“Question & Answer”

Question:
What passages reveal 2 Isaiah’s interpretation of history?
Answer:
Now, in the second part of the text, God addresses Cyrus directly and uses Cyrus as the instrument of his purpose. Cyrus had very little interest in Israel as a nation and very little knowledge of Israel’s God. (Isaiah 45:1-7 NIV> This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains. I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. ), commissioning the Persian ruler to destroy the bars of Babylon’s prison and set Israel free (along with the captives from other nations). Cyrus, however, will not merely be a pawn on God’s world chessboard: God calls Cyrus by name, desiring that even Cyrus will come to know that God is the Lord. Later, when Cyrus issues the edict to free the Judean captives, he does in fact call upon the name of the Lord as his authority for this action. {Scribe who helped establish Jewish practices in Jerusalem after the exile}. (Ezra 1:1-4 NIV> In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”)