Our text this week mentioned Cyrus, a Persian conqueror who would not be born for around 80–90 years and would not become a major historical figure for around 150 years. Persia, at the time that Isaiah wrote, was on the outskirts of empires—it was less densely populated and politically coherent than the Fertile Crescent, which had been the cradle of civilizations for thousands of years. In the late Bronze Age (1600–1200 BC), the territory had been a part of the intricate international system of kingdoms that characterized that period, alongside the Hittites, the Kassites, the Egyptian New Kingdom, and the Mitanni. The kingdom was known as Elam. Following the Late Bronze Age collapse, in which the kingdoms of the Ancient Near East were suddenly greatly reduced in power and scope—such that some vanished entirely—the kingdom of Elam disappeared.
In the 9th–7th centuries BC, nomadic tribes from the steppes migrated into the area of Elam and established themselves in cities like Susa, Persepolis, and Ecbatana. Originally, these were smaller and less powerful mini-kingdoms on the outskirts of the Assyrian Empire—too small to be worth conquering but an occasional nuisance. The Assyrians often employed them in their army or dealt with them using a divide-and-conquer strategy, similar to how the Roman Empire managed the Germanic tribes on its northern border. Over the course of the 7th century, however, the power of these Iranian kingdoms began to grow.
In Isaiah 20, the prophet predicts the future significance of these peoples, who, when he was writing, would have been politically insignificant. In verse 2, he says:
“Go up, O Elam;
Lay siege, O Media.”
Elam was the general name for the territory occupied by the Persian peoples, and Media was the grouping closest to the borders of the Assyrian Empire.
The career of Cyrus II, or Cyrus the Great as he was known to ancient historians, was remarkable. In some ways, it resembles the careers of empire builders to whom he can be compared, like Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. The first step in building his empire was uniting all the Iranian peoples under Persian control, similar to how Genghis Khan began by uniting the diverse Mongol tribes into a single coherent political grouping. In this, he was helped by shrewd political strategy, astute military leadership, and a good portion of what we could call luck (though we should probably say instead that Yahweh was with him). He then turned to the divided and relatively weak kingdoms that lay to the north of the Babylonian Empire. These had been a part of the Assyrian Empire but, following its collapse, had not been controlled by Babylon. He went further west than Assyria, however, and conquered the kingdom of Lydia, a wealthy area that was at the center of the growing Mediterranean commercial system. He thenturned his eyes to Babylon.
Here again, he was helped by a generous dose of good fortune. Following the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire suffered repeated bouts of political instability amid a series of succession crises. Multiple assassinations and short-lived rulers led to the rise of Nabonidus, who was originally a courtier and not a part of the royal family. An enigmatic figure, Nabonidus was absent for long periods from Babylon and even settled in a minor city in Arabia for nearly ten years. His son, the unpopular Belshazzar, ruled like a spoiled nepo baby in Babylon. By the time Nabonidus returned, many fractures had begun to appear in the governance of the realm. When Cyrus invaded in 549 BC, Babylonian authority collapsed after a single battle, and Nabonidus surrendered to Cyrus and was deported.
Isaiah’s predictions about the Persians and Cyrus are remarkable. There are three large-scale predictions in Isaiah 45 about Cyrus and his career. The first relates to the speed and success of his victories and the establishment of his empire. Yahweh proclaims:
“I will go before you,
and level the exalted places.”
He promises “to open doors before him that gates may not be closed.” It is impossible not to think of how the gates of Babylon, the mightiest and wealthiest city in the world, were opened for him without even the need to besiege the city! In general, Cyrus’s career is characterized by extraordinary luck and good fortune. He won his battles, but it went beyond that—his timing was perfect, and it often seemed as though kingdoms and peoples placed themselves at his disposal. As Isaiah says in verse 14, “they shall come to you and be yours.”
Isaiah also predicts the specific actions that Cyrus will perform on behalf of the covenant people of God. Cyrus will rebuild Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and will allow the exiled Israelites to return home. Indeed, Isaiah says that the whole purpose of God’s actions on behalf of Cyrus was to elevate him into the position where he was able to act on behalf of God’s people. Historically speaking, the decrees that Cyrus made allowing the Israelites to return were part of several similar decrees for other exiled peoples as well. But without question, Jerusalem was the most significant city, and the Israelites were the largest coherent group of exiles affected by these decrees.
Finally, Isaiah predicts the outcome of Cyrus’s actions in light of their long-term impact on the peoples of the world. The fruit of Cyrus’s career will be a large-scale turning of the nations to embrace Yahweh, the God of Israel. Isaiah says:
“That people may know,
from the rising of the sun and from the west,
that there is none besides me;
I am Yahweh, and there is no other.”
Some biblical scholars have characterized this as a failed prophecy. Persia and Cyrus, while publicly proclaiming a form of religious toleration, did not turn en masse to the religion of the Jewish people, nor was there a general acknowledgment of Yahweh by the people of the Ancient Near East. Yahweh and his worship remained a minor religion under the Persians and the Greeks who succeeded them. However, this is only a failure when interpreted with a limited scope. Isaiah has in mind a timeline that extends far beyond the end of the exile. It was necessary for the exile to end in order for God’s plan to continue forward. Cyrus plays, in truth, only a minor role in this great plan—though a decisive and necessary one. The turning to Yahweh that Isaiah envisions comes only when the purposes of God reach their conclusion.
The cry to the nations in verse 22, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!” is not fully realized in the religion of the Jewish people restored after the return, except in minor ways. This impulse to take Yahweh to the ends of the earth would only come when the purposes of God were complete—when, from the re-established Jewish homeland, the Savior was born. Upon His resurrection from the dead, He would command the fulfillment of this prophecy, and Yahweh would be proclaimed throughout the ends of the earth.