October 17th, 2020

The Old Testament text for this Sunday is Isaiah 45[:1-7], and one of the most amazing things about this text is that it names the king who will allow the Israelites to come back to their country about two hundred years before the event actually happens.

The Lutheran Study Bible does a good job in laying out the ways that people have tried to explain away this amazing prediction (see footnote for 44:27-28). It also gives a few details that do not appear in the Concordia Self-Study Bible, such as how Cyrus took over Babylon.

Here is that text and the footnote for 45:2-3 The LORD is talking here:

“I will go before you
            and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
            and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of darkness
            and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the LORD,
            the God of Israel, who call you by your name.”

In 539 BC, when Cyrus surrounded the city of Babylon, the priests of Marduk submitted and declared him to be Marduk’s chosen monarch. They then opened the city gates to allow him and his army to enter peacefully. Jesus is the ultimate Anointed One, who opens the gates of hell (Rv 1:8) and sets prisoners free (Jn 8:36) [The Lutheran Study Bible, published by Concordia Publishing House in 2009; St. Louis, Missouri; page 1164].
A lot of historical information goes along with this text. And there are some literary aspects as well. It is interesting that, with part of the above text, there is a strong similarity to a part of Psalm 107. Below are literal translations of the texts that are so similar:

…I will shatter the doors of bronze, and I will cut through the bars of iron…(Isaiah 45:2b).
For he shatters the doors of bronze, and he cuts through the bars of iron (Psalm 107:16).

The differences are extremely small, small enough for the following statement regarding 107:16 to be essentially in BOTH the Concordia Self-Study Bible and The Lutheran Study Bible. What is here is from the latter when dealing with Psalm 107:16 (page 953):

Either this verse is quoted from Is 45:2 or both verses quote an established saying. doors of bronze. City gates are normally made of wood; here proverbially they are bronze, the strongest gates then imaginable (Jer 1:18). bars of iron. Bars that secured the city gates (Dt 3:5; Jer 51:30) were usually made of wood (Na 3:13) but sometimes of bronze (1 K 4:13).

Psalm 107 is well-loved by many. In it there are four examples of people who are in trouble, and then they are helped. The LORD turns their situations around. In the Concordia Self-Study Bible there is an extensive (and helpful) introduction to that Psalm in the footnotes. Here is just a small part of that introduction:

Of the four remaining stanzas (marked by recurring refrains: vv. 6, 13, 19, 28; vv. 8, 15, 21, 31), the first and last refer to God’s deliverance of those lost in the trackless desert (vv. 4-9) and those imperiled on the boisterous sea (vv. 23-32). The two central stanzas celebrate deliverance from the punishment of foreign bondage (vv. 10-16) and from the punishment of disease (vv. 17-22). Of the concluding lines to these four stanzas, the first two (vv. 9, 16) and the last two (vv. 22, 32) are similar. The verse pattern of these four stanzas (six-seven-six-ten) makes deliberate use of the significant numbers seven and ten.

Here is a somewhat literal translation of some of those verses that are being discussed; note that, of the four pairs, the first is exactly the same, and then there are four different reasons for giving thanks:

Verse 8: Let them give thanks to Yahweh, his mercy and his wonderful deeds for the sons of man….
Verse 9: …for he satisfies the throat, the one thirsting, and the hungry throat, he fills with good.
Verse 15: Let them give thanks to Yahweh, his mercy and his wonderful deeds for the sons of man….
Verse 16: …for he shatters the doors of bronze, and he cuts through the bars of iron.
Verse 21: Let them give thanks to Yahweh, his mercy and his wonderful deeds for the sons of man….
Verse 22: …and let them sacrifice offerings of thanksgiving, and let them announce his works with a song of joy.
Verse 31: Let them give thanks to Yahweh, his mercy and his wonderful deeds for the sons of man….
Verse 32: …and let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and let them praise him in the council of elders.

The similarities between the first pair and second pair are certainly there, as is mentioned above in the quote, but I would like to propose something more.

I see within these four reasons a hint of the four living creatures that are found elsewhere in both Testaments. They are most familiar in this order: man, lion, ox, and eagle. And the emphases that you might see in each of these verses follow that same order.

Verse 9: When the throat is satisfied, you would think that someone just drank something. This word for ‘throat’ also means ‘soul’, and you can see that in some translations (I am thinking here particularly of the NASB). And with such a translation, you certainly would think of a person.
Verse 16: When something is broken, that is one thing, but when that thing is shattered, the emphasis is definitely on power. And lions are known for their power.
Verse 22: The two verbs, one of sacrifice and one of announcing, both involve some sort of difficult action. And a domesticated ox is the one animal that the farmer would look to for help when it comes to difficult actions. And a bull, a male ox, is also one of the animals sacrificed (see Leviticus 4).
Verse 32: To ‘exalt’ is to lift something up high, and the eagle is the only one of the four to be able to be in the air.

In this country, we are not used to a king, and we are definitely not used to the meaning of a throne. A throne shows the king’s authority, and these four emphases show the LORD’s authority. These four emphases are not meant to be connected only to the four gospel accounts; these are a theme of the LORD’s actions through the entire scriptures, literally from Genesis to Revelation. This is meant to be comforting, that the LORD works in a specific way when needed, a way that truly helps to turn things around. Sometimes it is as a man, sometimes as a powerful lion, sometimes as a sacrificial and obedient animal, and sometimes with a much higher perspective. All those perspectives are special in their own way, and in the Light of the New Testament, we can say that the LORD is certainly special.