8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
And righteousness spring up with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.9 “Woe to the one who quarrels with his [g]Maker—
An earthenware vessel [h]among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to the [i]potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you [j]giving birth?’”11 Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his [k]Maker:
“[l]Ask Me about the things to come [m]concerning My sons,
And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.
12 “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it.
I stretched out the heavens with My hands
And I [n]ordained all their host.
13 “I have aroused him in righteousness
And I will make all his ways smooth;
He will build My city and will let My exiles go free,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.14 Thus says the Lord,
“The [o]products of Egypt and the merchandise of [p]Cush
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will come over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains
And will bow down to you;
They will make supplication to you:
‘[q]Surely, God is [r]with you, and there is none else,
No other God.’”
15 Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,
O God of Israel, Savior!
16 They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.
17 Israel has been saved by the Lord
With an everlasting salvation;
You will not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity.
As this chapter continues, it seems to shift gears a bit, but as we read, God is still speaking of the works He will do through Cyrus. We see an analogy that isn’t new, with the potter and the clay, along with craftsmen and even the very act of childbearing. God asks us, wouldn’t it be strange if the clay said, “Hey, I don’t want to be a jar like that, make me into something else!”
Similar sentiments apply in the other situations, though God pronounces woe on those who tell fathers and mothers they shouldn’t bear children. That brings to mind all sorts of issues with our present culture, but let’s go once more to Cyrus in vv. 12-14. God says not only will this foreign ruler release the exiled children of God, but Cyrus will build their city once more, and not ask for any reward. Wow!
But God isn’t done there, we see next that they (the released exiles) will receive riches and goods from other countries. That’s above and beyond, but why would Cyrus do such a crazy thing? Maybe God had Isaiah write this down on purpose. That is, some suppose that Cyrus (two hundred years later) read the writings of Isaiah, and realized God was talking about him.
Well, that’s a fine mess, to find out God thinks he has your life all planned out! Surely Cyrus would have hardened his heart and said, “Hah, that’s what you think! I’m going to do it my way!” Yet, he didn’t. Whether Cyrus knew of God’s plans or not, he did exactly what God told Isaiah in this prophecy. How many of us are so willing to embrace God’s way?
Though we ought to submit like the clay in the potter’s hand, often we do stiffen our necks and say, “Not today God, I’ve got other plans!” The worst part of it all is seen in the following verses. When we choose our own way, we will be like those in v. 16, humiliated and disgraced.
Yet when we choose God’s way, we find what is best and rewarding, despite the odds, circumstances, or anything else that might stand in our way. For nothing can stand in God’s way, “He made the earth, and created man upon it… stretched out the heavens with His mighty hands, and spoke the stars into existence.” He may not have told an ancient prophet to write down the plan for your life, but there IS a plan, and it’s well worth following.