Isaiah 45:13
I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.
This verse belongs to Isaiah 41-45, where God very fully reveals His purpose for His people, and these chapters should be prayerfully studied. In them He does not instruct His people to turn away from His wisdom and look to finite man for wisdom, but directs them to seek wisdom from Him rather than from finite human beings.
God raised Cyrus up in righteousness and directs all his ways to carry out His purpose for Israel in a divinely appointed mission as His agent and shepherd. Cyrus would build His city by ordering Jerusalem to be built and the temple foundation to be laid and by helping restore the temple of Jehovah. He would let the Judean captives go free without price or reward, without payment, freely releasing the Jewish captives and restoring God's people and city as directed by the Lord.
Its fulfillment was literal in the sudden overthrow of Babylon by the unexpected entry of the Persian army into the heart of the capital by way of the turned-aside river channel and through inner gates left open and unprotected in careless security. That overthrow was to be abundant evidence and an unmistakable sign that God was shaping the affairs of nations in behalf of the Jews. The prophecy of the manner of Babylon's capture and fall is inseparably linked with this promise.
The prophecy was written more than a hundred years before Cyrus was born and was made known to him by Daniel just at the time God had said the temple at Jerusalem should be rebuilt at the completion of the seventy years. God moved upon Cyrus as His agent and used the deliverance of Daniel from the den of lions and Daniel's far-seeing ability as a statesman to create a favorable impression upon Cyrus and gain respect for Daniel's judgment. When Cyrus saw and read the prophecy his heart was profoundly moved and he determined to fulfill it.
The verse reveals the greatness of the love and compassion of God in pure, excellent language and elevating, ennobling principles, holding the loftiest themes of thought. It requires stretched faculties of mind to comprehend and should be put in form and brought into schools as a valuable study, better than romance or fable. It tells of the city being sought whose Builder and Maker is God, to direct thought toward heaven as home and the believer's citizenship above. Lives must not be devoted to a world soon to be destroyed, and the Word of God must be revealed in living characters.
The verse is included among God's promises in Isaiah chapters 44 and 45, given as encouragement to appreciate what the Lord has done and will do for those who follow Him. It shows what God has covenanted to do with His people and gives encouragement meant to arouse them. It calls for more missionary work and more missionary spirit to come into the churches, for the Lord God of heaven uses His people so His name can be glorified even into the highways and the hedges.