Bible Study
This year's Assembly Bible Studies are led by the Revd Dr
Israel Selvanayagam, Principal of the United College of
the Ascension. They appear daily in Hotline on the day they are given to
Assembly. Choose the study you would like to read from the menu below:
[ Sunday ] [ Monday ] [ Tuesday ]
Sunday
An Alien Messiah
I say to Cyrus, ‘You will be my
shepherd to fulfil all my purpose, so that Jerusalem may be rebuilt and the
foundations of the temple be laid.’ Thus says the Lord to Cyrus his
anointed, whom he has taken by the right hand... I myself shall go before
you ...so that you may know that I am the Lord, Israel’s God, who calls you
by name. Fore the sake of Jacob my servant and Israel my chosen one I have
called you by name and given you a title, though you have not known me. I am
the Lord, and there is none other... Though you have not known me I shall
strengthen you.
(Isaiah 44:28 – 45:8)
Background
The Persian king Cyrus delivered the Jews from exile in Babylon in 539
BC. In his first year of rule after capturing Babylon, Cyrus ordered the
return of the Jews and rebuilding of their temple in Jerusalem for which he
arranged resources (Ezr.1:2,7; 3:7). Cyrus’ own inscriptions bear out the
view of an alien ruler being sympathetic to the aspirations of those in
exile just like the Jews. According to one decree, he gathered together all
the inhabitants (who were exiles) and returned them to their homes and had
their deities restored and temples renovated. The Jews were one among them
and, though they did not have images, they were allowed to restore their
temple in Jerusalem and its fittings (Ezr. 6:1 ff). More than being grateful
to this gesture, the prophetic perceptions are remarkable. This was in spite
of the fact that, as evident in records, Cyrus worshipped the god Bel-Marduk
in whose name he allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. For an
ordinary Jew this was something very hard to digest, while the prophet and
those who understood his position found it to be broadening the horizons of
the Jewish community with regard to God’s act in history involving people
irrespective of their religious orientation.
Striking Features
Only here in the whole of the Bible a foreigner is called the anointed one
(messiah or Christ). He is treated like any other king, priest or prophet in
the Jewish community. God’s intimacy to him is expressed in the words ‘taken
by the right hand’, ‘my shepherd’, ‘my anointed’, ‘I myself shall go before
you’, and ‘I have called you by name’. God ‘inspired him’ to issue the
decree of liberation (2 Ch. 36:22).
The special status of the Israelites as God’s people is not compromised.
It is ‘Israel’s God who calls you by name’. This is ‘for the sake of Jacob
my servant and Israel my chosen one’. God elected a particular community
with a view to make them a blessing and light to all nations. The nation of
the people of God was a tiny part of a larger map covering the whole world.
Their history was part of a bigger history involving all peoples and their
rulers. It was a long process for the people of God to understand this fact
and become aware of the danger of being self-centred, exclusive and
triumphalist.
The phrase ‘though you have not known me’ is mentioned
twice in this passage. It suggests that God’s use of a person or a community
does not depend on their knowing God. Just like God promised to the rulers
and leaders within the community of the people of God, he promises Cyrus
victory, removal of obstacles and strength.
God’s self-disclosure is gradual and unpredictable.
For Cyrus, Yahweh was the particular deity worshipped by the Jewish
community. Now he had to realise that there was no other god than Yahweh,
from east to west. Did Cyrus realise? There is no evidence for that! Yet the
expectation in the process is clear and we need to trust God’s passionate
patience.
God gives the great title ‘Messiah’ to a foreigner,
worshipper of an alien god and who did not know him as the Yahweh God. He is
given this title at a particular moment in history with a special purpose of
liberating the exiles. There were many such leaders in the Jewish tradition
who received this title as they worked as liberators or saviours. In Jesus’
time also there were some claiming to be the Messiahs and they were known in
the early church, too.
Insights for Today
1 We may have difficulty in understanding the
general and particular processes in history and God’s control over them.
However, it is a fundamental aspect of our faith that God is active in
history, all world history. It is too parochial if Christians are concerned
about only their history and their hope.
2 It is easy to repeat the creed that ‘we
believe in one God, the creator of heaven and earth’. But it is a slow
process to realise its full implications when we live in a multi-faith
context. We have still some Christians speaking to others in terms of ‘my
God and your god’ or still worse ‘my God and your devil’. It requires a
matured Christian life to realise that all peoples in all places and times
belong to one God whether they know God or not.
3 While we celebrate God as redeemer as
realised in the Judeo-Christian tradition with a pivotal reference to Jesus
Christ we should not forget the more fundamental affirmation that God is the
creator of all and source of all goodness. ‘Every good and generous action
and every perfect gift come from above, from the Father who created the
lights of heaven... (Js. 1:17).
4 When we take in faith that Jesus typified the
true Messiah through his life and ministry, death and resurrection, how much
are we open to perceive individuals of other faiths or no faith used by God
as his instruments? Can we think of such figures in our own knowledge and
experience? If the Word and Spirit are cosmic and eternal, has their
manifestation stopped with Jesus the Christ and the outpouring on the
Pentecost?
Israel Selvanayagam |
