Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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I'd like to turn this afternoon to Isaiah chapter 45.
Isaiah chapter 45.
And the first verse.
I'll just read the last verse of the 44th chapter.
That Seth of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem Thou shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have Holden to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him. The two leave gates, and the gates shall not be shut.
I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the buyer bars of iron. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord which called thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee.
Though thou hast not known me.
Well, what I had in my heart this afternoon was to speak a little bit of how God worked in the heart of Cyrus and how he opened things up to bring His people back to Jerusalem. And to me, it's a very lovely thing to see how we can trace the hand of God in all these circumstances that took place while God was working out His own plan and in applying it to ourselves, brethren.
How wonderful it is to know that God has a plan in our lives and He works it out and that we can commit everything to Him.
Just as we sang in our little hymn, with mercy and with judgment, my web of time He will. And I, the Jews of sorrow were lustered with His love. I'll bless the hand that guided. I'll bless the heart that plan when throned where glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. And if you want, I, who belong to the Lord, only had this consciousness in our hearts, I believe there would be a lot more peace in our lives.
We know that through the work of Christ at Calvary, we have peace with God. The question of sin was taken up and settled there for God's glory. And every one of us who knows the Lord is our Savior can say, I know I will not have to meet God as a judge. God is now my Father. He cares for me.
But more than this, we can look back into a past eternity and show and see that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that God knew all about us before, and that in our lives He makes all things work together for good because we love him well in what we've read here, this is very interesting to see that what was said about Cyrus was said was prophesied.
Some hundreds of years before Cyrus was even born.
You notice in the fourth verse, it says in the latter part of the verse, I have surnamed thee, though hast not known me. Before Cyrus was ever born, God told that he would be raised up, that he would do a certain work for him, and that he would go before him and make everything work out as God had planned it. Now isn't this very wonderful?
Long before this man was born, God had a work that he was going to do.
Through his prophet he was able to tell the people that he was going to do that work, that he was going to say to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid. He was going to lose the loins of kings. He was going to make crooked places straight. In other words, things that seemed absolutely impossible. God was going to perform well. Isn't it good for us, as we read verses like this, to think of our own lives and to.
Before we were ever born, God knew all about us, and that He had purposes, and that no matter how much seemed to stand in the way, no matter how tangled the pathway may seem to have been, that God's hand was in all the circumstances of life as He worked out that which was according to His mind and will. How we thank Him as we look back and realize this. And I say again, what peace it gives us, we get ruffled by.
Things that happen in our lives and we say why this and why that, but we see as we trace this out how God overruled even the mistakes that His people made and accomplished His purposes. It didn't justify them for the mistakes that they made, but nothing could change the purposes of God.
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Well, it tells us that in this second verse I will go before the end. Make the crooked places straight.
I will break in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder, and the bars of iron. Oh, isn't this an encouragement for us as we read words like this? Crooked places. There's so many of them in our lives. Is God able to make them straight? Does he have his hand in all these things? Yes. Are there gates of brass and bars of iron? Things that seem absolutely impossible? With God nothing shall be impossible.
The one who is spoken of as the father of faith is the one who believed what God said when it looked like an impossibility. He was an old man, his wife was old, and God said they were going to have a child. And the scripture says he believed God and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. He didn't have to have some evidence that it had been possible that it had taken place before.
That a child had been born when a person was old, He didn't need that kind of evidence.
And you and I don't need all the proofs that men like to set forward. It's enough for us.
That God has spoken. The simplest definition of faith in the Bible is found in John chapter 3. And there it says he that hath believed, has he that hath believed God has said to his seal that God is true. And so when you take God at his word, when you believe that he speaks the truth, that's really what faith is. It's taking God of his word. And then of course in Hebrews Chapter 11.
Says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith in itself is taking God at His word. Faith in action makes things real that we haven't seen. That's why it says it's the evidence of things not seen. You and I don't need evidence when we have the word of God, but faith makes it real to us. And so this prophecy was told about what was going to take place, and God spoke it for the encouragement of His people.
His people.
Might have said, well, we'll turn to our idols as they idols all around. And there were fortune tellers, there were wise men.
God said, well, I know the future. God is the only one who does know the future. Men can make predictions, but only God knows the future and He tells us with divine assurance. Now let's turn over to Jeremiah chapter 25.
Jeremiah, chapter 25.
And the first verse, the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah.
King of Judah. That was the first year of Navi cut Reza, king of Babylon.
The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying.
From a third year. From the 13th year of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah.
Even unto the.
Maybe this was not the passage I was.
That I have spoken.
Even under this, in the three and 20th year, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying.
I came unto me, I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking, but she have not hearkened.
Just a moment, it's another passage that I was looking for here.
Yes, it's further on in this chapter, the eighth verse. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, because you have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them again this against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations roundabout, and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment.
Hissing and perpetual desolations. And moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment. And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years.
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And it shall come to pass, when 70 years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquities.
And the land of the Chaldeans, and will make them perpetual desolations. Well, here what had before me was how Jeremiah now was warning the people of what was going to come upon them. In the prophet Isaiah we see that some hundreds of years before.
Cyrus was born. God foretold what he would do, but the people didn't pay any attention to all the warnings that God gave them.
He told them that if they departed from him and went on in their evil ways that he was going to have to deal with them. And so Jeremiah with tears is announcing to them about the judgment that is going to come and they will not hearken to him. And at last we find here through the prophet Jeremiah that he tells them that God is going to deal with them. But isn't this lovely? He sets an exact limit on the time that this.
Captivity was to take place. It was going to be for 70 years. Well, isn't this remarkable that God told long before about the one who would deliver them and now because of their self will, he actually sets a time upon their captivity? Well, to me this is an encouragement too. Sometimes we're very self willed in spite of the fact that.
God has shown us so many things in His Word.
We got go on our own way. We pay no attention to the warnings, but here we find that God had to bring in his government this upon the land of Judah for their rebellion against him. But it was a for a prescribed length of time. It was just going to be 70 years. And so God measures everything in our lives, not only what he brings upon us, but it tells us in Corinthians he doesn't suffer us to be.
Above that we are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that we might be able to bear it. Well, the people still went on in their willfulness and in their departure, and God had foretold what would take place. And it did. They rebelled against Him. They didn't listen to His entreaties of love to them. Jeremiah on the 31St chapter he says.
Yeah, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.
Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. He told them what was going to take place. He shed tears, and they just put him in the dungeon and would pay no attention to him. But I see behind the scene that hand that's moving. The God who told about what would take place and about their deliverance now tells how that because of their rebellion they're going to be carried into captivity.
For 70 years. Well, to me this is an encouragement in your life and mind to know that God not only has things planned, but everything.
Moves exactly on his timetable. He he knows not only the things that are going to happen, but as we might say, everything is according to his timetable. He knows too all about what's going to happen in the future as regards to this world. He's told us accurately in prophecy all that's coming. Does he know less about your personal life and mine? Certainly not. And every one of us are individuals he bears.
Our names upon his shoulders and upon his heart. And underneath that breastplate of judgment was the Urim and the thumb, which means lights and perfections. All His ways with us according to his own power, according to his own love, according to his own wisdom. And I say again, everything is timed in all God's ways. Well, to me this too is a consolation.
Well, let's turn over now to Daniel and the 9th chapter.
And the first verse in the first year of Darius, the son of a hazardous of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans in the first year of his reign. I Daniel understood by books the number of years or of the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
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And I set my face under the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, Oh Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants, the prophets, which spake in thy name.
Our kings, our Princess, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. Oh, Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but none to us. Confusion of faces as at this day to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel that are near and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them because of their trespasses, that they have trespassed against thee.
Oh, Lord, to us belongeth confusion of faith, to our kings, to our Princess, and to our fathers, because we have sinned.
Against thee, to the Lord our God, belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him, neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in His laws which He set before us by His servants, the prophets.
Then the 16th verse. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are become a reproach to all that about us. Now therefore, O Lord our God, hear the prayer of thy servant.
Because.
And his supplications and caused thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate.
For the Lord's sake, the 20th verse. And while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God. Yeah, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly.
Touched me about the time of the evening oblation and he informed me and talked with me and said, oh, Daniel.
I am now come forth to give thee still skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplication the commandment came forth.
And I am come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision.
Here we see another step that is taking place. Daniel is one of those who has been carried captive into Babylon. The captivity had lasted the 70 years and now Daniel is reading the prophet Jeremiah and he finds in the prophet Jeremiah the telling beforehand that God was going to allow this captivity to last for 70 years.
And so he comes before the Lord. He doesn't say well.
There is no concern about our state of soul, but we see that He lays it before the Lord, that He has promised to show this kindness to His people, mercies and forgiveness, but He takes His true place in confession. Doesn't this show us too, in these ways of God, how He knows everything beforehand? We go on in self will, and then He may allow something to come upon us, but He sets a limit upon it. And then.
Our hearts are broken down in His presence. When we read His word and search it out, we find that God knows all about these things beforehand, that everything has been prophesied and foretold. But to me it's very beautiful to see the state of soul in Daniel. Somebody say that God only knows the future, but He also produces in us a state of soul so that He can bless us, just like when.
Gospel is being told out. God tells of the message of pardon and salvation, but he also works in the heart. It's often been said there has to be a work of God for our souls so that we would be saved, and then a work of God in our souls so that we would receive the blessing. And here we see a work of God going on in the heart of this.
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Of of Daniel. He's a captive in Babylon.
And I think as we trace his life, we see how God was using these circumstances.
To make him a blessing down in Babylon. I believe that because of his faithfulness.
We're going to meet King Nebuchadnezzar in heaven, and it might be that because of some rebellion in my life, I'm sick and I'm placed in the hospital, and then the Lord uses me in the hospital for the salvation of some soul. It's a very blessed thing for us, brethren, to see the hand of God working behind the scenes and accomplishing His own purposes.
I'm saying this because I believe it really gives peace in our souls when we have this knowledge that the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water he turneth at whithersoever he will. Absolutely nothing happens by chance and even mistakes that we make in life when we turn to the Lord like Daniel did in his captivity. If you read the 1St chapter of Daniel you will see.
The Daniel accepted everything as from the Lord.
Instead of rebelling against God's hand, if you read the 1St chapter, you notice three things. It says the Lord had delivered Israel into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar. There there was his submission to what God had allowed to take place. And the second thing was that there was a situation arose when he was in his.
Schooling, if I can call it that, in Babylon. And he was afraid what was going to happen if he was faithful.
Because the king Nebuchadnezzar had supreme power, he says, whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down, whom he would he let live, and whom he would he slew. He had absolute power. And Daniel do very well that if he took a faithful stand, that he could just pass an order, that he was to be put to death. But another thing he learned, that the attitude of the king and of the man who was over him, Ashman as was.
Controlled not by the man's pure emotions, but by God himself.
I've enjoyed that brethren in the Psalms. I think it's the 105th Psalm if I remember correctly. And it tells us in that Psalm that when Abraham was a Pilgrim in the land of in the land of Canaan, it says he said to one of the kings, touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm. And he wouldn't let King Abimelech do any harm to Abraham, even though Abraham was in the wrong.
God protected him. But later on in that same Psalm, the children of Israel were in the land of Egypt, and they were in danger of settling down there, just taking their ease there. And so God wanted them to get out of Egypt. And so it tells us He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants, the same God who had said to King Abimelech.
Don't touch my servants, do my prophets. No harm was the same God.
Who allowed a lot of trouble to spring up in the land of Egypt, made the lives of the children of Israel bitter with hard *******?
And why? Well, God didn't want them to stay there. He wanted them to get out of Egypt.
And you know, brethren, if we see the hand of God in circumstances, nothing can happen in your life or mine but what God's hand is behind it. He knows everything beforehand. And so we find here that Daniel, the second thing he learned at the heart of this man was in God's hand. It says, it says now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the Prince of.
So as Daniel was going to school there, God brought him into favor with the person who was placed over him. Do you know that the heart of your teacher, the heart of your employer, is in the Lords hands? And if he wants to turn his heart one way or the other, it's all in his hands.
And this gives us peace in our souls. And then the third thing in that first chapter was that Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, it says God gave them skill and understanding. Is someone here having difficulty at school? Well, you know, the Lord can even help you in your school lessons. He can give you wisdom and skill so that he can bring you and.
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Good grades and everything, if you count upon him. Oh, it's a wonderful thing, dear brethren, to go through life and realize how that God's hand is behind all the circumstances. When the Lord Jesus went up on high, it says angels and authorities and powers are all made subject to Him. And so that's what we see in Daniel. And so Daniel and his three friends were made a testimony.
There in the school at Bablan.
Later on when Nebuchadnezzar made that decree, that all had to bow down to that image. Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego were faithful and as far as we can see, Naviat Nazar was truly brought to the Lord. He said. Now I and Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the God of heaven, and I fully expect to meet him in glory. I fully expect to meet King Darius in glory, the very man that made the decree.
That no request was to made to be made of God or man for 30 days. He was the one who was brought humbly to the den of lions to acknowledge that the Lord was the true God. And so I say, when we get into some problem and it might be even through our own failure and mistakes that we get into it, isn't it wonderful to turn to the Lord and know that He can use these circumstances even?
For blessing. So Daniel and his friends down in Babylon became a testimony in Babylon, although if they'd been faithful, they would never have been there. Well, Daniel makes this prayer here that's recorded. He first of all discovers from the Scripture, as I said, that.
God had set a limit on this captivity. It was just to be 7070 years. And now he didn't say, well, it's 70 years, we're going to get out of here. I say again. Now we see him humbling himself, taking his true place before God, confessing his sins and the sins of his people, identifying himself with the failing people of God. And I think that's a very important thing for.
Two, it's very easy for us sometimes to look around and think we're just a little more spiritual and some others and they might get into trouble, but we're kind of a little bit better and it shouldn't come on us because we're not quite as worldly or as careless as they are. But I think it's lovely here to see with Daniel that he identifies himself with the rest of the people of God. He confessed his sins and the sins of the people he.
Place before God in the right way, and ask the Lord to come in and have mercy upon the city of Jerusalem, that city that was called by his name, that was then in desolation, and it tells us here in the 21St verse.
Yeah, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, when I had, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening. Oblation. I like that little word swiftly there, because it seems to bring before us that God is always in a hurry to bless.
And it's usually our own state of soul that hinders the blessing.
So often God is wanting to bless us, but there is something in our part that we're allowing. That's the hindrance. But when Daniel confessed these things before the Lord and took His true place, then the Angel Gabriel flew swiftly, and he came to give Daniel skill and understanding. And he opened up to Daniel far more than what Daniel had ever expected. He was praying.
For their restoration back to Jerusalem. But we find here, if we were to read what follows in this chapter, that God gives him an outline of the history of Israel right on to the time when he brings them into final blessing. How isn't it wonderful to know that God knows our whole pathway right until that time when we're going to be supremely blessed up there with the Lord Jesus?
It does seem kind of a marvelous thing to us that he could name Cyrus before he was born, but that was only 200 years. But to think that he knows all the future. And he said, Daniel, you've talked about these 70 years and getting back to Jerusalem, but I want to tell you I have the whole history of the nation of Israel before me and I can tell you what's going.
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Right until the very end. Oh, to me these things speak consolation to my heart. That's why prophecy is spoken of as a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawn or the and the morning star arise in your hearts. Now that is prophecy is intended to give light to us in this dark scene.
Supposing we didn't know that the Lord was going to come. Supposing we didn't have any prophecies to tell us what was going to happen in this world.
Wouldn't we be upset about all the things that are taking place? But as we look around and see what is taking place in different parts of the world, we can say, oh, God's word tells me that would take place. I don't need to be surprised. When Greece, the 10th nation, came into the European Common Market, might have been surprised to some people, but to the Christian it isn't any surprise because we have God's word and so.
Prophecy is the light that shines in a dark place. As we see all those problems arising in the Middle East, it isn't any surprise to us because God is behind all these events, working out His own purposes. I say we can read the daily newspaper with peace, we can face the events that come in our lives with peace, and we can look on to the future with glad and perfect assurance.
God is over all, He's working out.
His own will in everything that takes place. Now let's turn over to the book of Ezra and we'll see a little more about this Ezra chapter one and the first verse. Now in the first year, Osiris, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made a proclamation.
Throughout all his Kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build him and house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Well here we see Daniel might have said, Well, how is this going to be brought about? Who's going to touch the heart of the king? Am I going to get?
10,000 people to sign a petition or something and finally get this king to do it for me.
No, when Daniel was praying and talking to the Lord, why the Lord sent a message to Cyrus and told him what he wanted him to do. And Cyrus makes a proclamation. He says the Lord has told me to build him a house at Jerusalem. Where was all this planned? Why, it was planned in the heart of God and it was accomplished by a man that got on his knees three times a day and talked to the Lord, believed his word and talked to him with.
All of these things touch your heart, brethren, as you see this Cyrus, this man who was prophesied about the Lord said, I have surname thee, although you don't know me. And here he is born, and he becomes king, and he makes this decree and puts it in writing that liberty was given to the people of God to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild it.
And then he turns to the people in the third verse. Who is there among you of all his people, His God be with him.
And let us go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of the Lord God.
The of Israel He is the God which is at Jerusalem, and whosoever remaineth in any place where he saw Jonathan, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the free will offering for the House of God which is at Jerusalem. Then rolls up the chief of the fathers of Judah, and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised.
Up to build a House of the Lord.
Which is at Jerusalem. Well, not only then did God work in the heart of Cyrus, but Cyrus says to these people who were captives there in the land of Babylon. He says, now if there's any among you that want to, why you're free to go back up to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and to rebuild the temple. Well, here we see that.
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And Daniel had been in prayer. God works in the heart of Cyrus, and Cyrus speaks to the people, and God works in the heart of the people.
Oh, isn't this very lovely to see the work of God in the hearts of these people, preparing them so that they would go up to Jerusalem? And they might have easily said, but we don't have any means. We're just slaves down here in the land of Babylon. We have no free money. But the king went a little farther. He not only said you can go, but he said the people about you, I want them to help you so that you can go.
Well.
Even the very help that we get along the way, everything we can see God's hand behind the circumstances in bringing them up. And so he recognizes that the Lord is the true God. He discovered this, no doubt, because of the testimony of Babylon and his friends down in the land of Babylon, the very place where they were which seemed so uncomfortable and unpleasant to them.
Became a means of testimony in God's hand that resulted in all this blessing that God is working out and says in the sixth verse and all that we're about them. Strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with bees, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.
And also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the House of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem.
And had put them in the House of his God, even those did Cyrus, king of Persia, bring forth by the hand of Mithrideth the treasure, and numbered them under Shesh Bazaar, the Prince of Judah. Well, how abundantly God takes things in hand. You know, it's lovely to see that Scripture says the silver and the gold is his. And so when this work was to be done at Jerusalem.
How he could touch the hearts of these people so that plenty was sent up, so that the House of God could be rebuilt. All that was necessary was provided. You know, in the world, when they want to do something, they have a big drive to raise money. But you know, God doesn't need to do that. He only needs to touch hearts, and that's what he does. God wanted money. He could save the wealthiest man in America and there'd be all the money that's necessary.
God doesn't have to depend upon the world. He doesn't have to make appeals. He just touches hearts. He works in hearts. And so here we find all that was necessary was provided. And what seemed more wonderful still to me was the fact that these silver and gold vessels which had been misused, as we know, by Belshazzar. Belshazzar had used these vessels in the 5th chapter of Daniel to put wine in them and praise.
The gods of gold and silver and brass and iron and wood. And because of this, God had taken away his Kingdom from him, and Darius took the Kingdom. But God saw to it that all these vessels were preserved and saw that they were finally brought back to Jerusalem. His hand was over them in all the circumstances that took place.
Well then, when we come to the second chapter here.