The LORD said to Cyrus, his chosen one:
I have taken hold
of your right hand
to help you capture nations
and remove kings from power.
City gates will open for you;
not one will stay closed.
As I lead you,
I will level mountains
and break the iron bars
on bronze gates of cities.
I will give you treasures
hidden in dark
and secret places.
Then you will know that I,
the LORD God of Israel,
have called you by name.
Cyrus, you don’t even know me!
But I have called you by name
and highly honored you
because of Israel,
my chosen servant.
Only I am the LORD!
There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
though you don’t know me.
Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the LORD.
No other gods are real.
I create light and darkness,
happiness and sorrow.
I, the LORD, do all of this. (Isaiah 45:1-7)

God really can use anyone. The word translated by “chosen one” is the Hebrew word that comes into English as “Messiah” or by way of its Greek equivalent, “Christ.” The word more literally means “anointed one” and refers to how priests and kings had oil poured on their heads when they took their positions of authority.

Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia, the man who conquered Babylon and issued a decree that the captives of Israel could go home and rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem, was chosen by God for just that task. God had “anointed” him to perform a valuable service: to defeat the enemies of his people Israel, to rescue them, and to set them free.

Even though Cyrus didn’t know God, God knew him and used him for his own purposes. Thanks to Cyrus, a pagan, many people would come to know the one true God. God pointed out that there were no other gods. Yahweh alone existed. From Yahweh alone came all that there was, whether light or dark, good or bad, happiness or sorrow. The universe as it exists in all its many states was a consequence of God’s creative effort.

We must never imagine that simply because God used us that it means everything is okay between us and God. How useful we are to God doesn’t prove our righteousness. God used a pagan idolater and called him his Messiah, after all.

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