Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth (Isaiah 45)

Isaiah chapter 45 is mainly a message to King Cyrus, and opens by calling him "anointed one". Yes, as the SAB notes, this is "messiah", but this isn't a challenge to Jesus's status as Messiah; there simply happen to be many in the Bible who have such a title, as many had been anointed to serve God in a special way. (Really, if you look back, the priests were anointed, and so were all kings, including Saul, and it's sort of implied that even Abimelech was anointed in Judges nine.) Anyway, God talks about all the things he's doing for Cyrus, including naming him in this prophetic book that was supposedly written a long time before Cyrus was even born.

God says that he is the only God, prompting the SAB to ask How many gods are there?, which I answered in Exodus chapter twelve. God says he creates everything, including evil, prompting the question Is God the creator of evil? which I pretty much addressed in Isaiah chapter 31, but that was technically a different page, so I should expand here. Actually, it's surprisingly simple "yes", as I don't think either of the verses in the "no" section are saying that. I mean, just because evil doesn't dwell with God doesn't mean he can't create it on earth. It presents a big theological issue, however, because those who follow the God of the Bible believe he is thoroughly good, so how can a good God create evil, right? I've said before that such questions are really out of the scope of this blog's purpose, but when I came to this before, I felt it should be addressed nonetheless, so I examined it elsewhere.

In verse twelve, God says, "I made the earth with my hands, and stretched out the heavens." The SAB marks this with absurdity and science, but I'm not sure why. All it's really saying is that God is the creator of the universe, which is pretty basic theology, and there's nothing really unscientific here. If it's the stretching that's the issue, science says that the universe is expanding, so there is a very real sense in which the heavens are "stretched out".

Does God help in times of need? the SAB asks, which I answered in 1Samuel chapter eight. In verse 22, God says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved," which prompts the SAB to bring up the topic of salvation. This is a big subject to delve into, and some day I hope to make a post about that page, but for here, let it suffice to say this is about being saved from enemies, not eternal salvation. The SAB asks Is it okay to swear?, which I answered in Genesis chapter 21, where my answer was that yes, you can swear, but you need to be sincere.