"I The Lord Do All These Things"     

Isaiah 45:7

 

     The ancient Persians (Iranians), over whom Cyrus reigned, were dominated by the pagan philosophy known as Zoroastrianism, which taught that there are two original causes of all things, two powerful forces or principles, good and evil, light and darkness, and that these two great forces are constantly at war. When the principle of good prevails,good things happen. When the principle of evil prevails,bad things happen. God says, "Not so!" Two hundred years before either Cyrus or Zoroastres were born,the Lord God declared, "I form the light and create darkness:I make peace,and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." This is God's message to Cyrus. He is calling for a pagan king to bow before, worship, and obey him; and he does so by declaring to that king his glorious,absolute sovereignty. Sovereignty demands surrender. If it is our purpose to persuade sinners to surrender to the Lord God, we must declare his sovereignty, and declare it in his terms. "I FORM THE LIGHT - " All light comes from God who is Light. Apart from him there is no light. He is the One who formed the natural light of creation in the beginning (Gen. 1:3-5) and sustains it to this day (Gen.8:22). It is the Lord God who gives the light of reason and moral consciousness to all men by nature (Rom. 2:15). And it is God alone  who gives spiritual light to his elect (II Cor.4:6). "AND CREATE DARKNESS - " He creates darkness in the earth by causing the sun to set, hiding it behind thick clouds, or performing a solar eclipse. He creates darkness in the body by removing sight from men. He creates moral darkness by withdrawing from reprobate men the very light of nature (Rom. 1). That is the forerunner of everlasting darkness. "I MAKE PEACE - " Peace is God's work. He made peace between God and men by the sacrifice of his Son. He makes peace in the heart of man by reconciling us to himself through faith in Christ. He makes peace between men and men, in homes, in nations, in churches. Peace is the work of the Prince of Peace! "AND CREATE EVIL - " God does not claim here to be the cause of sin! (Read James 1:13). Sin is not God's work, but our perversion of God's work. When he says, "I create evil," the Lord is simply declaring that all afflictions, adversities, and calamities, the providential punishment of sin, are the works of his hands (Job 2:10;Amos 3:6).He alone is God!

 

 

Don Fortner