Saturday 06 April 2019

Psalm: Psalm 112

Background

This passage opens with the startling announcement that Cyrus the Persian is the Messiah! Rightly, this does raise questions about a future Messiah, and we also notice the impressive hyperbole in God’s address to Cyrus. There are indications in history that Cyrus was an imperial level inter faith practitioner, but not necessarily that he actually heard the words of God.

The monotheistic announcements continue – "I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god." (v.5) Perhaps this brings to mind the Islamic declaration of faith – "There is no god worthy of worship except God" – though the resonances are less strong between the Hebrew and the Arabic phrases.

What is really striking though is that pure monotheism (lacking in any kind of dualism) is completely uncompromising and has a real ‘the buck stops here’ characteristic – "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things." (vs. 6-7) Some translations try to hide this but this is what faces us in the most real texts, here in Isaiah and in the beginning of Job, remembering that both are literary explorations (provocatively so in the case of Job) – "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

To Ponder:

• How dualistic are you?
• What are your thoughts on Cyrus as a ‘pagan’ Messiah?