Isaiah

Isaiah 45: God alone is righteous and saves

Begin in prayer

Before we hear God call the ends of the earth to look to Him, let us come with humble hearts. Ask Him to turn our family from arguing with our Maker to trusting Jesus for salvation.

Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;

Psalm 135:6

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Help us honor Your wise rule and hear Your call to be saved. Lead us to Jesus for the righteousness we cannot provide. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

God addresses Cyrus as His anointed, promising victory and hidden treasures so that people will know the LORD alone is God. He calls Cyrus for Israel’s sake even though the ruler has not known Him. God declares His rule over light and darkness, peace and calamity, and promises righteousness and salvation to spring up. He warns those who quarrel with their Maker like clay questioning the potter, while promising the release of His exiles without price. Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sabeans will come in chains and acknowledge God, while Israel receives everlasting salvation and idol makers face shame. The Creator declares truth openly and summons people carrying helpless images to consider that He alone is a righteous God and Savior. He calls earth’s ends to look to Him for salvation, promising every knee will bow and His people will have righteousness in Him.

As you read Isaiah 45, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God alone saves, and He calls the whole earth to look to Him.

Cyrus is called anointed because God appoints him for a task, not because the king already knows the LORD. God opens the way for his victories to free the exiles and make His name known. His rule includes calamity, the disasters set beside peace here, rather than making Him a doer of sin. The clay and potter picture rebukes creatures who presume to command their Maker. God calls Cyrus by name long before he was born, so that Cyrus would know it is the LORD who called him (verse 3). Ezra tells how Cyrus later sent the exiles home to rebuild the house of the LORD (Ezra 1 verses 1 to 3). God has spoken truthfully and openly, so seeking Him is never a vain pursuit. His worldwide call to salvation ends in certain homage, while the defiant are ashamed and His people rejoice in His righteousness.

How does Isaiah 45 show us that God alone saves, and He calls the whole earth to look to Him?

God uses rulers to make His name known.

He holds Cyrus’s hand and opens what appears impossible to enter. The ruler is called for Israel’s sake though he has not known God. The LORD’s purpose reaches from the rising sun to the west, where people will know there is no other God.

The Maker has authority over His work.

Clay has no right to accuse the potter of lacking skill. God made the earth, its people and the host of heaven. His choice to raise a ruler who releases exiles rests on His righteous purpose.

The only Savior calls every land to look.

Images must be carried and cannot save those who pray to them. God alone is righteous and able to rescue. Every knee will bow to Him, and the righteousness and strength His people need are found in Him.

Memorise

Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:22

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, will I stop resisting my Maker and look to Jesus for righteousness?

God calls, “Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth.” The righteous Savior also declares that every knee will bow before Him. Paul brings this promised homage to its fulfillment in Jesus Christ (Philippians 2 verses 9 to 11).

Jesus humbled Himself and gave His life for His people. The Father raised Him to reign as the living Lord. His obedience and death fully provide the righteousness guilty people need when they come to God through Him. The One before whom every knee must bow offers forgiveness to all who believe in Him.

Turn from sin and trust the Lord Jesus now. Give up the quarrel with your Maker and the false gods that cannot save. You may come from any nation and bring the guilt you cannot remove. Look to the Savior in faith and receive the mercy He freely gives.

Parent's note

Tell your children that Cyrus’s appointment for God’s purpose does not prove that he knew God savingly. The call to look and be saved reaches every nation and requires faith. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He alone is righteous and saves people who look to Him in faith, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!

John 20:28

Righteous Lord, thank You for calling sinners from every land to seek Your salvation. Please bring us to trust Jesus and receive His forgiveness. Turn us from arguing with Your wisdom and teach us to bow gladly before Him. Let our family point others to the only Savior this week. Amen.