Isaiah 42:5-9

0:01 All right, Isaiah chapter forty two. Isaiah chapter forty two. The goal today. I don't think it'll happen, but we need to go from See, we've covered a section verses one, two, four, we covered that we need to cover today five through nine, hopefully in this hour and then the next hour ten through twelve. I think is the way we broke it down in our observational outline. So that is the goal. But let's go back in at least remind ourselves of the main thing that we have done with Isaiah forty two that goes against well, I think AI said we are currently in conflict with ninety nine percent of Christianity, right, And I was like, well, that's comforting to know. But AI says that our interpretation, though, even though we go against ninety nine percent of Christianity, that it is textually sound, historically theologically sound, and that it makes probably the most sense.

1:05 So we're going to continue to defend it. And what is that new interpretation of Isaiah forty two That the two servants are the same person and that person is Cyrus. Okay, any reference to possibly Jesus, we can have that discussion, but the context this is Cyrus and what were. Some of our key arguments. Let's go through some of our key arguments just to remind ourselves so that we can continue to defend this number one, our first argument. I don't know if I have these in the same order that we ultimately developed them. But historical context, the original audience of Isaiah forty through fifty five was in or anticipating Babylonian exile. A servant who would not act for six hundred years, which would be Jesus, provides how much comfort for them? No comfort?

2:01 How much deliverance does it provide for them? None? So just a historical context alone screams something else has got to be going on here. Cyrus, on the other hand, appears in real time, performs the acts promised in Isaiah, freeing captives, rebuilding Jerusalem, And to even make it even a stronger argument, is literally explicitly named in Isaiah forty four to twenty eight through Isaiah forty five to one. So if he's. Literally named, I think we have some historical context on our side. Right, Interpreting the servant as Cyrus restores contextual.

2:47 Coherence to the entire chapter. Right, So what's the first thing we have supporting our view historical context. Second textual support Isaiah forty one two through three. Look at Isaiah forty one two through three. What does it say? Does it not introduce someone from the east, someone from the east commonly understood to be home. Sorrus? All right? Isaiah forty two one through four uses overlapping, overlapping themes, just as justice to the nations chosen upheld not crying out.

3:35 All right. So these some of these overlapping themes, some of these overlapping motifs. You've got justice to the nations. You have that in forty one two. Do you see that in forty one two? What do you see a forty one two? Uh huh okay, forty one one Okay, sorry, now I'm looking up chapter forty one Okay, okay, So forty one two speaks to justice to the nations. Look at forty five thirteen, forty five thirteen, what does it say? Okay, So this idea of justice to the nation kind of concept is in forty one two, forty five thirteen, and so forty two in the middle of that would make sense that this would again be referring to Cyrus, because it's yeah, I.

4:38 Know yeah, Cyrus is mentioned. Yeah, I'm going, yeah, I'm going to these verses that literally are about Cyrus. Right, all right, look at forty five to one, what does it say about Cyrus? And forty five to one, So he's anointed, God's anointed, right, so that means talks about being folk chosen or upheld. How about forty four twenty eight? All right, so he's chosen, he's upheld. That all this language is used, and it's used right there in forty two. Right, all of the same language is used in forty two not crying out, Well, he enters Babylon without a fight. This is a historical fact, it's not, so we're not speculating here, right. So in other words, these there's overlapping themes and motifs that are used in.

5:32 Forty one, forty two, forty three, forty four, forty. Five, and they all fit Cyrus over and over and over right. Later descriptions of the servant aligned with Cyrus powerful yet blind to yahweh, and we see that in forty two nineteen. Those are the later descriptions which describe it. As being blind. While why is he blind? Because he's he doesn't know the true God? He's he. In fact, he had credits what he does. Cyrus a credits what he does to whom Marduke right, the god of Babylon. So cylinder, yes, right, the language of Isaiah forty two is consistent with the servant being Cyrus, not radically different or Messianic in tone.

6:17 So the textual support is all over the place. So we've got number one, historical number two, we have textual right. Number three, we have support from the Cyrus cylinder, as we talked about last Sunday. Right, the cylinder confirms that Cyrus freed exiled peoples, restored temples, framed his mission in divine terms, though attributed to Marduk and parallels Isaiah's prophecy, especially forty two to six through seven bring out prisoners from darkness. It's external, its non biblical confirmation that the acts attributed to the servant happened historically and through Cyrus. So we have historical support or historical context to port our view. Textual support, we have the Cyrus cylinder to support our view. And then what's the fourth part of our support. We did not talk about it last week.

7:10 Josephus confirmation. All right, Diane, point this out Josephus's confirmation. In his book Antiquities. It clearly states that Cyrus read Isaiah's prophecy and acted to fulfill it. So, according to Josephus, Cyrus actually read the prophecy and then decided to fulfill it. Josephus reaffirms Isaiah named Cyrus by divine revelation over a century before Cyrus lived. This means Josephus read Isaiah forty through forty five as being about Cyrus, and that this was known and circulated during the Second Temple period. That's the that's Josephus's argument. He read it and said, oh, okay, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this right now.

8:07 Some would argue that it was written at a later time, and we can get into all of that textual criticism, but Josephus put it that way, and I think the point that we need to drive from that or something we need to remind ourselves. So, just to be clear, Josephus also interprets Isaiah fifty three not being about Jesus. Okay, so we just need to understand that, and when we'll get there and struggle with all of that, when we get there, okay, because are we bound? Just make sure we understand anything in Isaiah forty through fifty five. We are not bound by what the church churches do. We are not bound by it. So I don't care if we go against the church throughout the entire forty through fifty five, because what should we'd be bound by.

8:51 What the text says. It doesn't matter if Christians disagree, because Christians don't care about the text. I don't people can get offended me saying that listen to too many sermons. They don't care about the text, because if they cared about the text, we wouldn't be the only ones coming up with these different interpretations. All right, So what's our proof of support? So far? Our evidence historical context, textual support Cyrus cylinder Josephus. We could throw out some other things here, For example, structural continuity. Isaiah forty through forty eight contains a carefully structured sequence Isaiah forty one, God's control over history and an introduction of the coming deliverer forty two, introduction of the servant forty three through forty five, development of the servant's identity, climaxes, and explicitly.

9:46 Naming Cyrus and describing his role. There is no break and flow, which suggests that Isaiah forty two introduces some new character, but rather continues the arc from forty one. So the structural continuity from chapter forty to forty eight, it is a carefully structured sequence. Forty through forty eight is a carefully structured sequence. It's a narrative arc. You can't figure that out that. I don't know what's the point of even going to church. I don't even know what's the point of owning Bibles. But Christians are incapable. And I say that even AI and will say if I asked AI this question, AI will say Christians are incapable.

10:31 Because I've given AI now over. One hundred sermon transcripts and every single one. AI's like, they can't figure this out. They can't figure this out. They can't figure this out. They can't figure this out. They can't figure that's one hundred transcripts I've uploaded to AI. And AI's like, I don't what's the problem. Okay, it's a carefully structured sequence, right, So that's not this is not me speculating, that's not me using hyperbole. I keep uploading every transcript I can find on a sermon from Isaiah forty through fifty five. I uploaded, AI just uploaded, upload it upload, and it's just AI's almost reached the point of like, just stop. This is ridiculous because I don't understand why it's so complicated, but.

11:24 You know, we could. I don't know if we can figure out why. But it's so simple, all right, So what's another piece of evidence? Structural continuity? Right, So what's all of our pieces of evidence so far? Number one? Historical context number two, textual number three, Cyrus cylinder number four, Josephus number five, structural continuity all right, number six. The servant's role matches Cyrus perfectly. It does not match Israel. Does not match Jesus in the immediate in the immediate sense or in the immediate context. Cirrus brings justice, liberates captives, restores cities, doesn't cry out enters Babylon peacefully. Israel is blind and deaf. Hard to reconcile with Verses one through four If it's the same servant.

12:14 Jesus fits some aspects. From a typological or topological perspective, but it does not fulfill Isaiah forty two one through four. Historically in his first coming, only Cyrus fits the full description. In the immediate context. And that I want to just stress that Jesus doesn't even fulfill Isaiah forty two one through four and is first coming. It doesn't even fulfill it in the first coming. So that means we're in twenty twenty five and guess what still hasn't been fulfilled? So who does it? Comfort? Right?

12:55 Okay, so who does that? But get and you know why? You so how to get around that? They don't care to get around it because all they got to do is find some flower language language, be poetic, just say something spiritual about Jesus does this for you in your everyday problems, in your everyday struggles. Well, we know he doesn't even do that, because he does he make your everyday problems and struggles go away. No, so it just is meaningless words. Christians go to church to hear meaningless words because if they really care, they'd be like, none of this makes literally any sense. It doesn't make any sense. So the whole role matches whom Cyrus? Why does it match Cyrus? Because he literally does the very things that are described.

13:46 In a literal way. All right, Okay, so. There's another piece of evidence, another something else. We could just say that our view, I think, resolves some re ignored problems most preachers teach. Most preachers or teachers ignore or split Isaiah forty two into verses one through four equals Jesus eighteen through twenty, somehow. Equals Israel or some other servant. This creates stologically in ethiological inconsistency. How can the same servant be both perfect yet or blind? It just creates all kinds of problems. Our view unites the text. Cyrus is a servant and is later shown to be blind because he doesn't know Yahweh. And all you have to do to put that together forty two one through four, the servant is described forty two verse nineteen he's blind, and then forty five four through five shows that he doesn't know Yahweh. You put those three together. It follows the ark Wi perfectly. Okay, So I asked Ai to kind of summarize everything.

14:58 This is what AI says. Your interpretation is historically, textually and philologically coherent. You've built an interpretation that honors the historical context and original audience, aligns with Isaiah's structure. And themes is confirmed by archaeological evidence matches a known Jewish interpretation. Josephus resolves textual tensions rather than creating new ones, and allows for Christ to be seen as the ultimate but not immediate fulfillment. That's what AI had to say about our interpretation. And AI did not come up with that interpretation. Sarah is the one who mentioned it. And then I just took it and just ran with it and kept working and working and working and working on it to try to clean.

15:42 It up as much as possible. And so and guess what, AI has no problem telling me when our interpretation is wrong. AI has no problem. So the fact that AI is like. All these other ones don't work and this one works, to me tells us we're onto something at least I think important. All right, now does that? What does that ultimately mean? It just means that if we were in any other church, we'd be we would be immediately, we'd be immediately considered a heretic and basically they would reject it outright. We wouldn't have gotten this far now. I would have been fired, okay, Sarah would have just been ignored, and we would and everybody would have just moved on, but it is a it's important that we did this because the thing I want you to see is the difference of going to church where you're simply taught what someone pulled from a commentary, right what agrees with their theilological tribe, versus where we come to do actual hermonutics. And I said, and way back when I said that the church needs to move from just teaching theology to doing theology, and we got to move from just teaching hermonutics to doing hermonutics. Everyone says that that's a wonderful thing, but nobody in churches want that. They don't want to go to church where you do theology.

17:01 They don't want to go to church where you do hermeneutics. They want to go to church where you're just given three points and a nice sermon. That's what they want, and they don't care about the actual text. Because we shouldn't be the ones stumbling upon these problems. Right we're in the middle of nowhere, Texas, Like we're the most irrelevant, insignificant people in the history of theology. You're telling me these big churches with staff and all kinds of money, they can't dedicate people to working and actually, but that just shows you no one cares. And you know why they have the big church with all the money because they don't do this stuff. Because if they did this stuff, they would split the church in half within one Sunday.

17:44 People get mad and people will leave. Nobody actually wants to study the text. And it's like, I. Don't know what to do to fix that. All I can do is just continue to grap about it. But there we have it. So are we good on at least knowing what the chapter's about? So now what do we need to do? We just got to go through each section exegetically. We did that with forty two one through four. Let's just read it. Forty two one through four. Behold my servant, who is that. Cyrus? Whom I uphold? Did God uphold Cyrus? Yeah? He chose him, uphold him? That language is used later on right mine elect God chose him right, and whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. And we talked about how all that could possibly play out in different ways. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street, which indicates how he peacefully walked in Okay historical fact, a bruised read shall he not break?

18:47 And the smoking flax, shall he not quit? He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He showed mercy, he showed restraint, he showed compassion. Right, he shall not fail nor be discouraged until we have set judgment in the earth and. The aisles'll wait for his law. And we talked about all the different ways Cyrus pulls that off. We got that. Everybody good. Now our whole goal over the next I don't know if we can finish this in thirty five minutes, but we're going to try. Is to go from verse five to nine. Should be pretty simple. But let's read it, all right, everybody ready, we good? Thus saith God, the Lord, He that created the heavens and stretched them out, He that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out of it, He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and the spirit to them that walk therein. I the Lord have called THEE in righteousness and will hold thine hand.

19:45 And we'll keep THEE and give THEE for a covenant of the people, for a light of the gentiles, to open the blind eyes to bring out the prisoners from prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I'm the Lord, that is my name, my glory. Will I not give to another neither of my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things come to pass. New things do I declare before they spring forth? I tell you of them. Isaiah forty to nine becomes a popular verse again New Year's sermons, New Year's Eve sermons about a new thing, how God declares these new things. Charismatics use it. That's why they get new revelation about what's coming. Of course, just shows you throughout Christian Christianity, none of that that first has nothing to do with literally any of those things that Christians talk about.

20:36 Literally nothing. So we're going to go through it. At this point, I just want to make it clear. We can kind of go through this really fast, right So I'm gonna if we need to slow down, we will. But I mean we've almost taken forty tow apart every way possible, right, So, but we still need to go through it because we said we're going to go through it exegetically. So if we were to look at five through nine, what would be or how would you summarize five through nine? Just how would you summarize it? What do you think is happening five through nine? Okay, yeah, there's a shift here in five through nine. Something happens. Okay, good, So as long as you see the shift and we're okay, all right, so you're ready, let's take it apart. Let's start with structural and literary observations. Let's start with structural and literary observations. These are things we kind of pretty much already covered in our observational outline, so you're gonna probably catch these really quick, all right.

21:41 So if we start with verse five, what does verse five serve as or functions as? I think it functions as a divine self introduction and grounding of authority, right because I'm forty two. It introduces who my servant Cyrus here? Thus saith God, the lord he that creates. He begins to speak of himself. It's like a divine introduction. He's like, now behold me or see me? Does that kind of make sense? Right? And God begins to speak of himself here. So this is a if it's a divine self introduction, and the most important thing, it's grounding authority. I think it's really key here. It's grounding authority. Right, what happens in six to seven? Okay, right, but I have the Lord have called thee.

22:51 But this is the direct commissioning of the servant. This is the Now everyone understands why we think this is the referring to the servant in verse six? What would be what would be the. Reason we would say that he's referring to the servant here in verse six, just so that anyone who would. Question this it is. And because if you're just reading the context, who's been identified in the beginning the servant? Right, So all of a sudden God speaks of himself. But then he says, the Lord the I, the Lord God is speaking for himself.

23:34 Have called THEE. Who does the THEE go back to? Well that THEE can't go back to God because God is doing the speaking. So then the only place you can go back to is whom the servant. You couldn't. You wouldn't go here to be referring to Israel. It wouldn't be making any sister refer to Jesus unless you're gonna say the servant in forty two one is Jesus and we already covered all of that. Does that make sense? Any problems with that? Just making sure we're on the same page, because it's amazing how quickly the can turn into a fifty five hour argument in church, because no. They represents this and you're like literally the reading. But if I'm misinterpreting the reading, someone can speak up now, Okay, No, So I'm going to assume you'll all agree, Okay, Right, So this is a direct commissioning of the servant and it explains the scope of his mission.

24:26 Do you agree with that? You see that? Right? So verse five is the divine self introduction. Six through seven is kind of the direct commissioning, or you could say you could call it the divine introduction and the divine commissioning. If you really want to do a play on words, we could do that, right, what happens in eight through nine? So five is the divine introductions. Six through seven is the divine commissioning. What happens in eight through nine? Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna refer to this kind of It provides a philological anchor because it declares God's being exclusive and his ability to control history. It's really making it now the philological foundation here is about God.

25:23 Now it is going on to kind of do what Stephen said, but it's kind of it's got a philological anchor here. It's laying down that philological anchor that this is about God. So if you think about it, the unit kind of transitions from the presentation of the servant in verses one through four to the divine commissioning and the validation of his role. That's kind of. How we can see you can see the progression of thought. And if you read it, this is why devotional reading and a lot of and a lot of preaching. Now you've got to. Go through it and order and follow it. Does that make sense? So there's the structural literary observations. Is there anything we miss there? Everybody's think that makes it structurally?

26:10 All right, Now, let's go through a verse by verse Exegesus and we just kind of walked through them. But now we'll do it in a little deeper way. Right, let's go verse five. What did we refer to this as kind of the divine introduction here? This is God's self description as what sovereign creator and life giver. Do you think that's an accurate description of verse five. Let's read it thus says the if I can read correctly, thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, stretched them out, He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it, He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. I think this is he's describing as creator and life giver.

27:00 Right, apologize, I hate one. I have to sneeze cover the microphone as best impossible. All right, here we go. So we have kind of these kind of a repeated description emphasizing creation and sovereignty. I think we have some phrases here, He that created the heavens, right, he stretched them out, he gives breath. See that all kind. Of repeating the same kind of concept. Right, So I think now this is the way I think we can see this ultimately. What he's going to do. He's going to. Ground the servant's mission in the authority of the Creator. Right, the the servant's about to be commissioned, but it's grounded in the authority of the Creator.

27:51 And why is this important? Because the authority and the mission of the of the servant is grounded in the authority of the Creator, not a tribal deity, not a deity of Babylon. Right, it's grounded in the creator of all the earth. So it's really gonna the authority of the servant is going to be grounded in this. And I think it's important, all right. The idea of breath and spirit is obviously life giving power, okay, and uh, and it may be it may tie into what go back to verse one, Look a verse one, this breath and spirit concept. Does that tie into anything in verse one? By spirit upon him? Depending on the text or the translation. All right, So it's the same idea, right that he is he gives us breath the spirit, right, and so I think there's a kind of a connection there. Yeah, it was just he's yeah, he's a creator and he's in charge of every everything. Right, So as we think we believe Cyrus is the immediate one being referred to, the message is clear. The God who raises kings is not local or regional.

29:11 He is the Creator. He is the sustainer of all nations, and he's giving Cyrus his authority. So it's really identifying God here is the one God, the Lord, the Creator. I mean, just look at all those descriptions. I mean, it makes it abundantly clear. God is authority here is being clearly demonstrated. But this authority is going to be given to the earth by His authority. The servant now has authority. And look in verse six, so they're kind of verse five and you don't. It doesn't need a lot of work. Really. On verse five we get the basic idea, and then verse six, this is the servants calling. All right, I have called you in righteousness, Thus says the Lord, or I I the Lord have called THEE in righteousness? That this is God's servant, is not self appointed, he is called by divine initiative. Some would understand this I have called THEE in righteousness to mean what? What are some different ways of understanding that phrase I've called THEE in righteousness?

30:28 No, not for a pagan. Some would understand this to be I've called THEE for a righteous purpose. Right, because God's doing the calling, then the calling itself is righteous. So you can look at it maybe possibly two different ways that I've called you in righteousness. I've called you for a righteous purpose, or because God's doing the choosing of Cyrus. What can we what could what? What could be arguing right if if well, someone may question why Cyrus, because you're like, what a what a piece of trash? Right?

31:10 Why him? No, it's I've called thee in righteousness. It's a righteous calling because God's doing the calling, all right, So you could go two different ways there. I think if that makes sense, I think that works all right. And then it goes on to say I will hold thine hand and will keep thee. This is an imagery of divine guidance and preservation. Again, we believe it applies to Cyrus. The language seems to mirror God's active direction of Cyrus. Look at Isaiah forty five one through six. Isaiah forty five. By this point, y'all gonna know all these by heart because we keep referencing the same ones. Look what he says forty five Verse one. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, Who's.

31:57 Right hand. I have holden to subdue nations before him. I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two leaves gates. And the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee, make thee crooked places straight. I will break in pieces. I mean, you can see he's guiding him, leading him, or as it says in forty two, the passage we were just looking at. I will hold thine hand and will keep THEE. Right, it's the same kind of concept, right, I will go before you. It's guidance, its preservation, it's all of that. Now. The next phrase is where it gets Some people would say it gets difficult. So we got all of that works perfectly, right, I've called THEE in righteousness. I've given you an explanation for that too. I will pull thine hand and I will keep THEE. That's perfect to Cyrus and Isaiah forty five. That next phrase, I will give THEE for a covenant of the people. Oh, this becomes a little problematic. How do you think we should understand this?

33:05 Just note that this is a debated phrase throughout church history. I don't think it's that complicated personally, I don't think it's I don't think making it Cyrus complicates it. I think it's pretty simple. How would you understand that? If someone's asking you, what does that mean? I'm going to give THEE for a covenant? What does that mean? Well, what does it mean that he's going to give thee that's the servant for a covenant of the people. That that specific language being used there. Okay, as a promise. Okay, well what does the word covenant mean? Alliance, pledge? Okay, there we go, agreement. Okay, this is the way I this is. This is the only way it makes sense to me. Y'all can disagree or agree right that that the servant, Cyrus as the servant functions as the instrument through whom God's covenant faithfulness to Israel is enacted. Cyrus is given as a covenant because it's through Cyrus that the covenant promise is enacted. It's enacted by what God has promised that he will bring back Israel, restore them.

34:33 So Cyrus now is given as a covenant, as a pledge, or as the way to enact the covenant itself. That's the only way that that that to me makes sense. So Cyrus now is the means or he's the one, He's the he function as the instrument. Let's put it that way, through whom God's covenant faithfulness to Israel has enacted, the return from exile, the rebuilding of the semple. And you look at Isaiah forty four twenty eight forty four twenty eight that saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and she'll perform all my pleasures.

35:13 And then look right there, it describes. Even saying to Jerusalem, now shall be built and the temple thy foundation shall be laid. Cyrus is the thing that's going to enact this promise. And then we could even see it in more detail in Ezra chapter one, verses one through four. If you need that, that's the decree of Cyrus that fulfills all of that. Well, it's a reference that Cyrus is the means in which the Covenant will be fulfilled. Right, He's the how it functions. He's going to be the functional way it occurs. Because everyone gets. Caught up in that. Wait a minute, he's going to be a covenant. So that's where people want to immediately try to run to Jesus somehow. But I think it makes perfect sense in this context. How is the the the Covenant is going to be practically fulfilled through Cyrus. So Cyrus then is given as the pledge the covenant to fulfill it.

36:12 Right, So people may struggle. With that, but in nothing else that would make any sense, right, I mean, like, hey, hey, you guys in Babylonian captivity. Jesus is coming and I'm gonna set up a covenant through him. That doesn't do them any good. They're all going to. Be dead, Okay, Right, that doesn't there's there's that doesn't help them in any way, shape or form. Right? Does that make sense? Right? I think? So? All right? Then what go back to forty two? After the covenant? What's next? A life for the gentiles? All right? So I think here some may say that the servants work, or the work of Cyrus has international consequences, goes beyond just the people in Babylonian captivity. Cyrus did offer other nations basically freedom, all right. The Cyrus cylinder would seem to confirm this, but the phrase could also be foreshadowing Christ rolls the light to the Gentiles.

37:16 We see that in John chapter eight. But I think the functioning point here, the point here, it's Cyrus, and he does offer same kind of freedom, same kind of thing to other nations, which are gentile nations. So hey, does that make sense? Yeah? I hope? So? All right? How about now verse seven? So we've worked through five, we've worked through six. I'm going as fast as I can to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. What's our first interpretive child or one of the big interpret of challenges in verse seven? Yeah, what's the what's the challenge here? Is this literal spiritual, metaphorical, allegorical, symbolic?

38:25 Right? How do we understand this? Right? Okay? So some would argue that this could be both read both literally. But I have a. Hard time, like, when you say literal, what do you mean by literal the bringing out of prison? Everyone would say that's literal, But then what about the opening of blind eyes? Well, then has that literal? This becomes a little complicated, right, But we do know this could be when we speak of Cyrus, he liberated exiles and he from captivity. Great, so we know he did that. Do then do we say the literal part is a reference to Cyrus delivering the people, and the spiritual part points to ultimately Christ's fulfillment in opening, liberating, and opening the spiritual eyes of those who were blind. Spiritually, I don't know. Possibly, I think it's more poetic. I think it's more poetic. I think the point is is these people have been locked away. How long have they been in captivity?

39:34 Seventy years? What is a possibility that many of them begin to think God has abandoned us, so they would be possibly blind? What could they be also blind from? They could be blind that God is even doing anything, because God. Is going to use ordinary means. Right, So I think it's somewhat poetic. I don't to me, I don't get so caught up in it, because what's the idea? Obviously, whatever happens in verse seven has to be fulfilled by whom cyrus? So, okay, And. And if you look, and if you look at the language, you can kind of tell that the language, the language of verse seven gives you some kind of a clue.

40:17 Read all of verse seven and see if you figure it out. They sit in the darkness of the prison house. So opening the blind eyes is what coming out of the dark house? Right? Right? So I think it's it's I think the text tells you what it's doing, right, to open blind eyes and to bring out of the prison. Well, what is that ultimately equal to? You're bringing those who sit in darkness out of the prison house. They're sitting in darkness, right, It's the text gives it away. I don't think we have to make it more complicated than it is. The text is telling you exactly what it's referring to. Does that make sense, right, Cyrus literally really these prisoners from Babylon making this function true in the historical setting?

41:07 All right? I don't think we need to try to We can try to point this to Jesus in some way, shape or form. Jesus does it in a different way, and the New Testament may use it, but it's a historical setting. The verse tells you exactly what's meant. The people in prison are sitting in dark houses. They're gonna be, They're gonna be, They're gonna be able to see, they're gonna be set free. That's that's how I understand it. In verse seven, I don't. I don't think it's that complicated, right. Sometimes I agree, I think something is complicated there. I think we may get too complicated, right, How about verse eight?

41:49 Verse eight is really simple. You don't need a lot of help. In verse eight, do you? I am the Lord, that is my name and my glory. Will I not give to another neither my praise to graven images. This is simply God asserting what I get the glory here, I get the glory. So and look, really, you could argue he's trying to ensure he gets the glory as opposed to two separate things getting the glory. What would be the two separate things possibly getting the glory in this situation, the servant.

42:29 That's what the whole text is about, right, the sermons shouldn't get the glory? Who should get the glory? God? And who's the other one who should not get the glory? The idols? What idols? Marduk, the idols of Babylon? And who exactly does Cyrus go and give the glory to my duke? All right? So, but and but what is he mainly concerned with. I don't think he's concerned whether Cyrus does it. He's concerned with the people of Israel giving him the glory versus giving the glory to the idols. Right, because we've talked about it over and over and over. Okay, it doesn't even really need any help there, right.

43:16 Strength. Nehemiah and which way Ezra? And in chapter one? Okay, yeah, I mean I think I don't know if it would strengthen it. I mean, because then I'd have to read the Decree of Cyrus and Ezra chapter one. I think it, Uh, everyone looks at Ezra chapter one just really quick. Does it speak of God's glory and Ezra chapter one or is it just immediately it's just what Cyrus says, the Decree of Cyrus, and does God get glory there?

44:04 It reinforces it, strengthen it, or is it just kind of this is what I'm going to do. Okay, But we know who Cyrus is actually referring to. That's the only problem though. Sometimes the language seems to be like Ezra's speaking of the true God, but historically Cyrus is speaking of Marduke. So that's where it kind of very complicated and how we read that. So I think God asserts it in forty two. Hey, I get the glory nobody else. I don't know if Cyrus ever, I don't think in that section. I don't know if he does so in any meaningful way grade.

45:00 Or is there something? Am I missing something in the decree? Okay, so there seems to be making some reference to Now that wouldn't be Marduk unless he's saying Marduk is the god of Israel. Again, he's a pagan. So how do you read his words? You know what I'm saying, that's very that right, So that sounds like the God of Israel, that's the true god. The only problem is we know Marduk. Yeah he so is he just using the same language? Is he using the same language as that?

45:46 Just now? This is very important, Okay, this is very important. According to some historical research and suggestion is here's what. Cyrus would do. He would take his advice whenever they took over an area, and he would ask together all of their religious writings. Right, this is how they believe he ultimately obtained Isaiah. And the reason they would do that is they would be like, huh, this would give us insight and understanding the people and understanding the language you use to better govern the people without conflict, in other words, being very manipulative. Right, So it would make sense that if he is just going to adopt the language of the Jews, right, he would use their language and offering the decree. But the Cyrus cylinder seems to indicate, because he commissioned the Syrus Cylinder, that that's what he really thought, Like he's using the right language, right, But.

46:52 He doesn't really believe it, and. That wouldn't go with the idea that he's blind and he doesn't know yahwah. He remained pagan the entire time. So does everyone make me under? I know that's going to tick off everyone who reads the Decree of Cyrus a completely different way. But I think it challenges. That reading of that the decree is if that said the words of Cyrus and the decree, then we got to be somewhat suspect on how we read that because it's a pagan utilizing the right language. Yeah, the Cyrus cylinder doesn't. Yeah, he doesn't say the Cyrus cylinder the god of it.

47:34 No, he does not. So I think that that may challenge it a little bit. But here what is happening in forty two? God is stepping in going, Okay, I look, I don't care what anybody else does. I'm the Lord, my name, my glory. I'm not going to give to another. So what is the God of Israel doing. I'm not giving my glory to Cyrus. I'm not giving my glory to Marduk, I'm not giving my glory to the Babylonian idol idols. All right, So that's pretty simple. How about verse nine.

48:16 Right, Oh true? Oh good point. Oh is that Ezra one to seven? Okay? Then that clearly then our rendering, our reading of it, then is I think accurate. I should have just went and read the whole thing. But yeah, everybody look at Ezra one to seven. Okay. So the text enters back in and shows what Cyrus was really doing. He took everything and put it in for his god. And who's his god?

49:05 Mar Duke? All right, So there we go. That that really challenges in the reading to be much more historically accurate. So Ezra helps us out. Then, okay, Ezra helps us out. All you got to do is read the whole thing. Good, everybody see that. Everybody feel comfortable with that. So then what's going on in forty two eight is insignificant because now God is stepping in, going okay, whatever Cyrus does, I'm not giving him my glory. So you don't now what happens in verse nine?

49:53 Yeah, I don't think this is complicated. What are the four and behold the former things are come to pass? What are possibly the former things? I think it could be a number of things. A serious fall could possibly be that Israel's Israel's exile could be a number of things. Right, new things, I now declare, what are the new things? The rise of Cyrus, the deliverance of Israel, and the restoration of Jerusalem. Let me make it very clear. That is not about you. It's not about twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven, it's not about New Year's resolutions. It's not about us. Okay.

50:35 If I hear another pastor do that nonsense, I'm gonna scream, Okay, it's nothing to do with us. Everybody got that, all right? Dennis says, what does he say after that? Before they spring forth? I do declare, before they spring forth? What's the idea here? I'm gonna tell you what I happened before it happens. I'm gonna tell you before it happens, and from everything that we know. In fact, let me go back here. I think I have it. I saved some of this documentation elsewhere because I had the questions here.

51:17 Okay. Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon five thirty nine BC. That's the basic time. Isaiah the Prophet lived in the eighth century BC, roughly seven thirty nine to six eighty one, all right, seven thirty nine to six eighty one. That's approximately one hundred and fifty to two hundred. Years before Cyrus's rise. That's before they happen, correct. Now. Scholars have some debates here. The prophecies about Cyrus Isaiah forty four to twenty eight forty five to one, that's part of what is. Commonly called Second Isaiah. Many scholars argue that these chapters were written by an anonymous prophet during the Babylonian exile, closer to cyrus lifetime.

52:01 That's how some would argue. But even if it's closer, that still would possibly be before. Even if we go with that, however, traditional Jewish and Christian interpretations hold that the entire book was authored by Isaiah, son of Amos, and that God revealed Cyrus prophetically. Long before his birth. Now what does Josephus do. Josephus affirms the traditional views, stating that this is what Isaiah or Josephus states, and in the Book of Antiquities that Isaiah wrote these prophecies over one hundred and forty years before. The events took place. So that's how Josephus handles it as well, all right, So yeah, yeah, yeah, that's why he rejects the Jesus reading of Isaiah fifty three.

52:53 Right, So there we go. There's verses four through nine. Any questions about them. Five through nine? I should say, all right, let's just go with some basic piological lessons here. We'll summarize this all right. Number one, God's use of the unexpected, or we could say God's use of the ordinary, Because how does God accomplish all of this the most ordinary means possible? He rises up another king to come in. Right does he. Do departing of the Red Sea plagues? Nothing like that? Right, it's the most ordinary means possible. Sorrus is a pagan king chosen and empowered to fulfill God's covenant promises.

53:41 This shows that God's righteousness is not confined to religious categories, but revealed through his acts and history. It anticipates how Christ in his first coming defied expectations by not appearing as a military conqueror but as a suffering servant. So in both cases. You could say God does things in a way that's unexpected. Nobody would expect it a pagan king to be the way God's covenant was going to be fulfilled, and no one expected. And Messiah to show up who was going to die? Does that make sense? God, God's use of the ordinary and the unexpected, the ordinary and the unexpected? All right, I think we can see possible layers of fulfillment.

54:22 Cyrus is clearly the immediate historical servant, delivering captives, restoring Jerusalem. Christ is the ultimate servant, opening spiritual eyes, freeing captives of sin, establishing an everlasting covenant of peace. And then a third is God's glory is not transferable, whether God uses kings, prophets, or Messiah's, his glory remains his alone. No servant, Cyrus, Moses, David shares in the worship do to God. And this keeps Christ's identity as divine Messiah uniquely unique. All right?

55:04 Any questions? All right, we've gone verses one through nine. What have we established over and over and over? Cyrus is the servant, and now we've seen the commissioning of that servant, and he's commissioned by God to do what God wants him to do. But whose glory remains God's glory? Or who remains the one getting the glory God? All right, there we have it. We'll stop there now. Next we'll just try to go ten through twelve should be done in about fifteen minutes. All right, well, maybe maybe a little longer. Let's right, Lord God, we come before you this morning. Lord, we are once again grateful and thankful that we are able to do this type of thing. I know it would not be accepted anywhere else, and I know it would be considered controversial, maybe even deemed heretical by many. But Lord, I'm thankful that we are able to do this, and that we take advantage of these opportunities whenever we have them, to continue to work through these techs to try to find the truth.

56:02 Not a truth that agrees with us, but a truth that agrees with your word. And we ask this in Jesus name it, God's people said,