GOD OF ETERNITY, LORD OVER HISTORY

That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting

That there is none besides Me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other….  (Isaiah 45:6)

Isaiah 45 is one of the most remarkable prophecies that is seldom discussed.  You may have never heard a sermon about Cyrus.  Yet, Isaiah tells us this man’s name, predicts his reign, and speaks of his greatness and conquests around 150 years before Cyrus was born!  Furthermore, he is a pagan whom God will appoint to deliver His people.  Astonishing is it not?  There is no record that the king ever submitted to the King of glory, but he was not without ample testimony to the God of eternity.  Cyrus would be the Persian monarch who would bring down the Babylonian empire that had subjugated the Jews, freeing them from captivity.  His decree would assure their eventual liberty and afford those who desired the opportunity to return and rebuild Jerusalem.

We see that God is the Lord over history.  People make decisions.  Powerful persons arise to reign and for a season they exert influence in human affairs.  Standing above and orchestrating all things, however, is the Sovereign God.  Man proposes, but God disposes.  People are responsible for their choices, good or bad, but guiding all is the great God who only does good, overruling human rulers—and all for His glory!

There is none like our God!  As Gospel singer Sandi Patti put it,

For He's more wonderful than my mind can conceive
He's more wonderful than my heart can believe
He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dreams.

The Lord over history is the God of eternity.  He stands before history commences and will go beyond when it consummates.  From everlasting to everlasting, He is the great I AM.  He transcends time and space, but is not aloof—intervening as master of both.  Even events that we would consider to be bad—dark times and calamities are no surprise to Him and, in fact, are used for His righteous purposes.  Resisting His will is like the folly of clay trying to resist the potter or a baby seeking to resist conception.  The Creator does as He pleases and what He pleases is always glorious!

There are many things mysterious about the ways of God, but we are to ask Him to reveal His purposes and He will show us much.  When our petitions are grounded in His purposes then our prayers have power to move His hand, for what He is accomplishing is already in His heart.  Amazing!  The infinite Maker chooses to partner with finite man is working His will.  He has ordained it, and so it must be!

The deliverance and preservation of Israel is a testimony to the greatness of God.  Against overwhelming odds, the Jews have survived.  That is because God has decreed it, and no man can thwart it.  This is not a testimony to the ingenuity of the Jews, but the sovereignty of God!

Eventually, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Isa.45:23b), encompassing both Jews and Gentiles.  For now the gracious offer is extended,

Look to Me, and be saved,

All you ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.”  (Isa.45:22)

Have you looked in faith to the cross?  Will you look to Him for salvation?