NOTES for Isa 45:1-25
The king has reached the height of greatness and power; the army of his empire conquers one state after another. He imagines himself the center of the universe and the maker of his own victories. Yet prophetic words have already been spoken: everything Cyrus received, the Lord permitted him to take only so that he might play a role in the historical destiny of a people he scarcely knew. Cyrus does not realize that by freeing captives from slavery he gives both his own country and the countries he seeks to conquer an opportunity to hear about God, who speaks of him through a prophet unknown to him. Centuries will pass; the empire Cyrus is creating will suffer more than one defeat; and of the many deeds of the Persian rulers, the most enduring will be those done for a weak group of people who follow the Lord.
The true meaning of history often escapes the attention of contemporaries and is accomplished unnoticed. But what went unnoticed often proves more genuine and lasting than what was visible to everyone and on everyone's lips.