Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: From the Beginning | Part 3: The Flood | Part 4: The Sabbath | Part 5: Deliverance
I commented in the previous post that there’s a lot of Creation theology in the Latter Prophets, what Protestants call the Major and Minor Prophets. Something I didn’t mention last time is that the passage discussed in that post, 2 Kings 18.9ff, has a close parallel in Isaiah 37.14ff; the same event is described in both passages.
I’d like to spend this post looking at Isaiah’s Creation theology; the next post, looking at Jeremiah’s; and the third taking a dip into the Minor Prophets.
Isaiah is one of the earliest writing prophets, laboring in the 700s BC. During his time Assyria is the world power, taking the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity and ending its royal line. But surprisingly, Isaiah writes of a time when Assyria is effectively no more; rather he looks ahead more than a century, to when Babylon will be the power—that prophecy alone would have been surprising, if not completely unbelievable—and when Judah will have its time in exile.
But he looks beyond that too, to a (Persian) ruler named Cyrus, whom he calls his “anointed one”(messiah) and to someone else, whom he calls “My Servant.” All of these passages use Creation theology.
Isaiah 42.5
This is the first of Isaiah’s famous “Servant Songs,” which culminate in the well-known Isaiah 53. After describing the humble and gentle character of his Servant (Is 42.1-3)—as well as his certain victory (Is 42.4)—Isaiah records the words of God himself, beginning with his reference to the Creation (Is 42.5). The God who can do this, he says, will certainly call and keep and empower his Servant, who will liberate not only his covenant people, but the Gentiles as well (Is 42.6-9).
The God who created the cosmos will certainly rule it wisely and well and will accomplish his own purposes throughout its existence.
Isaiah 44.23-45.18
This passage, which lies between the first two Servant Songs, focuses on God’s deliverance of Judah from captivity in Babylon and their consequent return to the land. The God who created the universe (Is 44.24) and who overrules the plans of the wicked, those who defy the created order (Is 44.25), and who empowers his servants (Is 44.26), will certainly restore Judah and Jerusalem (Is 44.26). Further, he will use the pagan king Cyrus of Persia to accomplish this (Is 44.28).
Keep in mind that Isaiah is writing well over a century before Cyrus was even born. God can do that too. Cyrus is “my shepherd” (Is 44.28) and “my anointed [Messiah]” (Is 45.1). He can no more oppose or frustrate the will of God than a lump of clay can resist the potter. The Creator will do all his will.
Isaiah 48.13-15
God continues to assert his will over Babylon (also called the Chaldeans). The God who tells the heavens what to do faces no challenges from a temporary earthly kingdom—and one whose domain is merely local (if a big local from its perspective) at that.
Isaiah 51.13-17
God now turns his attention from Babylon to Judah. If your God has made heaven and earth—and your own Scripture starts with that foundational fact—then why are you afraid of Babylon, your oppressor? How does it make any sense to be intimidated by an entity that is utterly powerless before God your maker?
Indeed, if the Creator pronounces your sentence completed (Is 51.17), then what can possibly cause it to continue?
Isaiah’s Creation theology is straightforward: the Creator’s demonstrated power to begin the cosmos is convincing evidence of his power to maintain and direct it—whether through the successful ministry of his Divine Servant, through conforming decisions of pagan kings, or through the informed trust of his people.
Creation matters.
Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
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