Who Is the Servant?
For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is no one else; there is no God except Me. I will arm you, though you have not known Me, Isaiah 45:4-5 NASB
Not known Me – Cyrus was a servant of God. He just didn’t know it. In this amazing declaration, YHVH states that He alone is God and that He has called a pagan king to do His bidding. In fact, He will make this pagan king successful in war, prosperous in peace, and the deliverer of Israel. Just think about this for a moment. Here is one of the most powerful men of the ancient world, but he didn’t get to this status by himself. God caused his rise to power and enlisted him to accomplish purposes that he wasn’t even aware of. The historical record may show Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great) as the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, enlarging that Empire over all previous civilizations of the Middle East and West and Central Asia, and becoming the model for Alexander. But God’s purpose for Cyrus wasn’t about empire building. It was about freeing Israel from Babylon and allowing the Jews to return to the Land. God’s invisible hand arranged the domination of Cyrus for this purpose although Cyrus never knew the God who was behind all his success. The story of Cyrus makes you wonder how many others were employed in God’s service without even knowing it.
The only reason we know that Cyrus was God’s instrument for Jewish liberty is because the prophet Isaiah tells us. The records of Cyrus’ kingdom don’t mention this at all. In fact, apart from the biblical text, Cyrus remains just another great empire builder. There was no “conversion,” no spiritual awakening, no divine vision involved. Cyrus just went about his business unaware of God’s engineering. Do you suppose the same thing happened with other rulers, other important figures of human history and the only reason we don’t know that God was behind it all is simply because there was no prophet to tell us the real story? Perhaps it would be a useful exercise to make a list of those people who, without knowing the God of Isreal, nevertheless appear to have served God’s purposes concerning Isreal.
What other lesson do we learn from this story? Could it be that Isaiah’s revelation of God’s invisible hand is not just to set the historical record straight but also to give us hope? How? Because if God employs those who never knew Him to bring about His plans, why wouldn’t we expect that same thing happening in the chaotic world today? Do you think that after freeing the captives from Babylonian bondage God just retired to heaven and left us to manage history? If God used Cyrus, why not imagine God is using other leaders? Perhaps behind all the turmoil of contemporary humanity God’s invisible hand is still choosing, arranging, and engineering how His plans will be accomplished. We just don’t have a guide to tell us.
Topical Index: Cyrus, purpose, plan, leader, Isaiah 45:4-5
