None Besides the Lord • 02.16.25
None Besides the Lord
Isaiah 45
Two lessons from God’s use of a surprising shepherd
- Trust God’s sovereign plan
- Turn to God alone for salvation
Manuscript:
Good morning church family! My name is Jack Flaherty, and I serve as one of the pastors here at Harvest. Today we continue our study in the book of Isaiah titled “The Lord Saves.” First 4th-5th graders grab your Bibles and be dismissed to class. Everyone else grab your Bibles, stay put , and open up to Isaiah 45. If you need a Bible ushers would like to get one into your hands.
You know if you get familiar with Isaiah you’ll notice the Gospels sound very similar. Isaiah is the known as the evangelist of the OT because he speaks so much about the Messiah, whom we know to be Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, the messianic prophecies of Isaiah are so accurate that many argue this book was written at a later date or it had additions. No way it was that spot on! But in fact, what we read had been established by the time of Christ and stands as true today as it did them. Like God said in Isaiah 40:8 “ the grass withers and the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.” We will see another prophecy in Isaiah 45 today. Only this is not about Jesus of Nazareth. It’s about a surprising “anointed one.”
How do you all do with surprises? Some examples: in the Flaherty home we like to hide and scare one another; growing up I had one surprise birthday party when I was 13yrs old; this past Christmas we got conned into one of those “showing up in the same sweater as your siblings” situation. I’ve had some bad surprises too. A surprise is nothing more than an unexpected happening. Sometimes these are good things we find amazing and are excited about. Sometimes these are bad things we find horrific and are not thrilled about.
Not to be anti-climactic, but the surprise we will discuss today was actually introduced last week. Read Isaiah 44:24-28. CYRUS is God’s shepherd? That’s King David language. Surprising. An unclean Pagan ruler building up Jerusalem’s walls and new temple? Surprising. This is indeed what happened, as we read at the end of 2 Chronicles 36 and chapters 1 & 3 of Ezra. But this surprise was not an accident. In fact, God’s use of the surprising shepherd Cyrus is meant to help teach Israel and us that there is none besides the LORD–a phrase is repeated at least 9 times in this chapter. From this reality that there is none but the Lord, we see at least two lessons in our text. So today we are going to discuss two lessons from God’s use of a surprising shepherd.
In fact, to get a bit ahead of ourselves, the reason these lessons are for us is because this is about more than just a very specific predictive prophecy made a century beforehand related to Cyrus freeing Israel from exile. This is actually God showing off that he will use this Gentile deliverer to save the Jews, in order to continue his plan to send a Jewish savior to deliver the Gentiles! God’s surprising means of returning the exiles to Jerusalem ultimately puts them in the land which Jesus would be born, minister, die, rise again and then use as home base to send his message of salvation to the ends of the earth. What we read today demonstrates there is none besides the LORD in the past for Israel. But it also sets up all that’s happened since this use of Cyrus to show there is none besides the Lord in the present for us. As such we can trust that there is none besides the Lord into the future for the whole creation. The LORD alone is God!
Which brings us to our first lesson that comes out of the first half of our chapter today. Read Isaiah 45:1-13. The first lesson from God’s use of a surprising shepherd is…
- Trust God’s sovereign plan
This whole sequence of events, though surprising to the people is not surprising to God. He is sovereign over every step of the plan. Sovereign meaning he demonstrates his power and authority over all the moving parts. Not only that, but God is demonstrating he alone is worth trusting. He is working all this out for the good of his people who he loves! We had a sweet conversation about this at Men’s breakfast yesterday considering that God is a good God who desires to show mercy and compassion. And ultimately, as Nick said last week, this surprising plan is meant as a message of comfort from a loving God for his people undergoing a trial! He wants them to know they can trust his plan and thus gives them details 150 years in advance. So in trusting God’s sovereign plan, lets first consider the…
- Purpose for Cyrus
We saw in Isaiah 44 that Cyrus is predicted to shepherd the people back from exile and help them build up their broken city and temple. This is reiterated here in this section again. We read in places like Daniel 2:21 and Acts 17:26-27 that God puts all people, especially political leaders, in place. God elaborates that this guy will overthrow nations in order to get to Babylon in order to break down their doors of bronze and bars of iron to free God’s people. Historical details show this is an accurate description of Babylon and their destruction. Even when that doesn’t always make sense to us, we should embrace that God controls the actions of great “movers and shakers” in world history even though most of them never acknowledge God.
But that still brings the question, why use Cyrus? We see it declared three different times. First in v3 God paves the way for Cyrus so that Cyrus himself may know that the Lord. You might even consider these first eight verses Cyrus’ intro to God! Historian Josephus indicates that the prophet Daniel as an old man may have even read these words to Cyrus after he conquered the city. Regardless, God wants Cyrus to understand he isn’t the one doing this on his own, it is the Lord! Again, we read in 2 Chronicles and Ezra he does give God credit saying, “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.” Now evidence suggests he does not becomes a full convert but the purpose was to demonstrate God is sovereignly in control and that message was received.
Which brings to the second declaration of why Cyrus was used in v4 “for the sake of God’s servant Jacob, Israel his chosen.” God speaks the name of Cyrus so that when indeed it is Cyrus who does this 150 years later it might awakens the faith of God’s people in captivity to remember there is no God besides YWHW! The purpose of this surprising shepherd is for Israel to trust the Lord. You want to be encouraged in your faith? See how many times what God said has come true!
Third declaration for why use Cyrus? We see v6 says that people from suns rising (in the east) and from the west it would be known there is none beside the Lord. Think about that for a second. The scope of that and the beauty of all the land. God wants to demonstrate he alone is in charge! Seems clear the purpose of why he used Cyrus. To demonstrate that he alone is YHWH!
And he escalates the message a bit from there. Beyond the case of just Cyrus, the Lords perfect sovereignty stands behinds everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in the universe. That’s what v7 tells us. God is in charge of light and dark, well-being and calamity, he does all these things. And this statement in v7 is one of the most controversial in Isaiah and maybe in the whole Bible. Is Isaiah really saying that God is in charge of good AND bad? It is in fact saying nothing happens outside of God’s sovereign will. It is important to clarify that some texts do us a disservice translating evil instead of calamity. The Hebrew word used is “rah” but the context here lets us know the ESV renders it well. It is the opposites. If it was meant evil, it would have been righteousness. God says he rules over all the things for his sovereign purpose and plan. BUT God is not responsible for moral evil. Other passages help us know God is not to be morally responsible for evil.
James 1:13 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
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Ps 5:4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.
Ps 119:68 You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
All that to say, the point of v7 is that God has it all covered. Therefore his people should not be discouraged when the appearance of things, globally or personally, seem contrary to his promises OR his character. It may be surprising or confusing to us from a human perspective, but it is all under his loving plan for the best for his people. That’s what he goes on to say in v8 with this sweet picture. God’s loving initiative from heaven above shown as the blessing of rain that pours down and bears the good fruit of salvation and righteousness on earth. This passage doesn’t paint God’s sovereign plan it as a problem to cope with but rather as the only plan for God’s people to hope in and the one blessed reality for the bearing of good fruit in this world.
Now, like me and you, God’s people still struggle with that reality of God’s plan even with the promises that he’s got it covered and it is for our good. And often we respond not well. It seems Israel also wasn’t going to be big fans of this. Cyrus, who dis?! And God in response or anticipation reminds them when it comes to trusting his plan remember he is preeminent. That’s what v9-13 is all about as we next consider…
- Preeminence of God
Both v9 & v10 start with woe which is a strong word of warning. Two examples are given, a potter and a parent. First in v9 God says when we question his plan and motives, we are like the clay talking back to the potter. This is an illustration used in a few other spots in the Bible such as Jeremiah 18 and Romans 9. The word is “strive” meaning this is a fight, not a genuinely curious questions. This is a proud person overstepping authority asking “Why would God operate this way?”
The second in v10 says when we question God’s plans and motives we are like a child fresh out da womb looking and asking his parents who are you? Crazy! In short and as v11 summarizes, we have no business as the ones formed commanding the Maker what to do. Again, not just asking or genuinely wrestling, commanding!
God says knock that off and trust me! In v12-13 God reminds those who would strive against him he is the maker of the universe! He made this earth and put man on it. He still commands all the details and that includes the ruler who has some serious earthly power. This seems like what he told to Job with his questions. He met with 77 other questions. Also seems like the rebuttal in Romans 9 to the question’s of God’s sovereignty. God doesn’t owe us any explanations and he has already been gracious to give so much here! In fact, he even shows that with this line about Cyrus supporting the rebuilding of Jerusalem and temple, not only without a price/reward, he even financed it and sent a bunch of stuff with them as we can read in the Bible!
God is preeminent. That means he is surpassing all overs, is distinguished, there is none besides him! He has a sovereign plan, and he is in control. That doesn’t mean we have no responsibility; in fact you might say it heightens it in that we are called to trust him. If we know he is in charge and he has given us a book about how to walk rightly under his sovereign rule, we ought to get familiar with his will and ways and sit under the loving protection and guidance he has for us!
Now I say all of that to come back to this reality that we still struggle with the reality of God’s sovereign plan. But often in our sin cursed world, surrounded by sinful people and even as believers dealing with our own sinful tendencies and bodies a lot of hard things happen. I have many pictures in my head of things that I am tempted to take to God and say “WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?” This isn’t just some back in the day Isaiah thing this is real life for us thing. When little things like snagged coat, spilled milk, grumpy kids, or big things like sickness, betrayal, failure, abandonment, abuse, desires we can’t shake, and all type of calamity and darkness comes. This is something the Lord has been teaching our family about in a surprising way very recently.
We love to claim Romans 8:28 that God works out all good for those who love him but then we have to trust God. We all love to point out passages like Gen 50:20 and call people to have perseverance like Joseph who told his brothers even after being beaten, thrown in a pit, sold to slavery, spending time in jail, 20 years away from home, and who knows all the other details could say that what they meant for evil God meant for good. But when the rubber meets the road and we get specific with the recipe God has for us, how do we feel? How do we respond? IDK the specifics of God’s plan for your life. IDK how surprising the circumstances for your or those around you seem right now. But what I do know is God has a sovereign plan and it is good.
I might add, these hard things are incredible teaching moments for our families and for our church family, of all ages. Don’t just try to shelter one another, especially our children form the hard that God has for them to go through. He has a purpose, that they might know there is none besides the Lord! We are meant to train our kids up to know that! So be age appropriate and wise and get help from others but share. Model for them the honest hurt and pain of what that means to trust God in the hard. That’s part of training them in the way they should go.
Sometimes we hear ‘trust God’ and don’t know the specifics of HOW. First reach out to the Lord for help. Ask him to help you trust him. Second, it’s as simple as look to the character and the promises of God. That’s all we see here. There is a promise about Cyrus. Remind yourself of this promise over and over. And by the way this promise is given by the preeminent One so its trustworthy. IDK what attribute might be most helpful for you but cling on to it and repeat it. In this digital age take that time to pen and paper write it out. Read and re-read to renew your mind and fill it with what is true and honorable and pure and lovely and worthy of praise and THINK. Calibrate and re-wire that brain to trust the sovereign plan of One whom there is none like.
Remember the Lord uses unexpected and surprising realities, big and small, to teach us the lesson that there is none besides the Him! I recently started a new show that has a whole bunch of twists and turns and detective work and drama. Anyone else love these shows? We all like a good plot twist and turns and reveals in stories and shoes and movies. Ever wonder why? I think its because its hardwired in our brains by our Creator. We are meant to look for those things to look for him. To turn to him! He alone is worth turning too! Which brings us to the second part of this chapter. Lets read Isaiah 45:14-25. Our second lesson from the surprising shepherd is to
- Turn to God alone for salvation
As we enter this next section we see some of what we already knew, that God’s plan goes beyond just the people of Israel. His sovereign plan extends to all who will turn to him for salvation. His wishes to declare that there is none besides him! And he does so as a gracious call. A genuine invitation that also comes with a warning. He presents himself not only as an invitation giver in this section as a just judge. Humbly turn to the Lord and be saved or keep looking to your idols and experience shame. Again two parts to this lesson for us. First consider the message of…
- Humility and Exaltation
This resonates throughout this whole section but lets focus in on v14-17. This picture in V14 seems a little interesting and it is language we see in a couple other spots in the Bible. Some debate if by “come over in chains” is literal slavery and bringing tribute to Israel sometime yet still in the future OR a spiritual picture with Gentile converts who are now ‘enslaved’ to Israel’s God both now and in the future bringing tribute. I tend to be more persuaded by the second opinion and actually this last part of them saying “Surely God is in you and there is no other god besides him” reads like 1 Cor 14:25 and fits with Paul’s servant/slave to Christ themes. Regardless the reality is if you are recognizing there is only one truth God, thn the only proper response is humble surrender to him, Jew or Gentile. And this gets move vivid in the next three verses
In v15 we are reminded God is the Savior of Israel and he hides himself in these saving purposes. We don’t always perceive what he is up to! Romans 11:33-36 speaks to this too. He is not hiding of evasive but works in ways that are surprising! Also, he is not in a visible form like idols making it hard for those looking only for physical remedies for problems that go beyond the tangible. Do we know any people like that? That’s idolatry, looking to find resolutions elsewhere besides the one true God. Don’t be like those people! As v16 says those who look to idols are shamed and confounded. This is a direct contrast to those in v17 who are never shamed but experience everlasting salvation!
There is supposed to be a difference between those who have turned to God alone for salvation and those who have not. The difference is their posture towards the Lord. God’s people humble themselves before him recognizing they are lost without his salvation and thus are exalted and not shamed. Not God’s people however seek to exalt themselves and their plan and their solution with their idols and thus experience shame and humiliation. I think the visual is strong here…are you turned to the Lord OR turned to an idol.
Again, this is so hard in the midst of the realities of life. We want something here and now! We don’t want the surprising and leaving it in God’s hands. We want what we think is best for us and what we think we can control. So we turn this way and that instead of turning to God and just waiting on him. Just sitting and waiting! we can struggle with what this looks like because we are like, what good does it do to wait on God? But I think we’ve seen this back in kickoff chapter to this section of deliverance in Isaiah 40-48, right?
Read Isaiah 40:27-31.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
When we humbly wait on the Lord, he will lift us up! When we exalt ourselves going this way and that way because we think we are the god besides the LORD or we think we know the god besides the Lord that is really what we need then we don’t get these benefits. Instead we get WEARY AND FAINT AND FALL EXHAUSTED! Don’t do that. Humbly turn to God and let him exalt you
This reality also comes up in v24-25. Those who are incense against the Lord will be shamed and those who humbly submitted themselves to God and identified themselves with Israel, which the NT tells us in Romans 9:6 isn’t just fleshly Israel but all who trust in the promise of Israel, will be justified and glory in the Lord. Idols can’t save! They are called out in v16 because they can do nothing and in fact they got Israel into this mess. But the Lord offers a way out. And not just for Israel out of captivity but as v25 said justification from sin and as we have heard throughout this offer is actually for all nations! We brings us secondly to consider…
- Knowledge for the Nations
We’ve seen in a couple of different places now God is the God of all the earth! This is reiterated in v18. The promise of everlasting salvation offering in v17 should be believed because the God who created the earth v18 made it. And v18 is interesting as is speaks to the fact that God didn’t create the world to be empty/void/futile but to be inhabited. This I think speaks to the reality that God plans to redeem the earth to a Edenic paradise full of redeemed people in the New Heavens and New Earth. At a minimum its clearly showing God wants not just to save from captivity in Babylon but captivity to idols. He has something better in store for those who turn to him!
Even though he is a God who hides said v15 he is not a God who is hard to find! According to v19 he is a God who truly can be sought and found! First Jacob will find me but also all nations. This picture of the nations assembling in v20-22 is interesting. They have no knowledge but they gon learn today! This is trash talk from God. First v20 don’t a reminder that carrying wood idols and pleading to gods that can’t save! Then v21 an invite to bring their your best argument because even the consensus unbelieving opinion can’t defeat what was declared of old–of the prophecy of Cyrus. This language gets repeated in 46:8-11 and is convincing evidence that there is no other righteous God and Savior. But God isn’t just inviting the challenge as v22 shows it is a gracious invitation for all the ends of the earth to turn idols and worship the one true God and be saved!
This knowledge of the LORD, the God whom there is none besides, the righteous Savior, is not just about Israel but about all people! We saw this back in v6 with rising to setting of sun all peoples. We see it in the mention of nations in v20, the invitation here in v22 and we see it again in v23 that every knee will bow and tongue confess. This verse declares the word has gone out and everyone will bow to God. We either take this knowledge that there is none besides the LORD and humble ourselves now OR we ignore what cannot be truly argued and bow in fearful shame in the future. This wasn’t just for Israel and the nations back then, but for you and I today.
This verse is attributed to Jesus by Paul in two places in the NT. Romans 14 to show God alone is judge I was humbled this week to realize one of the passages I love most in the NT comes from the NT. and then in Philippians 2 to show that Jesus is the one ultimately to whom all nations will answer. Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is crazy! Isaiah 40-48 and especially 45 is a monotheistic section. “NO OTHER GOD.” Yet Paul, attributed this to Jesus. Because its true. He is the king of kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is the one to whom all will bow. Paul also adds heaven and earth and under earth. Nowhere are we escaping Jesus! Turn to him and be saved! The promise of an anointed Cyrus to bring Israel back to the land and points to the promise of THE Anointed One Jesus Christ. God gave Cyrus a temporary empire so that God might ultimately give to Jesus Christ an eternal empire of souls from every nation on earth.
Loved ones, there is none besides the Lord. Turn to him! Forsake everything else you are looking for answers in, Dr Google, social media, relationships, substances, performance, grades, whatever and do the surprisingly simple act of turning to Jesus. He is the surprising savior, humbly born of a virgin but sent to save the world. Turn to Jesus and be saved!
To conclude, I want to share about a surprising story the conversion of the famous Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon who God saved through the preaching of a no name unskilled layman. In his autobiography Spurgeon recounts that at 15 years old he was in a very dark, desperate place. One wintry Sunday morning he headed to church but ended in some unknown chapel because snow made it impossible to get where he intended to go. There were 12-15 people there and even the minister couldn’t make it with the snow. So a member of the church stands up and begins to preach from our text, Isaiah 45:22. Mispronouncing words and exhausting his skills in 10 minutes Spurgeon recounts that this preacher “looked at me and said ‘Young man you look miserable. You will be miserable. Miserable in life and in death if you don’t obey the text. But if you obey this moment, you will be saved.’” So he did. God the Holy Spirit worked a miracle to quicken his soul to see his need for savior.
IDK what brough you in today. IDK where you’re at, where you’ve been, or where you’re going, but turn to the Lord this morning and be saved! And if you have already, hear it afresh today that there is nowhere else to turn! There is none besides the Lord and his anointed Jesus of Nazareth. Turn to Jesus Christ, look to the one who has the answer for the problems of this life. he has the answer to all the anxiety and abuse, accolades and accommodations, guilt and shame, past present and future. You, turn to the Lord and be saved. And when we do, continue to trust his plan. Even in the trials and surprises of life that tempt us to look elsewhere, remember there is still none other you’d rather turn to the Lord.
Pray