Isaiah 45:3-5

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 2:8-9

One of the most fascinating things about Old Testament history is the way in which God used those who did not believe in Him to further His purposes. Cyrus, the creator of the Persian Empire, is one such example. Yet Isaiah shows us how, behind all his conquests, a divine purpose was at work: "I will strengthen you, though...

When God made this promise to Cyrus, He was speaking of material treasures from lands of darkness that Cyrus would conquer. But we are not doing violence to the verse when we take it and apply it in a spiritual sense.

There are treasures that are discovered in the dark nights of life that are never found in days of unrelieved sunshine.

For instance, God can give songs in the darkest night (Job 35:10) that would never have been sung...

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. § If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these...