And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
This verse comes from one of the most astonishing passages in all of Scripture. Isaiah, writing around 700 BC, names a Persian king called Cyrus — by name — roughly 150 years before this king would be born. Cyrus the Great would eventually conquer Babylon in 539 BC and issue a famous decree allowing the Jewish people, who had been held in captivity, to return to their homeland. God promises to give Cyrus 'treasures of darkness' — the hidden wealth stored in conquered vaults and palaces — not primarily as a military reward, but as a sign: so that Cyrus would recognize who had orchestrated his rise. Most strikingly, God does all of this through a pagan king who did not personally worship the God of Israel — yet God calls him by name anyway.
God, you knew Cyrus by name before he drew a breath, and you know mine. Help me trust that the dark and hidden places in my life are not outside your reach — that you give real treasure there too. Let me come through this knowing you more, not less. Amen.
Imagine finding a letter addressed to you — your actual name — written by someone who died a hundred and fifty years before you were born. Historians tell us that when Cyrus conquered Babylon and encountered the scroll of Isaiah, he may have read something very close to that. His name, written in a text generations old, describing what he would do before he had done it. The verse says God 'summons you by name.' Not as a category. Not as a useful historical figure. By name. What undoes me about this verse is that it happens to Cyrus — a man who didn't follow the God of Israel, who wouldn't have known this God's name if not for this prophecy. And yet God knew his. The 'treasures of darkness' here are real: the riches hidden in palace storerooms that Cyrus inherited through conquest. But the phrase carries something more. There are things God gives in dark seasons and hidden places that you wouldn't trade for anything, once you come through them. The clarity that arrived only during the long illness. The character forged in the years when nothing worked out. The knowing that came only because everything else fell away. God gives treasure in dark places — and sometimes the whole point is so that you, like Cyrus, finally recognize who has been calling your name all along.
God uses Cyrus — a pagan king who did not worship him — as a central instrument of his purposes. What does that tell you about how God works in the world beyond the boundaries of 'religious' people and places?
Have you ever received something genuinely valuable — clarity, character, faith — through a dark or painful season? How did that experience shape you?
God says he gives these treasures specifically 'so that you may know' him. Do you think difficulty is one of the primary ways God makes himself known to people — and how do you feel about that as a claim?
If God knows your name the way this verse suggests he knew Cyrus's name — before you were born, with full knowledge of where your life would go — how does that change, if at all, the way you relate to him?
What 'treasure in darkness' might you be in the middle of right now — and what would it look like to stay open to what God might be doing there, even without being able to see it yet?
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Isaiah 43:1
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isaiah 49:1
That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Isaiah 44:28
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1 John 5:6
"I will give you the treasures of darkness [the hoarded treasures] And the hidden riches of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you (Cyrus the Great) by your name.
AMP
I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
ESV
'I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
NASB
I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
NIV
I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
NKJV
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness — secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
NLT
I'll lead you to buried treasures, secret caches of valuables— Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, God, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
MSG