Isaiah 45:8

⁸“Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the Lord, created them.f

Isaiah 45 is a stunning declaration of God's sovereignty over history, delivered through the prophet to a people in exile. The chapter centers on Cyrus, the Persian king, whom God calls his “anointed” — a shocking title for a pagan ruler. Through Cyrus, God will liberate Israel and