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Agape Bible Study
Isaiah 45 - 46
Isaiah 45:1-7 ~ Cyrus, God's Anointed-one (Mashiach)
This passage is a royal enthronement prophecy. See similar enthronement prophecies in Psalms 2 and 110. Cyrus is summoned by name and is called God's anointed, in Hebrew mashiach (verse 1). This is a title that has been reserved for Israel's kings, priests and prophets; and it will become the title of the promised Redeemer-Messiah. But in this case, the title is being given to a pagan, foreign ruler who does not know Yahweh (verses 4-5) but who God will endow with powers to bring about God's divine plan for Israel/Judah's return to the Promised Land. Cyrus is the only non-Israelite to receive the title "messiah." Isaiah ends this passage with another declaration of God's sovereignty over creation and the history of man in verses 5-7.
| Uses of the Title Mashiach/Anointed-one in the Old Testament |
| Priests: Lev 4:3, 5, 16; 6:22 |
| Kings: Saul = 1 Sam 2:35; 12:3, 5; 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2 Sam 1:14, 16 David = 1 Sam 16:6; 2 Sam 19:21; 22:51; 23:1; Ps 18:50; 20:6; 28:8 Probably King Zedekiah = Lam 4:20 Israel's Davidic kings in general = Ps 2:2; 28:8; 84:9; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17; Lam 4:20 The Davidic Messiah = Is 61:1; possibly Dan 9:25, 26 |
Others: Cyrus = Is 45:1 |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright (C) 2015 |
Isaiah 45:9-13 ~ A Curse Judgment Against the Defiant
Question: In verse 9 to what does Isaiah compare God and the people?
Answer: God is the supreme Creator "He is compared to a potter who creates earthenware pots and to the parents of children. The Israelites are just one kind of "pot" among many peoples that God has created, and it is presumptuous of them to question God's motives or His plans. The pot does not question the potter, nor do newborn children talk back to their parents.
Isaiah used the same potter and clay imagery in Isaiah 29:16; also see the same imagery again in Jeremiah 18:1-12; J19:1-11, and again by St. Paul in Romans 9:20-21.
Verse 13 is the concluding argument supported by the previous statements.
Question: Who is the "him" and "he" in verse 13 and what will he do?
Answer: Cyrus is the man God has "raised in righteousness", and he is:
- God's agent of liberation.
- He will return the exiled covenant people to Jerusalem.
- He will rebuild the city.
- He will do this without collecting a ransom or any sort of financial burden for the people.
- He will do all this through God's direct intervention.
The point is the Israelites should not question God's radical divine plan to use a Gentile to bring about their salvation, and God utters a curse judgment against those who do question Him or His motives.
Isaiah 45:14-19 ~ Deliverance and Conversion
Isaiah presents a vision of universal conversion and salvation in a future gathering of the nations around Jerusalem when they submit themselves to being servants of the covenant and to worship the God of Israel. Cush is Nubia and Seba refers to the nomads of the Arabian Desert. This same prophecy was introduced in Isaiah 2:2-4; it is repeated verbatim in Micah 4:1-3, and in variations in Jeremiah 12:15-16; 16:19-21 and Zephaniah 3:9-10. This concept of the nations of the world coming to salvation is one of the key themes of the Book of Consolation that began in Isaiah 42:1-4, 6; 45:14-16, 20-25 and which will be revisited in Isaiah 49:6; 55:3-5; in chapter 60; and in the conclusion of the Book of Isaiah in 66:18-24. The post exile prophet Zechariah will also write about the future conversion of the Gentiles in Zechariah 2:15; 8:20-23; 14:9 and 16.
Isaiah 45:20-25 ~ The Lord of the Universe calls the Nations to Acknowledge Him as their God
God reminds the nations through His prophet that their idols cannot save them. Only He, Yahweh the righteous Savior, controls past, present and the unknown future. He calls all the peoples from the ends of the earth to come to Him and be saved, for there is none other who can save them.
Chapters 46:1-47:15 ~ Condemnation of Babylon
In this section Isaiah presents God's condemnation of the Babylonian's idols and all false gods (46:1-13), and also Yahweh's lament for the fate of the Babylonian people and their empire (47:1-15).
The focus of Isaiah 46:1-13 is God versus the Babylonian false gods. Isaiah presents this section in four parts:
- The false idols of Babylon are humiliated (46:1-2).
- God gives His assurance to Israel (46:3-4).
- The futility of all idols everywhere is repeated (46:5-7).
- The account of Yahweh's uniqueness is repeated (46:8-13).
Isaiah 46:1-2 ~ The Humiliation of False Idols
The festival of Akitu, the Babylonian new year festival, took place just before the spring equinox and lasted for eleven days. All the major idols of the Babylonian pantheon were brought to the capital city of Babylon to participate in grand processions. Bel or Marduk, sometimes called Bel-Marduk, was the head of the pantheon and was associated with the sky/rain, vegetation and magic. Nebo (Nabu) was Bel's son, the god of wisdom and writing. During the festival, the images of the deities, including Bel-Marduk and Nebo, were carried on carts drawn by oxen through the streets of Babylon in a procession with the king "holding the hand" of Bel-Marduk, signifying his loyalty, submission and partnership with the god.
Isaiah 46:3-4 ~ God gives His Assurance to the Remnant of Israel
Notice the contrast Isaiah is making: the beasts pull carts that carried the false idols of Babylon, but it is Yahweh who "carried" Israel "each man and woman "since they were conceived in the womb of their mothers. God has preserved this remnant ""those who remain" "of the House of Israel. He will continue to be with them until they are old and grey. It is He who will protect and save them and no other.
Isaiah 46:5-7 ~ The Futility of All Idols is Repeated
The contrast between the conquered gods of Babylon and the God of Israel who will be victorious in redeeming His people leads Isaiah to resume his theme of the futility of all lifeless idols compared with God's incomparable power and majesty.
Isaiah 46:8-13 ~ Yahweh's Uniqueness is Repeated
The "rebels" are the Judeans who have apostatized from the covenant and who stand in opposition of God's divine plan.
Agape Bible Study
Ezekiel 6 - 7
Chapters 6-7: Prophecies Against Israel/Judah
Ezekiel 6:1-10 ~ God Tells Ezekiel's To Speak Against the Mountains of Israel
Ezekiel and his fellow exiles are living on a flat, alluvial plain in Babylonia, far from the hills and valleys of their native land. Yahweh tells His prophet to turn towards the mountains of central Judah where Yahweh's Temple stands on Mount Moriah (2 Chr 3:1). He is to prophesy the warning that Yahweh will summon the armies of the Babylonians to come against His rebellious covenant people who worship false gods, offering profane sacrifices and incense to them on the hills and mountains of God's Holy Land.
Ezekiel 6:11-14 ~ The Sins of Israel
In the ancient world, stamping one's feet and clapping one's hands indicated approval. In this case, Ezekiel is told to indicate his approval of the fulfillment of Yahweh's prophecies in the venting of Yahweh's wrath on a sinful and unrepentant covenant people (see the curse judgment in Dt 28:63).
Sword, famine, and plague are the three disasters that are the result of war and are judgments of suffering repeated in other covenant judgments of the prophets. The same triple threat is in the curse judgments of Leviticus 26:25; Jeremiah 14:12; 21:9; 27:8, 13; 29:18.
Ezekiel 7:1-14 ~ The Oracle Announcing that the End is Near
Finished! The end is coming for the four corners of the country.
Yahweh addresses the next oracle to all the people still in Judah in verses 1-6. The announcement "Finished" means that the time for repentance has passed. Divine judgment is inevitable and inescapable and is coming for all parts of the country. Just as Yahweh used the Israelites to punish the abomination of human sacrifice practiced by the Canaanites in the conquest of Canaan, He will now use the Babylonians as His instrument of divine judgment against the remaining Israelites in the state of Judah. Verse 9b repeats the reason Yahweh unleashes His divine judgment: Then you will know that I am Yahweh... This judgment, like all divine judgments, is meant to be redemptive in bringing those in need of correction back to faith and obedience in their relationship with God. Even those who perish will die knowing that Yahweh, the one true God, ordained this judgment and the false gods they worshipped were incapable of saving them. Those who die in their sins will be purified in Sheol (CCC 632-33) and will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel of salvation when Jesus descends to the abode of the dead (1 Pt 3:18-22; 4:6; Apostles' Creed).
The sound of the trumpet does not announce battle but judgment. In the same way, a trumpet blast announced the judgment on the pagan inhabitants of Jericho (Josh 6:20-21), and trumpets announced the annual Feast of Trumpets, the call to prepare for the Day of Atonement ten days later (Lev 23:23-32). Seven trumpets are associated with the seven actions of divine judgment in the Book of Revelation (Rev 8:2-10:7), and St. Paul writes that trumpets will announce the end of the Age of Man and the Final Judgment.
Ezekiel 7:15-27 ~ The Sins of Israel
Outside the walls of the city are the swords of the enemy; inside the city walls are plague and famine. The people of Jerusalem will realize that their temporal treasures of silver and gold are meaningless in the face of disaster and death. Their wealth gave them a false sense of security and contributed to their pride and their lack of fear in offending God and polluting His House of worship. Their civil and religious leadership who failed in calling the people to repentance will be completely ineffective as the end draws near. They can save neither the people nor themselves.
CHALLENGE: “Why can’t we explain the Resurrection appearances of Jesus by saying that the disciples innocently hallucinated them all?”
DEFENSE: Hallucinations are normally caused by medical or psychological disorders, so they are experienced by individuals, not groups.
We have no evidence of such disorders among the witnesses of the Resurrection, and—although we have indications of private appearances to Mary Magdalen (Mark 16:9; John 20:14–17), Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5), and James the Just (1 Cor. 15:7)—most appearances were to groups (Matt. 28:8–10, 16–20; Mark 16:12–18; Luke 24:13–53; John 20:19–21:23; Acts 1:6–11), including a group of as many as 500 (1 Cor. 15:6).
It is disputed whether true hallucinations are even possible for groups. It is possible for a group to experience an illusion (i.e., mistaking something real but poorly seen as something else). Thus a group might mistakenly think a person seen at extreme distance was Jesus, but this doesn’t fit the Resurrection appearances.
Instead, the reports indicate Jesus was in close proximity to the disciples, held multiple conversations with them, and physically interacted with them—as when he instructed Thomas to touch his wounds (John 20:27), or when he instructed the disciples to handle him, and when he took a piece of broiled fish from them and ate it (Luke 24:39–43).
Illusions are typically preceded by intense expectation and an uncritical attitude toward what is seen (hallucinations commonly are as well), but we do not have evidence for this among the disciples. The women expect to find Jesus’ dead body when they arrive at the tomb, and the male disciples are disbelieving and skeptical (Matt. 28:17; Mark 16:11; Luke 24:10–11; John 20:9, 24 25).
Even if multiple people were hallucinating at the same time, they would not hallucinate the same conversation or see Jesus performing the same, up-close actions.
The Resurrection appearances also happened over an extended period (forty days; Acts 1:3) and then suddenly stopped with Jesus’ collectively witnessed Ascension into heaven. This is not characteristic of how hallucinations typically work.
Most fundamentally, the hallucination hypothesis fails to explain why, once the disciples began spreading reports of the Resurrection, the Jerusalem authorities didn’t simply go to Jesus’ tomb and produce his corpse.
The hallucination hypothesis thus does not explain how the apostles could have innocently thought they saw Jesus alive after the Crucifixion.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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