Isaiah 45:1-4

“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes,to open doors before him—and the gates shall not be closed:” vs. 1 

In one of the most fascinating passages in the book of Isaiah the Persian king, Cyrus, is  named as the Lord’s messiah, his anointed one. Obviously Cyrus is not Jewish, but he was the ruler who conquered Babylon and who graciously allowed the exiled Jews to return to their land. Because of his great act of mercy the prophet believes that he was God’s instrument in setting the captives free.

This is a huge shift in understanding on the part of the Jews. They now realized and celebrated that God could use any nation to accomplish the divine plan. Even though Cyrus was not a believer in any sense of the word, the Lord had chosen him as the deliverer of Israel. With his specific permission, Ezra and Nehemiah were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls and the temple.

This wasn’t the first time God had used foreigners for the good of the people of Israel, and it’s certainly not been the last.  All people can be used by God for good. Some of us have had that experience with non-Christians in our communities. Maybe we’ve even been surprised by non-believers in our neighborhood who turn out to be kinder than folks in our congregations. It’s important to remember that some atheists are actually God’s choice servants.

Thought for the Day: Why would God use atheists as servants?