Cyrus and Jehovah

Isa 44:28 - 45:7; ASV

28 That saith of Cyrus, (He is) my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

45 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:

2 I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron;

3 and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.

4 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.

5 I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me;

6 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.

7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.

Isaiah 42:1-4

Isaiah 42:1-4; NKJV

1 "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
 

2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
 

3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
 

4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law."

Jesus of Nazareth is Jehovah's servant.  He is His Elect One.  Jehovah put His Spirit upon Jesus.  

He will not fail.

He will not be discouraged.

Isaiah 40

Jehovah is incomparable.  Listen to this lesson by Paul Earnhart on Isaiah 40.  You'll be glad you did.

http://www.heltondrive.org/sermons/all-sermons/2005/04/07/the-incomparable-god

Every Generation

"But every generation must determine its own commitment, and the fibers of faith are so fragile that a single misguided leader can entice the hearts of believers to worship lesser gods" (F. LaGard Smith, The Daily Bible, p. 877).

Ahaz was bad.  His son Hezekiah was good.  The grand-son of Ahaz, son of Hezekiah, Manasseh was the worst (see 2 Chronicles 33).

Pray that our generation chooses Him. 

Hezekiah Humbled Himself

“…spread it before the LORD.” (2 K 19:1, 14-19; 20:2-3; 2 CHRON 32:20, 26; ISA 37:1-20; 38)

“Because you have prayed to Me… I have heard.” (2 K 19:20)

“I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you.” (2 K 20:5; 2 CHRON 32:21-23, 26; ISA 37:21; 38)

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10)

Isaiah's Sacrifice

Isaiah 20:1-6; NKJV

1 In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 

2 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
 
3 Then the Lord said, "Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 

4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 

5 Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. 

6 And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, 'Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?'"

Before this, Isaiah wore an outer garment of sackcloth - clothes of mourning. Now, God tells him to remove his outer garment of sackcloth, and to take his sandals off.

“God would sometimes have his prophets to add to their word a visible sign, to awaken people’s minds to a more serious consideration of the matters proposed to them.” (Poole)

And he did so, walking naked and barefoot: We shouldn’t think that Isaiah was nude, completely without clothing. Instead, he only wore the inner garment customary in that day - sort of like wearing only your underwear or a nightshirt. The message wasn’t nudity, it was complete poverty and humiliation. Isaiah dressed as the poorest and most destitute would dress. (Guzik)

“One need not imagine that Isaiah walked around stripped for the entire three years or that Ezekiel lay on his side for 390 days without getting up (Ezek. 4:9). Perhaps part of each day was used for those designated purposes.” (Wolf)

“Not stark naked, but stripped as a prisoner, his mantle or upper garment cast off.” (Trapp)

“Other prophets were asked to go through equally difficult experiences as signs to Israel. Hosea endured a trying marriage, and Ezekiel’s wife died as an illustration for the nation (Ezek. 24:16-24).” (Wolf)

Hidden in My Heart

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." (John 18:36; NKJV)