Nothing New Under the Sun

Isaiah 45:1–8

“This is what the LORD says to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob My servant, of Israel My chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged Me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. “You heavens above, rain down My righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it.”

Down to the last details God is sovereign and to be praised. What do we do when we look at the news? Far be it from us that we dismiss it as nothing new, as someone once said “all ‘new’ news is old news happening to new people”; but especially with news of disaster and strife, and evil that humanity experiences may it cause us to pray. The preacher said, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc 1:9)”, often as a sigh of resignation, to say there is nothing new under the sun means there is nothing really new on earth. All the activities of people during their lifetimes are lost in the grander scheme of things and will soon be forgotten (Ecc 1:11). Indeed, but we pray. We pray for God’s Kingdom come and His will be done on earth, under the sun, as it is in heaven, beyond it (Matt 6:10). Isaiah relates to us God’s power and authority over even those like Cyrus, perhaps like Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi, Assad, or Trump, though these do not acknowledge Him (vv. 4–5). "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realise I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above… (John 19:10–11).” All power comes from God alone, there is no other like Him, He is one (v. 6), and only He can make sense of the course of world history and what’s in the news though in our limited minds cannot understand it, nor grasp the bigger picture of it all. We can trust Him when He says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts (Isa 55:8–9).”Only God, just as much as only He can understand our wayward hearts (Jer 17:10), and life itself. And so we pray for His mercy and for His grace to suffuse existence with His breath of life and meaning through a life lived for Him. In the end, Solomon writes this: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all humanity. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecc 12:13–14). The writer at Gotquestions.org further explains on this, “in other words, life involves more than what happens “under the sun.” Living for God and His glory is the goal of life. Those who do not seek this goal will be judged. Even our good deeds that have gone unnoticed in this life are seen by God and will be rewarded in the future. This knowledge should result in a life lived for God, with a deep love for others and desire to make a difference.” The Christian life is not meaningless. There may be nothing new under the sun, but Jesus promises, one day, to make all things new (Rev 21:5).