“Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;”

Isaiah 45:11-13

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“Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.” Isaiah 45:11

The Holy One of Israel is our Lord Jesus Christ, who by earthly terms is an Israelite from the tribe of Judah. The Lord God is the Maker of Israel. The Lord requires us to ask of Him and not tell Him how to make things happen, how to do things, nor to command Him as if He answers to us. About 2000 years ago, the Jewish culture was doing just that when they said that Jesus could not be the Christ and Son of God. The Pharisees, who were spiritually corrupt, were wrongly telling Jesus about the word of God, how He was blaspheming by forgiving sins, and even that He was serving the Devil when He was casting out demons. However, our Maker sent Jesus to give the flesh of His body to atone for sin and to reconcile us to Him, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16

Who is being spoken about when the Spirit of the Lord says “My sons”? The word “sons” is plural, so this is not speaking of Christ Jesus, His only Son who was sent to atone for sin. The word “sons” relates to those who were raised up in righteousness to be an instrument in His hand to fulfill His purpose on this earth, such as Cyrus, a Persian Gentile, “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—To subdue nations before him…I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; He will build My city and let My exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 45:1, 13

Also, the Jewish people are called the “sons of the kingdom”, who will not inherit eternal life, unless they acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and Son of God, as our Lord Jesus says, “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:11-12 “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:11-13

In context with the chapter of Isaiah 45, the Lord raised up Cyrus and even called him by name. Cyrus was from Persia and God used him to conquer the Babylonian Empire and to free the Israelites from their captivity to Babylon. Cyrus was a war monger who lived by the sword and violence as he conquered many nations. That is described in the post on Isaiah 45:1-7. The prophecy about Cyrus was spoken years before his birth. The Israelites had a very difficult time accepting that Cyrus would be their liberator, that he was raised up in righteousness, and that his name was in their scriptures as the anointed one who God called by name. The Israelites should have asked God how that was possible instead of commanding Him on how He should liberate them.

“I have made the earth, and created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded.” Isaiah 45:12

That is the answer that the Lord gave to the Israelites in their astonishment and bewilderment that a Gentile, named Cyrus, would be raised up in righteousness, as anointed by God, to liberate them [in earthly terms]. The Lord created human beings, so it is a small thing that He is able to use an unrighteous Persian Gentile as a righteous and anointed instrument in His hand. The Lord created all of heaven and earth so He should be shown reverence instead of being commanded on how He should do things.

Also, that is similar to how the Lord answered the Jewish people about making Jesus the Christ and His Son. The Lord God is the One who has made all the earth and created human beings. The Lord God has done that with His hands. Along with creating the earth and human beings, He also created the heavens by the word of His command. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

“I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; He will build My city and let My exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 45:13

The Israelites believed that no one was righteous but them, and Gentiles were far from the righteousness of God. The Israelites had exclusive rights to the word of God, so they assumed that they were the only righteous ones in the eyes of God. That belief of having exclusive rights to the righteousness of God is a huge part of what led them to conspire to have Jesus Christ put to death, “Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Mattew 9:10-11 Samaritans were Gentiles in the eyes of the Jewish people, but Jesus healed the Samaritan woman, John 4:5‑26 and spoke about the good Samaritan, Luke 10:30‑37. Jesus healed the Roman Centurion’s servant, Matthew 8:5‑13; Luke 7:1‑10. Jesus commended the Canaanite woman’s faith, Matthew 15:21‑28; Mark 7:24‑30. Jesus also healed the ten Lepers, Luke 17:11‑19.

Whenever the name of Cyrus, a Persian Gentile, was spoken about as being raised up in righteousness, being called by God by name, and said to be anointed by the Lord, the Israelites were completely bewildered, in disbelief, and astonished. “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus… I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.” Isaiah 45:1, 4

The Lord held Cyrus by the hand to direct all of his ways, referring to conquering the Babylonian Empire and freeing the Israelites from their captivity, “To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—To subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors,” Isiah 45:1

The anointing of Cyrus was not as one who spoke the word of the Lord, like the prophets, nor to guide the Israelites in the way of the Lord. He was not a shepherd of the Lord in any way at all. The anointing of Cyrus was to defeat the Babylonians, to free the Israelites who were exiled far away from Jerusalem, and to be supportive of the Israelites in rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple.

Released the Israelites from captivity: “I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but not for payment or reward, says the LORD of Hosts” Isaiah 45:13 

Supported the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem: “In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to offer sacrifices and let its foundations be laid.’” – Ezra 6:3

Returned articles to the temple in Jerusalem: “Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’ Ezra 5:14-15

What Cyrus did for the Israelites was free from self-interest and free from seeking any type of reward or profit. This is similar to the Roman Centurion who built a synagogue for the Jewish people, whose servant the Lord Jesus Christ healed. The Jewish people said this about the Gentile Roman Centurion, “And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” Luke 7:4-5 The full text about that Roman centurion and the healing Jesus performed for his servant is found in Luke 7:1-10.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.
I am coming soon. 
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.’”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11