Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Who has performed and done it?"
Text: Isaiah 41:4
THE RISE OF THE PERSIANS
King Cyrus was identified by name in Isaiah (Isaiah 45:1). At this stage, God had not yet revealed his name to Isaiah. But the LORD was there right from the beginning.
“Who pursued them, and passed safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the LORD, am the first;
And with the last I am He.'”
Isaiah 41:3-4
1. The Babylonians
a) They were the conquerors of the Assyrians.
b) How would the mighty Babylonians be conquered?
c) How could anyone even dream of defeating the Babylonian empire?
2. King Cyrus managed to defeat the Babylonians.
a) He pursued the Babylonians.
b) He marched safely through paths he had never trod before.
3. How was Cyrus able to rise up and commence the Medo-Persian Empire?
a) The LORD was the One who had performed this mighty deed.
b) He is the One who can call “the generations from the beginning”.
4. The LORD’s declaration.
a) He is the LORD.
b) He is the First and the Last.
c) It was the LORD who raised the Babylonians and also the One
who brought an end to the Babylonians.
d) The LORD is supreme in might and power.