His annointed one

¹ This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.
² This is what the Lord says:

“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
³ And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

Isaiah 45: 1-3

I have read and claimed verses 2 and 3 many times before in my life especially when my life is hard, but this weekend God allowed me to look at them with fresh eyes. Especially verse 1. A few months ago in history, the kids and I were actually studying Cyrus the Great..the king mentioned in verse 1 and we were able to learn about his backstory.

Cyrus was the grandson of a Median King. His grandfather decided that he did not want his grandson to take over the throne ever so when he was a baby he ordered a servant to take Cyrus out and kill him. The servant took the baby out away from the castle, but could not kill the baby. Instead he gave him to a shepherd and told the shepherd to kill him. Then the servant left. The shepherd promptly ran home to his wife and gave her the baby to raise. Cyrus the Great was raised in a poor shepherd's home by two people that were not his biological parents.

When he grew older he was taller and stronger and smarter than all the other shepherd children. On the way to town one day he was seen by the king and the king knew that this was no ordinary shepherd boy, this was his grandson that he thought was dead.The servant that disobeyed the king fled into hiding and Cyrus was allowed to live and did eventually take the throne. He was the king that allowed The children of Israel to go back to their own land after so many years of captivity in Babylon ( remember Daniel, Shadrach, the fiery furnace, the lions den?)

In verse 1 of Isaiah 45, Cyrus is called the anointed one. This is the ONLY time in the entire OT that a gentile is called anointed. God used Cyrus. An orphan boy that was thrown out and should have been murdered. God used him in so many ways and Isaiah prophesied about him MANY many years before he was even born.

Read verse 2 and 3 again:

This is what the Lord says

“I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron ³ And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

It shines new life on these verses. They were prophesied over an orphan boy raised by people that were not his parents. God smashed the gates of bronze for him and cut through the bars of iron. He went before him. He calls him by name.

Makes me rejoice in how much God cares and loves my little orphan boy. How He is going before him, how He knows his name and How He will smash down the gates for Him too.

Our second court date is tonight while we are all sleeping and as much as I desire to hear we have passed court, my greatest desire is that my children know that the God of Israel is going before them, that HE knows their name and that He is giving them treasure. Even in the darkness.