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Cyrus has been anointed (the Hebrew word is the word for messiah) by God to redeem Israel. However, v.4 makes it clear that God is raising up Cyrus, not for Cyrus’s sake but for the sake of Jacob my servant (v.4). The passage closes with a response of praise by the created order.
Israel’s reaction to this remarkable move by God is anticipated. They are not in a position to question their Maker. Through a series of images from pottery and family life the prophet drives his point home (vv.9-10). Because God is the sovereign Creator, he will do as he chooses, and he need answer to no one.
In vv.14-25 the prophet returns to the theme that Israel’s salvation will attract the other nations (cf. 42:6; 44:5). This section (chs. 40-55) contains the most expansive understanding of the revelation and grace of God in the OT, reaching out to all nations. Some have suggested that had Israel heard, believed, and acted upon this message, it would have become a missionary religion rather than a closed ethnic one. V.14 concludes on a remarkable note: The nations will acknowledge that Yahweh is God and there is no other.
V.18 returns to the theme of creation. Note particularly the reference to chaos (NIV “empty”). The Exile was frequently portrayed theologically as a return to chaos (Ge 1:2). Now the prophet builds on that notion, reminding the people that God is a God of creation, not of chaos. His creative activity will become a redemptive activity.