Isaiah 45:1 Study Bible: Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:

◄ Isaiah 45:1 ►

This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:

Study Bible

This is what the LORD says
The phrase underscores the divine authority and sovereignty of God. In Hebrew, "LORD" is "YHWH," the sacred name of God, emphasizing His eternal and unchanging nature. This introduction signals that the message is not of human origin but a divine proclamation, reinforcing the belief in the Bible as the inspired Word of God.

to Cyrus
Cyrus, the Persian king, is uniquely named in the Bible long before his birth, demonstrating God's omniscience and control over history. Historically, Cyrus the Great was known for his military prowess and benevolent rule, which aligns with the biblical narrative of him being used by God to fulfill His purposes, particularly in the liberation of the Israelites from Babylonian captivity.

His anointed one
The term "anointed" in Hebrew is "mashiach," often translated as "messiah." While typically reserved for Israelite kings and priests, its application to a Gentile king like Cyrus highlights God's ability to use anyone, regardless of their background, to accomplish His divine will. This foreshadows the ultimate Anointed One, Jesus Christ, who brings salvation to all nations.

whose right hand I have grasped
The imagery of God grasping Cyrus's right hand signifies divine empowerment and guidance. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the right hand symbolized strength and authority. By holding Cyrus's hand, God assures His support and direction, ensuring the success of Cyrus's endeavors as part of His divine plan.

to subdue nations before him
This phrase reflects the historical reality of Cyrus's conquests, where he established the vast Persian Empire. Biblically, it illustrates God's power to orchestrate geopolitical events to fulfill His promises, such as the return of the Jewish exiles to their homeland, demonstrating His faithfulness and sovereignty over all nations.

to disarm kings
The disarming of kings signifies the removal of obstacles and opposition. Historically, Cyrus's campaigns were marked by relatively swift victories, often attributed to his strategic acumen and the favor of God. This serves as a reminder of God's ability to dismantle earthly powers and establish His divine order.

to open the doors before him
This phrase symbolizes the removal of barriers and the granting of access. In the context of Cyrus's conquests, it suggests the ease with which he captured fortified cities. Spiritually, it represents God's providence in opening doors of opportunity and blessing for those who align with His purposes.

so that their gates will not be shut
The assurance that gates will remain open signifies unimpeded progress and success. In ancient times, city gates were crucial for defense, and their opening indicated vulnerability. Here, it reflects God's promise of victory and the unstoppable nature of His plans, encouraging believers to trust in His ability to overcome any obstacle.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Cyrus
The Persian king whom God anointed to fulfill His purposes. Despite being a pagan king, Cyrus is called God's "anointed," indicating a special role in God's plan for Israel.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who sovereignly orchestrates history and uses even foreign rulers to accomplish His divine purposes.

3. Nations
Refers to the various kingdoms and peoples that Cyrus would conquer as part of God's plan to restore Israel.

4. Kings
The rulers of these nations who would be disarmed and subdued by Cyrus, demonstrating God's power over earthly authorities.

5. Gates
Symbolic of barriers and obstacles that would be removed by God's intervention, allowing Cyrus to achieve his conquests without hindrance.

Teaching Points

God's Sovereignty Over Nations
God is in control of all nations and rulers, using them to accomplish His divine purposes, even when they are unaware of His plans.

God's Use of Unlikely Instruments
God can use anyone, even those outside the faith, to fulfill His will. This challenges us to see God's hand in unexpected places and people.

Faithfulness to His Promises
God's promises are sure, and He will fulfill them in His timing and through His chosen means, encouraging us to trust in His faithfulness.

Removing Barriers
Just as God opened doors for Cyrus, He can remove obstacles in our lives that hinder His purposes, calling us to walk in faith and obedience.

Anointing for a Purpose
Like Cyrus, each believer is anointed for a specific purpose in God's kingdom, urging us to seek and fulfill our God-given roles.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the example of Cyrus challenge our understanding of who God can use to accomplish His purposes?

2. In what ways can we see God's sovereignty at work in the world today, similar to how He used Cyrus in Isaiah 45:1?

3. How can the fulfillment of God's promises in the past, as seen in the return of the Jews from exile, encourage us in our current circumstances?

4. What barriers or "gates" in your life might God be calling you to trust Him to open or remove?

5. How can we discern and embrace the specific purposes for which God has anointed us in our personal and communal lives?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Ezra 1:1-4
This passage describes the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy as Cyrus issues a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, demonstrating God's faithfulness to His promises.

Daniel 5:30-31
The fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians, led by Cyrus, is a historical event that aligns with the prophecy in Isaiah 45:1, showcasing God's control over world events.

Isaiah 41:2-4
These verses also speak of a ruler from the east (Cyrus) whom God has called to execute His justice, reinforcing the theme of God's sovereignty.

Sermons

Hidden and Revealed	Alexander Maclaren	Isaiah 45:1
The Unfelt Hand on the Human Heart	W. Clarkson	Isaiah 45:1-5
Cyrus	Prof. A. H. Sayce, LL. D.	Isaiah 45:1-6
Cyrus, God's Tool	Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.	Isaiah 45:1-6
Cyrus: His Character	Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.	Isaiah 45:1-6
Loosing the Loins of Kings	R. Macculloch.	Isaiah 45:1-6
Special Divine Instrumentalities in the World's Renovation	S. W. Fisher, D. D.	Isaiah 45:1-6
The Victories of Cyrus	J. R. Macduff, D. D.	Isaiah 45:1-6
Cyrus the Anointed of Jehovah	E. Johnson	Isaiah 45:1-8

People

Cyrus, Isaiah, Jacob

Places

Cush, Egypt, Jerusalem

Topics

Anointed, Armor, Cyrus, Doors, Gates, Held, Hold, Kings, Nations, Open, Says, Shut, Strip, Subdue, Thus

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Isaiah 45:1

     1115   God, purpose of
     1265   hand of God
     1320   God, as Saviour
     5219   authority, human institutions
     5257   civil authorities
     5367   kingdoms
     5483   punishment
     5509   rulers
     6641   election, responsibilities
     7160   servants of the Lord
     7304   anointing
     7967   spiritual gifts, responsibility

Isaiah 45:1-2

5323 gate
7735 leaders, political

Isaiah 45:1-7

5857 fame

Library

Hidden and Revealed
'Verily thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.... I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.'--ISAIAH xlv, 15,19. The former of these verses expresses the thoughts of the prophet in contemplating the close of a great work of God's power which issues in the heathen's coming to Israel and acknowledging God. He adores the depth of the divine …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Sovereignty and Salvation
"Ere since by faith I saw the stream His flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die." I shall never forget that day, while memory holds its place; nor can I help repeating this text whenever I remember that hour when first I knew the Lord. How strangely gracious! How wonderfully and marvelously kind, that he who heard these words so little time ago for his own soul's profit, should now address you this morning as his hearers from the same text, in the full and …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Solar Eclipse
I shall note this morning, in addressing you, that since the Lord creates darkness as well as light; first of all, eclipses of every kind are part of God's way of governing the world; in the second place, we shall notice that since God creates the darkness as well as the light, we may conclude beyond a doubt that he has a design in the eclipse--in the darkness as well as the light; and then, thirdly, we shall notice that as all things that God has created, whether they be light or whether they be …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Ecce Homo
"Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."--Is. xlv. 22. Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Wilt thou, sinner, be converted? Christ the Lord of glory see By His own denied, deserted, Bleeding, bound, and scourged for thee. Look again, O soul, behold Him On the cross uplifted high; See the precious life-blood flowing, See the tears that dim His eye. Love has pierced the heart that brake, Loveless sinner, for thy sake. Hearken till thy heart is broken To His …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

The Eve of the Restoration
'Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 2. Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3. Who is there among you of all His people? his God …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jehovah-Shammah: a Glorious Name for the New Year
THESE words may be used as a test as well as a text. They may serve for examination as well as consolation, and at the beginning of a year they may fulfill this useful double purpose. In any case they are full of marrow and fatness to those whose spiritual taste is purified. It is esteemed by the prophet to be the highest blessing that could come upon a city that its name should be, "JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH, The Lord is there." Even Jerusalem, in its best estate, would have this for its crowning blessing: …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Eternity and Unchangeableness of God.
Exod. iii. 14.--"I AM THAT I AM."--Psal. xc. 2.--"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God."--Job xi. 7-9.--"Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." This is the chief point of saving knowledge, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Of Four Things which Bring Great Peace
"My Son, now will I teach thee the way of peace and of true liberty." 2. Do, O my Lord, as Thou sayest, for this is pleasing unto me to hear. 3. "Strive, My Son, to do another's will rather than thine own. Choose always to have less rather than more. Seek always after the lowest place, and to be subject to all. Wish always and pray that the will of God be fulfilled in thee. Behold, such a man as this entereth into the inheritance of peace and quietness." 4. O my Lord, this Thy short discourse …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Spiritual Hunger Shall be Satisfied
They shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 I proceed now to the second part of the text. A promise annexed. They shall be filled'. A Christian fighting with sin is not like one that beats the air' (1 Corinthians 9:26), and his hungering after righteousness is not like one that sucks in only air, Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.' Those that hunger after righteousness shall be filled. God never bids us seek him in vain' (Isaiah 45:19). Here is an honeycomb dropping into the mouths of …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Thy Name: My Name
'I have called thee by thy name.'--ISAIAH xliii. 1. 'Every one that is called by My name.'--ISAIAH xliii. 7. Great stress is laid on names in Scripture. These two parallel and antithetic clauses bring out striking complementary relations between God and the collective Israel. But they are as applicable to each individual member of the true Israel of God. I. What does God's calling a man by his name imply? 1. Intimate knowledge. Adam naming the creatures. Christ naming His disciples. 2. Loving friendship. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Extent of Messiah's Spiritual Kingdom
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever! T he Kingdom of our Lord in the heart, and in the world, is frequently compared to a building or house, of which He Himself is both the Foundation and the Architect (Isaiah 28:16 and 54:11, 12) . A building advances by degrees (I Corinthians 3:9; Ephesians 2:20-22) , and while it is in an unfinished state, a stranger cannot, by viewing its present appearance, form an accurate judgment …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Its Nature
Justification, strictly speaking, consists in God's imputing to His elect the righteousness of Christ, that alone being the meritorious cause or formal ground on which He pronounces them righteous: the righteousness of Christ is that to which God has respect when He pardons and accepts the sinner. By the nature of justification we have reference to the constituent elements of the same, which are enjoyed by the believer. These are, the non-imputation of guilt or the remission of sins, and second, …
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification

The Theology of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
This Chapter offers no more than a tentative and imperfect outline of the theology of St. Hilary; it is an essay, not a monograph. Little attempt will be made to estimate the value of his opinions from the point of view of modern thought; little will be said about his relation to earlier and contemporary thought, a subject on which he is habitually silent, and nothing about the after fate of his speculations. Yet the task, thus narrowed, is not without its difficulties. Much more attention, it is …
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers

Gifts and Talents.
"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him."--Judges iii. 10. We now consider the Holy Spirit's work in bestowing gifts, talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scripture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit. The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Putting God to Work
"For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God beside thee who worketh for him that waiteth for him."--Isaiah 64:4. The assertion voiced in the title given this chapter is but another way of declaring that God has of His own motion placed Himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated Himself to answer the prayers of men. He has ordained prayer as a means whereby He will do things through men as they pray, which He would not otherwise do. Prayer …
Edward M. Bounds—The Weapon of Prayer

Extent of Atonement.
VI. For whose benefit the atonement was intended. 1. God does all things for himself; that is, he consults his own glory and happiness, as the supreme and most influential reason for all his conduct. This is wise and right in him, because his own glory and happiness are infinitely the greatest good in and to the universe. He made the atonement to satisfy himself. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Messiah's Innocence vindicated
He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken. L et not plain Christians be stumbled because there are difficulties in the prophetical parts of the Scriptures, and because translators and expositors sometimes explain them with some difference, as to the sense. Whatever directly relates to our faith, practice, and comfort, may be plainly collected from innumerable …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation, …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Links

Isaiah 45:1 NIV
Isaiah 45:1 NLT
Isaiah 45:1 ESV
Isaiah 45:1 NASB
Isaiah 45:1 KJV

Isaiah 45:1 Commentaries

Bible Hub