Isaiah 45:5

 Isaiah 45:5 says, I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:  God proclaimed Himself to be the only true God.  He didn’t do this just to exalt Himself, but He did it so that Cyrus and all those who heard Him would know the truth.  There are no other gods.  Matthew Henry says this is so that when he became rich and powerful, Cyrus, who had grown up worshipping idols, would remember that he was just a man and that there is but one God.  When we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Christ, we don’t do it to exalt ourselves, but we do so that the rest of the world might know God and exalt Him. 

Verse six adds, That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.  God said there was no other real God from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, or in other words, anywhere in the world.  This will never change. 

Verse seven continues, I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.  God said He made light and darkness.  He then said he made peace and evil.  I do not believe this means that God created evil in and of itself, but that He created evil between those who engage in evil and Himself, just as He created peace between those who put their faith in Him by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Himself.  

Verse eight states, Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.  God called on righteousness to drop down from above and let the earth bring forth salvation because God had created it in goodness.  Righteousness can only come from above, because there is none righteous here in the world of their own merit.  The righteousness that came down from above, Jesus Christ, brings salvation to all who put their faith in Him.  Matthew Henry points to the reformation as the fulfillment of this prophesy, but I believe it refers to the coming of Jesus Christ, even if the world might have improved for a time during the reformation. 

Verse nine adds, Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?  God then pronounced woe on those who would strive with Him.  He once more equated it to the clay telling the potter what it would be made into.  It is not ours to question what God has called us to do, but it is our responsibility to do what He calls us to do knowing that He alone knows what is best.  If we start to attempt to tell God what is best for us, then we may find our lives filled with woe. 

Verse ten continues, Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?  Then, God pronounces woe on children who attempt to blame their parents of their faults, or that is my understanding, and even from a greater perspective, for people to try to blame God for their failures.  We are never going to be in a position to blame God for anything.  He always has and always will know what is best for us, but that begins by acknowledging that He knows what is best for us even when we don’t.