Isaiah 41:8-9

The Voice

The nations fashion new idols in the hopes these new gods will be able to protect them during the coming battles against the eastern hero, Cyrus of Persia. If powerful Babylon can fall before him and his mighty army, what chance do other nations have? But Israel has nothing to fear. For God’s covenant people, Cyrus’ rise to power is good news; his ascension and Babylon’s defeat are God’s answers to their anxious prayers. Cyrus’ campaign to build his empire is not simply the will of man or a coincidence of history; it is the outworking of God’s plan to redeem and restore His scattered people. It was God who sent His disobedient covenant partners into exile; it will be God who brings them back home.

⁸Eternal One: But you, My servant, Israel,
        Jacob whom I have chosen and descendant of My friend, Abraham,
⁹    I have reached to wherever you are in the farthest corners of earth,
        and the most hidden places therein.
    I have called to you and said, “You are my servant.
        I have chosen you, not thrown you away!”