by Michael Pink
"Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him; and I will (1) loose the armor of kings,(2) to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; (3) I will go before you, and (4) make the crooked places straight: (5) I will break in pieces the gates of bronze, and (6) cut asunder the bars of iron: And (7) I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel." (Isa 45:1-3)
God takes Cyrus (his anointed) by the hand to subdue nations and He promises seven things to Cyrus. We will look at all of them over time, but I want to draw you to something significant. We are the anointed of Christ. (2 Cor 1:21) We are called to the marketplace, but not as mere merchants or fatherless ones who must fend for themselves and operate on the world's terms. Regardless of our gender we are called to something higher... We are called to be sons in the marketplace, and that gives us a distinct advantage, for a higher purpose.
Cyrus walked in Psalm 149 which is a promise to the "godly ones" or "saints" to, "...execute vengeance upon the nations, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints." We, as godly ones have this same honor to walk in this high level of authority. This is not some symbolic promise that has no tangible fulfillment, but it takes sons in the marketplace, (mature believers) who know they are anointed, to walk this out whether it is in the political arena or the marketplace in general.
The promise to Cyrus wasn't "pie in the sky" and neither is it to us. Cyrus saw the promise of subduing the nations as a literal calling and he marched boldly into history binding the kings and their nobles. He subdued the Arabians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Cappodcians, Carians, Cilicians, Indians, Lydians, Maryandines, Paphloagonians, Phoenicians, Phrygians, Sacians, Syrians and many other nations. He also had a dominion over the Asiatics, Greeks, Cyprians, and the Egyptians . . . He vanquished, according to Herodotus, whatever country he invaded. As the Lord's anointed, his calling wasn't "pie in the sky," it was "pie on the plate!"
