
though thou hast not known me; as yet not being born; and when he was, and was grown up, he was ignorant of the true God; and though, upon sight of the above prophecy, and under an immediate influence and impression, he acknowledged the God of Israel to be the God of heaven yet it does not appear that he left the Pagan idolatry; for Xenophon k relates, that when he found his end was near, he took sacrifices, and offered them to Jupiter, and the sun, and the rest of the gods; and gave them thanks for the care they had taken of him; and prayed them to grant happiness to his wife, children, friends, and country.
k Cyropaedia, l. 8. c. 45.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A second and third object are introduced by a second and third . “For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I called thee hither by name, surnamed thee when thou knewest me not. I Jehovah, and there is none else, beside me no God: I equipped thee when thou knewest me not; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and its going down, that there is none without me: I Jehovah, and there is none else, former of the light, and creator of the darkness; founder of peace, and creator of evil: I Jehovah am He who worketh all this.” The which follows the second reason assigned like an apodosis, is construed doubly: “I called to thee, calling thee by name.” The parallel refers to such titles of honour as “my shepherd” and “my anointed,” which had been given to him by Jehovah. This calling, distinguishing, and girding, i.e., this equipment of Cyrus, took place at a time when Cyrus knew nothing as yet of Jehovah, and by this very fact Jehovah made known His sole Deity. The meaning is, not that it occurred while he was still worshipping false gods, but, as the refrain -like repetition of the words “though thou hast not know me” affirms with strong emphasis, before he had been brought into existence, or could know anything of Jehovah. The passage is to be explained in the same way as Jer 1:5, “Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee” (see Psychol. pp. 36, 37, 39); and what the God of prophecy here claims for Himself, must not be questioned by false criticism, or weakened down by false apologetics (i.e., by giving up the proper name Cyrus as a gloss in Isa 44:28 and Isa 45:1; or generalizing it into a king’s name, such as Pharaoh, Abimelech, or Agag). The third and last object of this predicted and realized success of the oppressor of nations and deliverer of Israel is the acknowledgement of Jehovah, spreading over the heathen world from the rising and setting of the sun, i.e., in every direction. The ah of is not a feminine termination (lxx, Targ., Jer.), but a feminine suffix with He raphato pro m appic ( Kimchi ); compare Isa 23:17-18; Isa 34:17 (but not in Isa 18:5, or in Isa 30:32). Shemesh (the sun) is a feminine here, as in Gen 15:17, Nah 3:17, Mal 4:2, and always in Arabic; for the west is invariably called (Arab. magrib ). In Isa 45:7 we are led by the context to understand by darkness and evil the penal judgments, through which light and peace, or salvation, break forth for the people of God and the nations generally. But as the prophecy concerning Cyrus closes with this self-assertion of Jehovah, it is unquestionably a natural supposition that there is also a contrast implied to the dualistic system of Zarathustra, which divided the one nature of the Deity into two opposing powers (see Windischmann, Zoroastrische Studien, p. 135). The declaration is so bold, that Marcion appealed to this passage as a proof that the God of the Old Testament was a different being from the God of the New, and not the God of goodness only. The Valentinians and other gnostics also regarded the words “There is no God beside me” in Isaiah, as deceptive words of the Demiurugs. The early church met them with Tertullian’s reply, “de his creator profitetur malis quae congruunt judici ,” and also made use of this self-attestation of the God of revelation as a weapon with which to attack Manicheesism. The meaning of the words is not exhausted by those who content themselves with the assertion, that by the evil (or darkness) we are not to understand the evil of guilt ( malum culpae ), but the evil of punishment ( malum paenae ). Undoubtedly, evil as an act is not the direct working of God, but the spontaneous work of a creature endowed with freedom. At the same time, evil, as well as good, has in this sense its origin in God – that He combines within Himself the first principles of love and wrath, the possibility of evil, the self-punishment of evil, and therefore the consciousness of guilt as well as the evil of punishment in the broadest sense. When the apostle celebrates the glory of free grace in Rom 9:11., he stands on that giddy height, to which few are able to follow him without falling headlong into the false conclusions of a decretum absolutum , and the denial of all creaturely freedom.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4. For the sake of my servant Jacob. He shews for what purpose he would grant such happy and illustrious success to this prince. It is, in order that he may preserve his people; as if the Lord had said, “Thou shalt indeed obtain a signal victory, bur I will have regard to my own people rather than to thee; for it is for their sake that I subject kings and nations to thy power.” By these predictions, indeed, the Lord intended to encourage the hearts of believers, that they might not despair amidst those distresses; but undoubtedly he intended likewise to excite Cyrus to acknowledge that he owed to that nation all that he should accomplish, that he might he more disposed to treat them with all kindness.
And Israel mine elect. In this second clause there is a repetition which serves still farther to explain that reason; and at the same time he shews on what ground he reckons the Israelites to be “his servants.” It is because he condescended to choose them by free grace; for it is not in the power of men to make themselves “servants of God,” or to obtain so great honor by their own exertions. This clause is therefore added, (195) as before, for the sake of explanation. But still it denotes also the end of election; for, since we are naturally the slaves of Satan, we are called in order that, being restored to liberty, we may serve God. Yet he shews that no man is worthy of that honor, as we have said, but he whom God hath chosen; for who will boast that he is worthy of so high an honor, or what can we render or offer to God? Thus “we are not sufficient of ourselves, but the Lord hath made us sufficient,” as Paul says. (2Co 3:5.) The beginning of our salvation, therefore, is God’s election by free grace; and the end of it is the obedience which we ought to render to him.
But although this is limited to the history of Cyrus, still we may draw from it a general doctrine. When various changes happen in the world, God secures at the same time the salvation of his people, and in the midst of storms wonderfully preserves his Church. We are indeed blind and stupid as to the works of God, yet we ought firmly to believe that, even when everything appears to be driven about at random, and to be tossed up and down, God never forgets his Church, whose salvation, on the contrary, he promotes by hidden methods, so that it is at length seen that he is her guardian and defender.
Josephus relates a memorable narrative about Alexander, who, while he was besieging Tyre, sent ambassadors to Jerusalem, to demand the tribute which the Jews were paying to Darius. Jaddus, the high-priest, who had sworn that he would pay that tribute, would not become subject to Alexander, and refused to pay him the tribute. Alexander was highly offended, and, swelling with pride and fierceness, determined to destroy Jerusalem, and, after having conquered Darius, marched to Jerusalem, for the purpose of consigning it to utter destruction. Jaddus went out to meet him, accompanied by other priests and Levites, wearing the priestly dress; and Alexander, as soon as he saw him, leapt from his horse, and threw himself down as a suppliant at his feet. Every person was astonished at a thing so strange and so inconsistent with his natural disposition, and thought that he had lost his senses. Parmenio, who alone of all who were present asked the reason, received a reply, that he did not adore this man, but God, whose servant he was; and that, before he left Dion, a city of Macedonia, a man of that appearance and dress, who appeared to have the form of God, presented himself to him in a dream, encouraged him to take Asia, and promised to be the leader of the army, so that he ought to entertain no doubt of victory, and therefore that he could not but be powerfully affected by seeing him. In this manner, therefore, was Jerusalem rescued from the jaws of that savage highwayman who aimed at nothing else than fire and bloodshed, and even obtained from him greater liberty than before, and likewise gifts and privileges. (196)
I have quoted this example in order to shew that the Church of God is preserved in the midst of dangers by strange and unusual methods. Those were troublous times, and scarcely a corner of the earth was at rest; but above all other countries Judea might be said to be devoted to destruction. Yet behold the Church rescued in a wonderful and unusual manner, while other nations are destroyed, and nearly the whole world has changed its face!
And yet thou hast not known me. These words are added for the purpose of giving greater force to the statement, not only that Cyrus may learn that this is not granted on account of any of his own merits, but that he may not despise the God of Israel, though he does not know him. The Lord frequently, indeed, reminds us on this subject, that he anticipates all the industry that exists in men, in order that he may beat down all the pride of the flesh. But there is another reason, as regards Cyrus; for if he had thought that the Lord granted those things for his own sake, he would have disregarded the Jews and treated them as despicable slaves. For this reason the Lord testifies that it does not happen on account of Cyrus’s own merit, but only for the sake of the people, whom he determines to rescue out of the hands of enemies. Besides, nothing was more probable than that this man, in his blindness, would appropriate to his idols that which belonged to the true God; because, being entirely under the influence of wicked superstitions, he would not willingly have given place to a strange and unknown God, if he had not been instructed by this prediction.
(195) “ Ce mot d’ eleu est donc adjuste.” “This word elect is thus added.”
(196) Joseph. Ant., Book 11, chap. 8.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) For Jacob my servant . . .The words servant and elect show that the prophet speaks of the ideal Israel, the true Ecclesia, rather than of the nation as such outwardly, though this also, as including the other, shared in the outward blessings of the election. Essentially, the words declare that the worlds history is ordered with a view to the true Eeclesia.
Called thee by thy name.Either as predicting the actual name of Koresh, or as giving the titles of Messiah and shepherd. The surname clearly refers to these.
Though thou hast not known me.Better, when thou didst not know me, either as referring to a time prior to the recognition by Cyrus of Jehovah as the God of heaven (Ezr. 1:1-2), or, possibly, prior to his birth (comp. Isa. 49:1; Jer. 1:5).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 45:4-7. For Jacob my servant’s sake The prophet here gives us the reasons why God shewed such favour to a prince addicted to the Pagan superstition of his country, and ignorant of the true God; that he prospered all his undertakings, and gave success to all his enterprises. These causes were particular and general: the one respecting the Jewish nation, ver, 4, 5 the other respecting all nations, and Cyrus himself, Isa 45:6-7. The principal cause of this whole event is subjoined to either passage, namely, the God of Israel, and he alone: For it is the design of this whole discourse, to convince all nations of the true divinity of Jehovah, and to draw them from the superstitious worship of false gods. Bishop Warburton observes, ingeniously at least, and Vitringa also makes nearly the same remark, that the words of the 7th verse, being directed to Cyrus, king of Persia, may be understood as spoken to the Persian sect of the Magians, who held light and darkness, good and evil, to be the supreme beings, without acknowledging the great God of heaven and earth, who is infinitely superior to them both. In opposition to this opinion, the prophet instructs Cyrus, that light and darkness, or good and evil, are under the direction and disposal of Almighty God; hereby guarding the Israelites from the doctrine of the two principles which were held by the Persians, and shewing that it was founded upon absurdity. See Div. Leg. vol. 4 and Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Ver. 4. For Jacob my servant’s sake.] That the enemies of my people being subdued, they may have some breathing while, and liberty to live quietly in their own country. For which purpose also, it was the will of God that this prophecy of Isaiah should be made known to Cyrus, for the good of the Jews, that he might favour them; and so it was, as appeareth by Ezr 1:2 , and by Josephus, Antiq., lib. xi. cap. 1.
I have even called thee by thy name.
I have surnamed thee.
Though thou hast not known me,
a H. Stephan.
b De Cyro fluvio scribit Strabo, lib. xv.
c Scultet.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
My servant’s. See note on Isa 37:5.
surnamed. Cyrus was the additional name divinely given. His Persian name is said to have been Agradates.
though thou hast not = when thou didst not.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 45:4-7
Isa 45:4-7
“For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah that doeth all these things.”
The very special favor shown to Cyrus here on God’s part was apparently motivated by three considerations: (1) that Cyrus, the most powerful monarch on earth, might acknowledge the true God; (2) that Israel might be benefited and continued as a separate nation by the termination of their captivity; and (3) that the attention of all the world might be attracted, and that the unity of God might be manifested to all the earth.
These objectives were fully realized. Cyrus did indeed acknowledge God. “The hand of Jehovah was so manifest in his conquests that Cyrus himself acknowledged that they were of Jehovah. The last two verses of 2Chronicles and the first paragraph of the Book of Ezra fully confirm this.
The statement in Isa 45:7 that God creates evil should not be misunderstood. As Kidner pointed out, “The Hebrew word (for evil) is too general a term to suggest that God is the author of wickedness…Some see here an attack upon Zoroastrian dualism, with its rival gods of good and evil; these verses are also equally opposed to polytheism, the target of most of the invective in these chapters. When God speaks of his creating evil here, he is speaking of the disasters and calamities that he brings upon the enemies of his purpose. “This cannot mean that God creates moral evil, but it refers to the judgments God sends into history. He is speaking of the distress and disaster which men experience from God as a consequence of their sin (See Amo 3:6).
Isa 45:8
“Distill, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, that it may bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together; I, Jehovah, have created it.”
All creation, heaven and earth alike, are summoned to rejoice together in the righteousness and glory that shall fall upon all men as a consequence of God’s rescue and deliverance of His people. What a tragedy it was, however, that the rescued nation proved to be an altogether inadequate and ineffective instrument in the achievement of such glorious things as God intended. “Consequently, the commands of this verse were not fully carried out until the coming of the Ideal Servant.
“That there was a partial fulfillment of this on the return of Israel to Canaan, there can be no doubt … but there is a richness and fullness in Isa 45:8, that is not met by anything that occurred in the return of the exiles. Only the preaching of the Gospel of Christ brought results which justify the language of this verse.
Isa 45:1-4 ANOINTED: The word translated anointed is the Hebrew word meshikho a form of the word messiah. It is astounding to learn that Jehovah has anointed a pagan emperor to become a messiah for His people. Yet, the Lord has used many servants from among the heathen (see Daniel 7, 8, Jer 27:1-11) to fulfill His redemptive plan. It is apparent that Cyrus, in his deliverance of Israel, served as a type of the Messiah-Servant to come, Jesus Christ (see special study on Types in this volume). Cyrus was not born for more than a hundred years after this prophecy. Cyrus was born in a little province in north-western Elam and just south of Media. He came to power in about 559 B.C. He was actually Cyrus II, a descendant of Achaemenes (700-675 B.C.). Cyrus own cylinder indicates he was thoroughly imbued with the idea that he was the man of destiny: (the opening lines are quoted here)
Through all the lands he (Marduk) searched, he saw him (Cyrus), and he sought the righteous prince, after his own heart, whom he took by the hand. Cyrus, king of Anshan, he called by name; to sovereignty over the whole world he appointed him.
The rule of Cyrus meant for all the conquered world a renewed and continuous political prosperity and a religious liberty unknown in the annals of other rulers. He was the protector and the bounteous promoter of the welfare of his subjects. Their deities and their methods of worship were graciously restored, and dignified by elevating them to their former positions. The peoples, also, who had been forcibly deported from their native lands, were restored by the kings decrees. This generous policy, in contrast with that of preceding rulers, gave Cyrus great influence and power over his subjects. Part of his popularity may have been due to the fact that he was an Aryan (Caucasian), with newer and freer ideas than those of Semitic potentates.
There is an interesting statement in Josephus to the effect that Cyrus read Isaiahs prophecy and was influenced by it to free the Jews (Antiq. XI.1.2.). It is not impossible! Cyrus was a man interested in the religion, culture, and history of all his subjects. In his proclamation (Ezr 1:1 f; 2Ch 36:22 f) Cyrus attributes his actions to a knowledge of what Jehovah commanded him to do. There were, as we have mentioned, other reasons for Cyrus actions; (1) it was national policy to restore peoples to their own dwelling places. (2) Palestine had been from time immemorial a buffer state between southwestern Asia and Egypt. To occupy and hold the strong fortress of Jerusalem was the first step toward the conquest of the rival power. If Cyrus could secure that advantage by aiding the Jews to rebuild and hold it, he would be setting up one battlement in the face of Egypts army. For one of his next strokes, after Babylon, would be at the rival imperial power on the Nile.
There are three distinct reasons God uses Cyrus and speaks so intimately to him nearly 200 years before his birth:
(a) Cyrus is to know that the God of Israel is the only God there is, (Isa 45:3).
(b) Cyrus is to serve Jehovah for the sake of Israel, (Isa 45:4).
(c) Cyrus is to serve Jehovah in order that all men may know Jehovah is the only God there is, (Isa 45:6).
It is apparent that Cyrus was never converted to monotheism or the worship of Jehovah as the only God, for in many of his proclamations, he acknowledges Marduk as god. Whatever Cyrus accomplished, it was because Jehovah, sovereign Lord of all creation, permitted him to do it. Not only did Jehovah permit it, He assisted Cyrus in its accomplishment (cf. Jer 27:1-11).
Isa 45:5-8 ALMIGHTY: This is one of the great passages of the Bible teaching that God is immanent in His creation. God has not created the universe and wound it like a clock, only to go off somewhere and let it run itself. He is personally and directly involved in its day-by-day operation.
a. In Christ, all things consist, or hold together, Col 1:17
b. He upholds all things by the word of His power, Heb 1:3
c. He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, Mat 5:45
d. He gives rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, Act 14:17
e. His wrath is revealed from heaven, Rom 1:18-32, in the things that have been made.
f. In everything God works for good with those who love him, Rom 8:28-29
g. All that happens in history and nature is under the sovereign Throne of God and the Lamb (cf. Revelation 4-9).
If there is one thing made abundantly clear from the prophets (and confirmed by the New Testament) it is that God is sovereign of both weal and woe. Is God in the whirlwind? Yes! (Nah 1:3; Zec 9:14). Is God in the earthquake? Yes! (Isa 29:6; Act 16:26; Mat 24:7; Rev 6:12; Rev 8:5, etc.). God is in locusts plagues, fires, floods, famines, droughts, plagues. Does evil befall a city except the Lord hath done it? (Amo 3:6). When some good comes everyone is agreed it is directly from the Lord. When some woe comes let us be equally assured it is from the Lord. Do tornadoes, earthquakes and famines mean those who are victimized are worse sinners than others? No! Jesus cleared that up in Luke 13. Whatever happens, wherever it happens, it is Gods message to a cursed and doomed universe to repent! All who do not repent will likewise perish! What of those who are repenting and yet perish? They come out of their great tribulation (Rev 7:13-17); they are rested from their labors (Rev 14:13); and their works follow after them. They are blessed! There is only one part of Gods creation granted the sovereign exercise of free will-man! All the rest of His creation is under His direct operation. Nature is simply a word used by man to evade this fundamental issue that it is God who is Creator and Sustainer. But both good and evil, no matter with whom they originate, are never out of Gods control. Even Satans deliberate evil and the freely chosen evil deeds of men are under His control and are being used (and will be ultimately used) to serve His sovereign purposes and redound to His Absolute glory! Both the weal and woe of God is designed to lead man to repentance (cf. Rom 1:18 with Rom 2:4); see Isa 14:24-27; Isa 44:24-28; Jer 27:1-11; Job 2:1-6; 2Co 12:1-10; Dan 2:20-23. Do men still rule by Gods sovereign permission? Does God still send famines, earthquakes, fires, floods, whirlwinds, sun and rain, fruit and harvest season? Yes! He is the same God today He was thousands of years ago! Men still choose sin and evil rebellion because God has granted them the freedom to make that choice, and God is in no way to blame for their choice nor is He the author of their evil. But rest assured their evil will in no way triumph over the sovereign will of God. It is His will that their impenitent, unforgiven evil shall be punished forever-and so it will be! Furthermore, their evil in this life is permitted by Him and used as chastening, warning, perfecting, strengthening agents upon all who will put their trust in Him.
Verse eight appears to be Isaiahs own surrender to the expressed sovereignty of God just proclaimed. It is, as it were, a prayer of Isaiah looking forward to the prospective mission of Cyrus and its salvation for the people of God. Isaiah prays that Gods whole universe join in with Gods program of redemption for Israel and the nations. Let all of Gods creation bring forth and pour down spiritual blessings in heavenly gifts, according to the will and in the power of Jehovah, whose ultimate purpose is a new spiritual creation. Any man who believes and contemplates the absolute sovereignty of Jehovah as expressed by Isaiah here must be led to the same adoring prayer!
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Jacob: Isa 41:8, Isa 41:9, Isa 43:3, Isa 43:4, Isa 43:14, Isa 44:1, Exo 19:5, Exo 19:6, Jer 50:17-20, Mat 24:22, Mar 13:20, Rom 9:6, Rom 11:7
I have even: Isa 45:1, Isa 44:28
though: Act 17:23, Gal 4:8, Gal 4:9, Eph 2:12, 1Th 4:5
Reciprocal: Exo 31:2 – I have Ezr 4:3 – king Cyrus Est 2:14 – she were called Psa 79:6 – not known Isa 13:3 – commanded Dan 2:30 – but Act 10:3 – Cornelius Col 3:12 – as 1Jo 5:6 – by water and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 45:4-6. For Jacob my servants sake, &c. The prophet here gives us the reasons why God showed such favour to a prince, who had been addicted to the superstition of his country, and ignorant of the true God, that he prospered all his undertakings, and gave success to all his endeavours. It was, 1st, For Israels sake: For Israel, mine elect, I have even called thee, &c. I have called thee to this honour, and that by name; not for thy own sake, but for Israels sake: therefore, neither despise them, though a poor and despised people, nor be puffed up in a great opinion of thyself. I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me I knew and called thee, when thou didst neither know nor think of me; nay, when thou hadst no being. I girded thee, &c. I made thee strong and active, and fitted and disposed thee for these great and warlike enterprises. It was, 2d, For the sake of all nations; that they might be convinced of the true divinity and almighty power of the God of Israel. That they may know from the rising of the sun, &c., that I am the Lord, &c. That all nations may know it by my foretelling these things so long before, and by the wonderful success that I shall give thee, and by my overruling thy heart and counsels, to the deliverance of my people. Or, as Lowth explains it, My interposing so visibly in behalf of my own people, and returning their captivity by such unexpected means, will convince the heathen part of the world that I am the only true God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
45:4 For Jacob my servant’s {f} sake, and Israel my elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
(f) Not for anything that is in you, or for your worthiness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Second, God chose to use Cyrus for the sake of the Israelites, so He might fulfill His promises to them. It was Yahweh’s choice of him that had resulted in Cyrus’ honorific titles (Shepherd, Isa 44:28, and Anointed, Isa 45:1). People do not have to be believers in Him for God to use them and bless them. The choice is His; He is sovereign.