45 Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right hand,
To subdue nations before him
And [a]to loose the loins of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and make the [b]rough places smooth;
I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
3 “I will give you the [c]treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have not known Me.
5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will [d]gird you, though you have not known Me;
6 That [e]men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
7 The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing [f]well-being and creating calamity;
I am the Lord who does all these.
This passage starts where the previous left off, speaking of Cyrus who would be a conquering king to come–in a couple hundred years. Here God tells of various things He will accomplish for Cyrus, “That men may know… I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
Let’s look at this list for a minute, starting from the top (v. 1) as God will subdue nations before him, and scare the “stuffing” out of kings. God will open doors and not allow gates to be shut. He will make the path smooth, and even shatter doors of bronze and cut through iron bars (v. 2). Now that would be a sight to see, bronze just shattering!
I don’t know if God actually shattered bronze, but He certainly wasn’t going to let it stand in Cyrus’ way, and He sure could have shattered it if needed. In addition, God would give Cyrus treasures hidden in darkness and wealth that was supposed to be secure and secret. Why? Was it because Cyrus was this amazing follower of God?
Shockingly, God reveals that Cyrus “has not known Me.” Cyrus would accomplish so many things, so that he would find out who God truly is. It is entirely possible he never really figured it out until God used him to conquer the Babylonians and he discovered this Jewish people who had been living under their rule.
All of this then, as stated at the beginning, was not for just Cyrus, nor was it just for the sake of rescuing the Jews. No, it was so that those who did not know or understand God would know that He is the “One forming light and creating darkness, causing peace and calamity…” That He is the Lord who is responsible for all things. Yes, even the calamity, you read that right.
God has plans for our lives also, but it isn’t just for us, any more than any of this was just for Cyrus. To be sure, some of it was, but it was to be like “a cup running over”, that must be shared, or it would be wasted. Don’t waste God’s blessings, whatever He does in your life, be sure to share it with others.