“Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”
The image of God calling 'a man from the east' (again, Cyrus obliquely) to execute divine purposes reiterates that pagan monarchs are God's instruments, not autonomous powers. The phrase 'the man of my counsel' describes Cyrus's role as implementing divine strategy rather than pursuing his own agenda. This verse maintains the polemic against idolatry by contrast: Cyrus, a pagan king, fulfills God's purposes more faithfully than Israel's idol-worshipping neighbors. Providence operates through history's most unlikely agents.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000
No notes on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!