◄ Isaiah 45:7 ►
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
Study Bible
I form the light and create the darkness;

The Lord alone made and governs the ordered world, leaving no realm beyond His authority. Spoken in the context of Cyrus’s rise, these words deny that light and darkness belong to competing divine powers. The Creator who separated light from darkness at the beginning of creation rules both what humanity welcomes and what it fears. Darkness may describe physical night, obscurity, distress, or judgment, yet none of these escape God’s sovereign hand.

Gen 1:3-5 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.…
Amo 4:13 “For behold, He who forms the mountains”…
Psa 104:20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night…

I bring prosperity and create calamity.

The Lord gives peace and well-being, and He also ordains seasons of disaster, discipline, and national upheaval. Calamity does not mean that God creates moral evil or acts wickedly; it declares that He governs judgment as truly as blessing. Babylon’s coming downfall and Cyrus’s victories would not arise from chance or human strength. God used historical events, including war and political change, to judge evil, humble idols, and restore His people.

1Sa 2:6-7 The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down…
Lam 3:37-38 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord…
Amo 3:6 If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble?…

I, the LORD, do all these things.

YHWH, Israel’s covenant God, stands above every ruler, nation, and supposed god. His purposes encompass creation and history, mercy and judgment, rescue and discipline. The same sovereign Lord who raised Cyrus to free Judah ultimately directs all things toward the fulfillment of His redemptive plan. His rule calls His people to trust Him when prosperity comes and when calamity darkens their path.

Psa 115:3 Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
Dan 4:35 All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing…
Eph 1:11 In Him we were also chosen as God’s own,…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Isaiah
A major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah's ministry spanned the reigns of several kings of Judah. He is known for his prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah and the salvation of the Lord.

2. Cyrus
Although not mentioned directly in this verse, Isaiah 45 is part of a prophecy concerning Cyrus, the Persian king whom God anointed to deliver Israel from Babylonian captivity.

3. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which was in exile during the time of this prophecy. Isaiah's message was meant to bring hope and assurance of God's sovereignty to the exiled people.

4. Babylon
The empire that conquered Judah and took its people into exile. The prophecy in Isaiah 45 speaks to the eventual downfall of Babylon and the liberation of the Jewish people.

5. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal, self-existent nature and His role as the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty
Recognize that God is in control of all aspects of life, both light and darkness, prosperity and calamity. This understanding should lead to trust and reliance on His wisdom and plan.

Purpose in Adversity
Understand that God can use difficult circumstances for His purposes. Believers are called to seek His will and grow in faith through trials.

Response to God's Authority
Our response to God's sovereignty should be one of humility and submission, acknowledging that His ways are higher than our ways.

Hope in God's Plan
Even in times of darkness or calamity, believers can have hope, knowing that God is working out His divine plan for redemption and restoration.

Balance of Light and Darkness
Embrace the balance of life’s experiences, trusting that God’s creation of both light and darkness serves His greater purpose.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's sovereignty in Isaiah 45:7 affect your perspective on current events in your life?

2. In what ways can you see God's hand in both the "light" and "darkness" of your personal experiences?

3. How does the concept of God creating both prosperity and calamity challenge or affirm your understanding of His character?

4. How can you apply the lessons from Isaiah 45:7 to respond to adversity with faith and trust?

5. What other biblical examples can you find where God uses difficult circumstances to fulfill His purposes, and how do they relate to Isaiah 45:7?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1:1-5
The creation account where God creates light, establishing His authority over creation and His ability to bring order from chaos.

Amos 3:6
This verse speaks to the idea that nothing happens without the Lord's permission, reinforcing the concept of God's sovereignty over both prosperity and calamity.

Job 2:10
Job acknowledges that both good and adversity come from God, illustrating a similar theme of divine sovereignty and human response to God's will.

Romans 8:28
This New Testament verse assures believers that God works all things together for good, for those who love Him, aligning with the idea of God's ultimate control and purpose.
Sermons
EvilT. G. Bonney, D. Sc. , LL. D.Isaiah 45:7
EvilT. G. Bonney, D. Sc. , LL. D.Isaiah 45:7
Evil and GodF. Delitszch, D. D.Isaiah 45:7
Evil in Relation to GoodT. G. Bonney, D. Sc. , LL. D.Isaiah 45:7
Evil in the Old TestamentProf. J. Skinner, D. D.Isaiah 45:7
Evil: its Origin, Junction, and EndS. Cox, D. D.Isaiah 45:7
God the Author of PeaceW. Jones, M. A.Isaiah 45:7
God's Love in Relation to EvilS. Cox, D. D.Isaiah 45:7
God's Relation to EvilS. Cox, D. D.Isaiah 45:7
Good Out of EvilJ. M. Whiton.Isaiah 45:7
Light and Darkness in the UniverseT. G. Selby.Isaiah 45:7
Man and Sin; the Problem of Moral EvilR. J. Campbell, M. A.Isaiah 45:7
One Source of Evil and GoodR. Tuck Isaiah 45:7
Pain and Death Co-Existent with Animal LifeT. G. Bonney, D. Sc. , LL. D.Isaiah 45:7
Sorrow a Shadow of the Divine LoveDean Alford.Isaiah 45:7
The Agency of God UniversalN. Emmons, D. D.Isaiah 45:7
The Divine Use of PainW. Page, B. A.Isaiah 45:7
The Mystery of EvilJ. M. Whiton.Isaiah 45:7
The Origin and Prevalence of EvilJ. Grant, M. A.Isaiah 45:7
The Real EvilsT. G. Bonney, D. Sc. , LL. D.Isaiah 45:7
The Solar EclipseCharles Haddon Spurgeon Isaiah 45:7
Cyrus the Anointed of JehovahE. Johnson Isaiah 45:1-8
An Old PerplexityW. Clarkson Isaiah 45:6-8
The Beneficent Sovereignty of GodC. Short, M. A.Isaiah 45:6-13
People
Cyrus, Isaiah, Jacob
Places
Cush, Egypt, Jerusalem
Topics
Blessing, Bring, Calamity, Causing, Create, Creating, Dark, Darkness, Disaster, Evil, Form, Forming, Giver, Maker, Making, Peace, Preparing, Prosperity, Sending, Troubles, Weal, Well-being, Woe
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 45:7

     1325   God, the Creator
     4006   creation, origin
     4801   black
     4810   darkness, natural
     4834   light, natural

Isaiah 45:1-7

     5857   fame

Isaiah 45:5-8

     5395   lordship, human and divine

Isaiah 45:7-12

     5273   creativity

Library
Hidden and Revealed
'Verily thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.... I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.'--ISAIAH xlv, 15,19. The former of these verses expresses the thoughts of the prophet in contemplating the close of a great work of God's power which issues in the heathen's coming to Israel and acknowledging God. He adores the depth of the divine …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Sovereignty and Salvation
"Ere since by faith I saw the stream His flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die." I shall never forget that day, while memory holds its place; nor can I help repeating this text whenever I remember that hour when first I knew the Lord. How strangely gracious! How wonderfully and marvelously kind, that he who heard these words so little time ago for his own soul's profit, should now address you this morning as his hearers from the same text, in the full and …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Solar Eclipse
I shall note this morning, in addressing you, that since the Lord creates darkness as well as light; first of all, eclipses of every kind are part of God's way of governing the world; in the second place, we shall notice that since God creates the darkness as well as the light, we may conclude beyond a doubt that he has a design in the eclipse--in the darkness as well as the light; and then, thirdly, we shall notice that as all things that God has created, whether they be light or whether they be …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Ecce Homo
"Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."--Is. xlv. 22. Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Wilt thou, sinner, be converted? Christ the Lord of glory see By His own denied, deserted, Bleeding, bound, and scourged for thee. Look again, O soul, behold Him On the cross uplifted high; See the precious life-blood flowing, See the tears that dim His eye. Love has pierced the heart that brake, Loveless sinner, for thy sake. Hearken till thy heart is broken To His …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

The Eve of the Restoration
'Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 2. Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3. Who is there among you of all His people? his God …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jehovah-Shammah: a Glorious Name for the New Year
THESE words may be used as a test as well as a text. They may serve for examination as well as consolation, and at the beginning of a year they may fulfill this useful double purpose. In any case they are full of marrow and fatness to those whose spiritual taste is purified. It is esteemed by the prophet to be the highest blessing that could come upon a city that its name should be, "JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH, The Lord is there." Even Jerusalem, in its best estate, would have this for its crowning blessing: …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Eternity and Unchangeableness of God.
Exod. iii. 14.--"I AM THAT I AM."--Psal. xc. 2.--"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God."--Job xi. 7-9.--"Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." This is the chief point of saving knowledge, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Of Four Things which Bring Great Peace
"My Son, now will I teach thee the way of peace and of true liberty." 2. Do, O my Lord, as Thou sayest, for this is pleasing unto me to hear. 3. "Strive, My Son, to do another's will rather than thine own. Choose always to have less rather than more. Seek always after the lowest place, and to be subject to all. Wish always and pray that the will of God be fulfilled in thee. Behold, such a man as this entereth into the inheritance of peace and quietness." 4. O my Lord, this Thy short discourse …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Spiritual Hunger Shall be Satisfied
They shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 I proceed now to the second part of the text. A promise annexed. They shall be filled'. A Christian fighting with sin is not like one that beats the air' (1 Corinthians 9:26), and his hungering after righteousness is not like one that sucks in only air, Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.' Those that hunger after righteousness shall be filled. God never bids us seek him in vain' (Isaiah 45:19). Here is an honeycomb dropping into the mouths of …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Thy Name: My Name
'I have called thee by thy name.'--ISAIAH xliii. 1. 'Every one that is called by My name.'--ISAIAH xliii. 7. Great stress is laid on names in Scripture. These two parallel and antithetic clauses bring out striking complementary relations between God and the collective Israel. But they are as applicable to each individual member of the true Israel of God. I. What does God's calling a man by his name imply? 1. Intimate knowledge. Adam naming the creatures. Christ naming His disciples. 2. Loving friendship. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Extent of Messiah's Spiritual Kingdom
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever! T he Kingdom of our Lord in the heart, and in the world, is frequently compared to a building or house, of which He Himself is both the Foundation and the Architect (Isaiah 28:16 and 54:11, 12) . A building advances by degrees (I Corinthians 3:9; Ephesians 2:20-22) , and while it is in an unfinished state, a stranger cannot, by viewing its present appearance, form an accurate judgment …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Its Nature
Justification, strictly speaking, consists in God's imputing to His elect the righteousness of Christ, that alone being the meritorious cause or formal ground on which He pronounces them righteous: the righteousness of Christ is that to which God has respect when He pardons and accepts the sinner. By the nature of justification we have reference to the constituent elements of the same, which are enjoyed by the believer. These are, the non-imputation of guilt or the remission of sins, and second, …
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification

The Theology of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
This Chapter offers no more than a tentative and imperfect outline of the theology of St. Hilary; it is an essay, not a monograph. Little attempt will be made to estimate the value of his opinions from the point of view of modern thought; little will be said about his relation to earlier and contemporary thought, a subject on which he is habitually silent, and nothing about the after fate of his speculations. Yet the task, thus narrowed, is not without its difficulties. Much more attention, it is …
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers

Gifts and Talents.
"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him."--Judges iii. 10. We now consider the Holy Spirit's work in bestowing gifts, talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scripture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit. The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Putting God to Work
"For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God beside thee who worketh for him that waiteth for him."--Isaiah 64:4. The assertion voiced in the title given this chapter is but another way of declaring that God has of His own motion placed Himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated Himself to answer the prayers of men. He has ordained prayer as a means whereby He will do things through men as they pray, which He would not otherwise do. Prayer …
Edward M. Bounds—The Weapon of Prayer

Extent of Atonement.
VI. For whose benefit the atonement was intended. 1. God does all things for himself; that is, he consults his own glory and happiness, as the supreme and most influential reason for all his conduct. This is wise and right in him, because his own glory and happiness are infinitely the greatest good in and to the universe. He made the atonement to satisfy himself. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Messiah's Innocence vindicated
He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken. L et not plain Christians be stumbled because there are difficulties in the prophetical parts of the Scriptures, and because translators and expositors sometimes explain them with some difference, as to the sense. Whatever directly relates to our faith, practice, and comfort, may be plainly collected from innumerable …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation, …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

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