Breaking Down the Gates | Mid-week Lent Service, Week 4 | Isaiah 45: 1–8
“I will break down the gates of bronze. ”
March 23, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.
Mid-week Service, Week 4
“Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love, Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above” (LSB 423:1). Judean exiles in Babylon longed to be free. Enter Cyrus, a Persian king, whom God calls His “anointed one” (Isaiah 45:1). When we feel as though the devil has locked the gate and thrown away the key, God sends us Jesus—the Anointed One—and we are free!
READINGS
Psalm 51:1–19
Isaiah 45:1–8
Hebrews 6:13–20
Matthew 9:27–34
Message presented by Rev. Frank C. Ruffatto
ABOUT THE SERIES
Gathered by the waters of Babylon, Judean exiles wistfully wondered: Is God for real? If so, does He really care about us? What does our future hold? Will this ever change? God’s people had watched their world shatter into a million pieces. They were demoralized and disillusioned. Their disaster looked terminal.
Do you feel this way? Does it look as though your current problems are more than you can bear? Do you find yourself asking: Why did this happen? Why did God allow it? Is there any order in the world? Will God really deliver on what He said?
Isaiah answers these questions in chapters 40–55 of his book. He announces that just when Israel’s history seemed closed and controlled by hopeless Babylonian imperial policy, to the shock and surprise of everyone the Lord will stir up a king named Cyrus and a new exodus will explode in the desert! A Servant will be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. And barren Zion will be given so many children that, like the old woman in the shoe, she won’t know what to do! Standing behind these marvelous promises is God’s almighty Word. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). The exiles are going home!
