God Turns the King’s Heart

“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, 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.”  Ezra 1:1-2

Ezra, the author of the book of the same name, was the Jewish priest who led the second expedition from captivity in Babylon back to Israel.  He was a descendant of Phineas, grandson of Aaron, the first priest of Israel during the time of Moses and was dedicated to knowing God’s law, following it, and teaching it to the people of God’s chosen nation.  From II Kings 25 and II Chronicles 36, we know that the people of Judah had been taken captive by the Babylonians, and Jerusalem, including the temple, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  This captivity lasted for 70 years, after which time, God allowed them to return to Jerusalem which was in desperate need of restoration.

There were no longer any Jewish kings to rule over the Jewish people, thus, prophets became the overseers for many years until such time as God withdrew His word from them for over 450 years because of their sin.  The last prophet was Malachi until John the Baptist came on the scene to introduce Jesus to Israel and the world.

The first of the Judean captives were taken to Babylon in B. C. 605.  Jerusalem was destroyed in B.C. 587, and the remainder of the Jews who weren’t killed were then removed to join the first group of captives.  In B.C. 539, the Babylonian Empire was defeated by the Persians whose king was Cyrus.  During his first year of reign over Babylon, B.C. 538, God awakened his heart and gave him the desire to do something which would fulfill God’s prophecy as spoken by Jeremiah (25:12-13; 29:10) and Isaiah (44:28-45:1-4).  Cyrus was not a worshiper of Jehovah God, but, as Proverbs 21:1 states, God holds the kings’ hearts in His hand, and He can turn those hearts whichever way He desires.  God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to free the Hebrew people (Exodus 7:3).  God does not take good men and make them evil, rather, He allows evil men to pursue the evil that is already in their hearts.

This call by God for Cyrus to make a proclamation also stirred up Cyrus to put it in writing.  According to Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Cyrus did not acknowledge Israel’s God as the One who influenced him to make this proclamation to build a house in Jerusalem for Him, but rather gave credit to the false god, Merodach, one of the Baal gods which he worshiped.  In Isaiah 44:28-45:1-4, God foretold that He would call Cyrus to this work even though Cyrus did not know Almighty God.  In contrast to what Unger’s wrote, scripture clearly indicates that Cyrus understood this word was from the LORD God Jehovah of whom Cyrus gave credit for allowing him to rule the kingdoms of the earth.  The charge was to build God’s house in Jerusalem in the land of Judah for God’s people.  Cyrus did not acknowledge God as his God, but he did obey Him.  It is interesting to note that an idolatrous king can sometimes be more obedient than God’s own people.  Even so, God kept His promise to them as they were allowed to return to their homeland by way of an idolatrous king.

Cyrus summoned those of God’s people who desired to make this journey to Jerusalem.  Many of these people had never seen Jerusalem because they were born while in captivity.  There would likely have been a few who had been taken captive at a young age, but now were in their seventies and eighties.  The first ones who were taken captive spent 70 years in Babylon looking for the day when God promised to return them home.  Many captives had likely died in Babylon.  Cyrus, while not acknowledging God as the only God, did allow the Jewish people to worship God, even calling on God to be with them as they traveled.  These were the people who would rebuild the temple.  They were led by Zerubbabel, the head of the tribe of Judah.  Cyrus referred to the temple to be rebuilt as “the house of the LORD God of Israel” indicating that he considered God as the God of Israel but not the One true God of all the earth.

To those who chose not to go to Jerusalem with this first group were encouraged by Cyrus to supply silver, gold, goods, and beasts for the journey and the work which lay ahead.  They were also encouraged to give freely to the treasury of the new temple.  There are those who go and those who give so that others may go and do the work.  It takes people with all kinds of talents and abilities to further the kingdom of God.  Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:12-31 how that believers make up the body of Christ.  Not everyone has the same work to do, but everyone has a work to do, and no one or one’s work is more important than another.  If folks want equality and/or equity, they can find it as a child of the King.