旧约 - 以赛亚书(Isaiah)第45章

"This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
"You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.
"Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?
Woe to him who says to his father, 'What have you begotten?' or to his mother, 'What have you brought to birth?'
"This is what the LORD says--the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?
It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.
I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty."
This is what the LORD says: "The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans--they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, 'Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.'"
Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel.
All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together.
But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.
For this is what the LORD says--he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited--he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
"Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
Declare what is to be, present it--let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.'" All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.
But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.
以赛亚书第四十五章   赛 45:1-8> 塞鲁士是外邦君王,何以得神膏立? 

  45:1-8 这是圣经中提到的惟一一位被“膏”的外邦统治者。神是全能的,他因着特殊的任务来挑选膏立的人。塞鲁士的王国横跨 2000 公里(是所知帝国中最大的),包括亚述和巴比伦帝国的疆域。神为什么要膏塞鲁士?因为神交给他一件要为以色列人做的特殊事情。塞鲁士将允许重建神的圣城耶路撒冷。他将不图回报地释放被流放的人。没有一个以色列或犹大的国王,为神的百姓做了像塞鲁士那样多的事情。 

  赛 45:7> 波斯人相信善神造光明,恶神造黑暗,其实── 

  45:7 神控制着光和黑暗、繁荣和灾难。这是在我们的生活中点缀着的两种不同的经历。对于我们的灵性成长来说,这两者都是需要的。万事如意的时候,我们要感谢神,并将我们的财富用在神的身上;在遭遇坎坷的日子中,我们也不要埋怨神,而要求祂告诉我们从中应吸取什么教训,好使自己被锻炼成为神更好的仆人。 

  赛 45:9> 45:9 一块瓦片是陶器的碎片,基本上没有用处。 

  赛 45:14> 45:14 西巴人是南阿拉伯西巴的百姓。 

  赛 45:17> 以色列必蒙神拯救,我呢? 

  45:17 直到这个时候,以色列才暂时得到了拯救:神要将他们救出敌人之手。这里以赛亚说神是永远的拯救。 

  赛 45:18-19> 神是信实的,问题总出在人的身上,不是吗? 

  45:18-19 神的应许是公开的,它们一定应验。那我们为何还老怀疑神呢?我们有真理和公义的神,我们永不必怀疑祂。 

  赛 45:22> 中国悠久的历史中,也有神的介入吗?你怎样看待这个问题?