Isaiah 45: Sovereign

Theological Proposition/Focus: God, the Creator of all things, upholds, directs, and governs all crea-tures, actions, and things, from the greatest to the least, by his wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchangeable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. In his ordinary provi-dence, God makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them at his pleasure.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: We must place our confidence in God and his sovereign plan.

Introduction:

Setting the Stage:

Isaiah is one of the greatest prophets in all of the Old Testament, if not the greatest. The book of Isaiah is a literary treasure trove filled with profound christology and some powerful descriptions of God and his creation.

Secular scholar's have challenged Isaiah because his prophecies are too good

However, the evidence in-favor of Isaiah is overwhelming.

Body

Even when you don't know better, God is still sovereign (45:1-7).

Image: living in denial.

Have you ever met someone who is in denial about something. Someone who refuses to accept the facts about a situation. Some of you know that I am a big Broncos fan and I really believed that all the problems would be fixed if we brought in a great quarterback. I even lasted five weeks into the regular season. But now, I will admit, I was in denial about how bad the Broncos were. Now understand, just because I didn't believe the Broncos were that bad does not mean they were not that bad, they were still really bad. You can deny something all you want but that does not change the facts of the situation. I want to tell you that even when you don't know better, even when you don't believe it, even when you deny it, God is still in control.

God's sovereignty means that God owns and directs as God desires (1-3).

God, more than 150 years in advance named a future King, Cyrus the great, of Persia. This King according to God would accomplish the will of God. The term anointed here is used and was more commonly used of a Jewish King or Priest. However, this gentile man was chosen by God for this task. God had anointed him.

Josephus, in "The Antiquities of the Jews" book 11 chapter 1 actually states that Cyrus upon reading the book of Isaiah was filled with a desire to fulfill the prophecy and therefore called for the Jews to go back and rebuild their temple. Take a second and think about that. God directs our world and does so to such a degree that Cyrus the Great recognized there was something going on and wanted to be part of that something.

I venture that the parents of Cyrus (Cambyses I King go Anshan and Mandane Princess of Astyages) had no idea that there decision to name their son Cyrus was in perfect alignment with God's plan. I venture that when Cyrus invaded Babylon he had no idea that he would be God's instrument to return his people to their land. You see,

God's sovereignty does not require that you recognize God (4-5).

Look at verses 4 and 5. We see that God called Cyrus by name. God was not just specific, he was incredibly specific. Actually, Scholars have used this passage to argue that Isaiah 45 must not have been written by the prophet Isaiah because there is no way anyone could have predicted Cyrus with such accuracy. I want to tell you right here and now that God could have. Why, because God is unlike any other. God is sovereign and we cannot understand just how involved he is in our life. Mover, he doesn't need us to recognize his work in order to be at work.

God's sovereignty sets Him apart from everything else (6-7).

At the time of Cyrus, God was not universally recognized as God but he should have been. Today, people do not recognize the uniqueness of God. However, one day they will. You see, we are all racing toward a time when we will see just how much God has sovereignly supervised his world. People will know there is none besides God. People will know the God of the universe.

Here is something interesting to consider. As I stated, Josephus claims that Cyrus impressed with the prophecy chose to fulfill the prophecy. In fact, according to Ezra 1:1-4, Cyrus claimed that the God of the heavens ordered him to rebuild the temple. However, Isaiah 45:5 states that Cyrus had not acknowledged God. This means that despite being used by God and even reading Isaiah Cyrus still failed to truly acknowledge God.

Even if you disagree, God is still sovereign (45:8-14).

As creator, God has the right of sovereignty and desire to bless (8).

God is the creator and he desires for the world to experience his blessing. This metaphoric picture of God's blessing raining down