Isaiah 45 shows us the LORD uses the leaders of other nations and their armies to bring about His will in history. It was King Cyrus of Persia who is mentioned by name in Isaiah 45. God selected him and used him in judging other nations, and in sending some of the people of Israel back to their native land from exile. They would rebuild the walls of Jerusalem as well as the Temple. While he was reigning over them, he required them to offer sacrifices on his behalf, but the end result was the nation of Israel was restored. As we look throughout history, the same has happened. The people of Israel have been scattered and decimated, but always the LORD brings them back. The remainder of the chapter reminds us once again the LORD is their Savior, and He will always be with them.
Isaiah 46 reminds us the gods of Babylon, which King Nebuchadnezzar had proclaimed were the source of his might and strength, were destroyed. (Undoubtedly by the coming of the Persians, as in that day every conquering nation destroyed the idols of those they conquered, or collected them to show they were superior.) Once again, the LORD reminds us of the futility of worshiping gods, even gods made of gold, because they are inanimate. They have no power, no ability to speak or act. Only the Lord is God and we must worship and serve Him alone.
Isaiah 47 is a brief condemnation of Babylon. The LORD reminds the Babylonians they thought their sorcery and their gods would uphold them forever, that they would never be cast down. Yet, the LORD tells them they will be destroyed and their women will become childless widows, which they said would never happen. The moral of this account is never trust in yourself or in your own ingenuity, but trust in the LORD and Him alone.
As we return to John 7, we find the crowds and the leaders once again debating over whether Jesus was or was not the Messiah. Jesus was not going to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, because He knew the Jewish leaders were out to get Him, but at the same time, He needed to go and teach the people. While He was teaching, the leaders came against Him, but they didn’t arrest Him. When they sent the Temple Guard to arrest Him, these men came back saying no one had ever taught like Jesus! The leaders debated among each other, but Nicodemus spoke up and asked whether they condemned people without a hearing? The other leaders held him in contempt, but at the end they didn’t arrest Him for as the text tells us: His time had not yet come. Jesus’ time, His time to die on the cross for all of us was coming, but not at the moment, so He lived to teach, heal, and deliver for another day!