Isaiah contains more than just messianic prophecies

NOTE: there is an expanded version of this message on Youtube. (15 1/2 min)

The Book of Isaiah is called one of the major prophets, the others being Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The delineation of major versus minor with the prophetic books of the Bible is mainly due to their length. Isaiah is the longest of all the prophetic books, comprising 66 chapters.

One of the recurring themes in Isaiah is that of the coming messiah. Depending on how biblical scholars define and count them, estimates of the number of messianic prophecies generally range from around 30 to more than 100 individual prophetic statements or verses.

I’m not going to look at any of those today, because of somethng I found in chapter 45. There are two fascinating facts found in the first seven verses of Isaiah 45 that some people may tend to overlook. One is a fact about the Bible itself and the other is about the nature of God. Both of these are worthy of our consideration.

First, let’s consider a fact about the Bible as presented in prophecy for our consideration.

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:
Isa 45:1

On the surface, there appears to be nothing of any significance in this verse. Isaiah gives the word of the Lord to Cyrus and tells him what he will do for the Lord.

The only problem here is that Cyrus has not yet been born. The prophecy is about 200 years early.

We don’t find any king named Cyrus until we look into the Book of Daniel.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. …
And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Dan 1:1, 21

The Book of Daniel concerns the captivity of Israel and their being brought to Babylon. These are events of historical fact, attested to by many sources outside the Bible, Judaism and Christianity. This specific attack mentioned by Daniel is documented by the Babylonian Chronicles, a collection of tablets discovered in 1887 and kept in the British Museum. Nebuchadnezzar’s 605 B.C. presence in Judah is documented and clarified in these tablets. So, this was 600 years before Christ.

Isaiah prophesied between 740 and 681 B.C. Cyrus officially took the throne of Babylon in October 539 BC.

Remember, when thinking in terms of dates before Christ, the time runs backwards.

Traditional conservative scholarship has the prophecy about Cyrus around 700 BC. When you calculate the difference between the prophecy and its fulfillment, you come up with approximately 150 years. To me, this is a fascinating fact about the veracity of the Bible.

It doesn’t necessarily prove that the Bible is true through and through; but it does show that it is not just some made up story.

Among the Dead Sea scrolls found between 1946 and 1956 was one which is called the Great Isaiah Scroll. It is one of the most complete manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The consistency of the Isaiah texts found in the Dead Sea Scrolls with later versions enhances confidence in the preservation of biblical texts over centuries. Scholars view these findings as evidence of the careful transmission of scripture.

We know that there are many variations of texts among the scrolls which have been discovered there and elsewhere, but so far, none of the variants are significant enough to warrant a change in the way we view the Bible.

God seems to have preserved His word through the passage of time and the weakness of human beings.

Now I want to share with you a fascinating fact about the nature of God as revealed in this passage from Isaiah.

I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Isa 45:7 ESV

The KJV says it a little differently.

I form the light, and create darkness:
I make peace, and create evil:
I the LORD do all these things.
Isa 45:7 KJV

We have no problem understanding the first part about light and darkness, because we have it recorded in Genesis in the creation story.

But, what about that second part?

The part about making peace and creating evil?

What does that mean?

How are we to understand that?

Let’s look at the context to see if there are any clues to help our understanding.

Remember, this is a prophecy by Isaiah concerning Cyrus, a king of Babylon who had not been born yet. Cyrus was chosen by God to set Israel free from their captivity in Babylon. Babylon was what we call a pagan country, not knowing the one true God of the Jews. So, an explanatory word is given.

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west,
that there is none besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Isa. 45:5-6

Babylon, like many of their surrounding nations, worshipped many gods. They had a god who was good and a god who was evil.

Some Christians fall into this category with their emphasis on the devil. Listening to some preachers or reading different books, one gets the idea that the devil is just as powerful as God—though no one will ever admit that. But in their attempts to explain the presence of evil, that is usually where their logic takes them.

We know that God is not the author of evil.

Let no one say when he is tempted,
“I am being tempted by God,”
for God cannot be tempted with evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Jas 1:13

God is not the author of evil. Evil is never “original,” but always a perversion of an existing good. Yet God allows evil, and He uses it to accomplish His eternal purpose of bringing together all things in Jesus. What happened to the Jews as they were taken captive was evil, but it served as a lesson. What happened to Jesus was evil, but it resulted in salvation.

So Isaiah says that God makes peace and creates evil, and we are to understand that there is no power greater than that of the Lord God.

Evil is never original
but always a perversion
of an existing good.

Many of the things we know about, we know in terms of its opposite. Light and dark; cold and hot; high and low; male and female.

We have the same thing here with peace and calamity, or peace and chaos. One is known by its opposite. The only time most people say, “I just want some peace and quiet” is when chaos has ruled for a season.

Let’s look at this a little bit differently.

To help with our understanding, I use the meaning of the English words that are given—make and create. We usually understand the word create as to make something from nothing, as when God created the universe.

If I were to build a wall down the center aisle of this room, what would be the result? I made a wall, and created two rooms. I wasn’t building rooms, but they were the result of what I did. I am in control of where I build that wall and with what materials and dimensions I use. Therefore, it can be said that I also control the resulting two rooms.

We say the same about God. God is in control, but He does not cause evil.

His control, the fact that God is in charge, is why we can look at the bad things that happen in our lives and say,

We know that for those who love God
all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:28

God’s word to Cyrus through Isaiah has meaning for us today.

Cyrus did not serve the living God, but God used him to free the people of Israel. A pagan king oppressing the Jews, but good things came from that evil.

We can rest assured that there is no power greater than God’s.

We may bring some of the bad things upon ourselves due to our actions or lack thereof, but He is still God, and He will use everything for our benefit.

Lord, help us to see the benefits
of the troubles we experience.