I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. – Isaiah 45:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 21, 2017): Isaiah 45

Nelson Mandela once commented that “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” The great truth in life is that, for some of us, the best way to motivate us is to tell us that something is impossible. Many have chased after the impossible and have found a way through, making the impossible possible. Some have chased after the impossible out of ignorance, not realizing that the solution was outside of the realm of possibility. But repeatedly, the impossible has become possible.

In October 539, B.C.E, Cyrus led the armies of the Medes and the Persians into lower Mesopotamia. His strategy was simple. He would conquer the countryside around Babylon, much as Babylon had conquered the towns around Jerusalem sixty years earlier. Finally, with the countryside firmly in his control, he turned his attention to Babylon. Jerusalem had been placed under siege for months before it finally fell. Cyrus arrived at Babylon and diverted the Euphrates River away from the city so that his army could enter under the river gate entrance into the city. But then his army reached the inner gates of the city and found the gates unlocked. The army moved through the city and took control. God had truly broken down that gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, just as he had said that he would.

Just as God had led Nebuchadnezzar, God led Cyrus, and the impossible became possible. And with the ascension of Cyrus to the throne of Babylon, God set the stage for another impossibility to become a reality. The door was finally opened for Judah to return home from their exile. And the overwhelming message of Isaiah to all who heard his prophecy was that “when these things come to pass, know that it is God who has done this. His hand reached out to Nebuchadnezzar and removed you from your home, and his hand reached out to Cyrus to begin to set the conditions that will allow you to return home. And all of this is truly an act of God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 46