And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he made a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also in writing, saying,
The book of Ezra opens with a date, a prophecy, and a foreign king. They seem unrelated until you see who holds them together. The exiles in Babylon had lost everything. Yet this verse says the deciding factor was not politics, but a word God had spoken seventy years earlier.
Commentators point out that the seventy years were not a rough guess. God fixed the term before the exile began.
Seventy years before their return, the prophet Jeremiah, who lived in the closing days of the kingdom of Judah, had foretold that judgment would overtake the nation. Because of their wickedness they would be carried off into captivity at Babylon, and their land would be left in ruins. Even so, the prophecy said that after seventy years the LORD would bring them back to their land. The book of Ezra opens in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia — seventy years after the Captivity. At that time, so that the word of the LORD by Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, who issued a proclamation to the people of God setting them free to return to the Land to "build the house of the LORD God of Israel."
The king in this verse was no surprise to God. God named him long before Babylon took Jerusalem.
This prophecy came long before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, and at least a hundred years before God called Jeremiah to his work as a prophet. So it shows that the eye and heart of God are always on His people and on their interests. It shows too that the public events of the world — the rise and fall of empires, the coming of mighty conquerors — are only the instruments of His power. Through them He works on through the governments of the world to fulfil His own purposes for His people on earth. How calmly, then, the children of God may rest amid political confusion and strife! In this way God had marked out, by the mouth of Isaiah, two hundred years before the event told in our chapter, the man He had chosen to restore His people and to build His house at Jerusalem.
Writers note that knowing the facts about God's plan is not the same as being moved by God.
But none of this was enough to bring the captives back: not these convictions of the mind (which might have nothing to do with a work of conscience or a living faith), and not even his certainty that God had chosen him as an instrument to carry out His plans (v. 2). God meant to show that it was He Himself and no other who fulfilled His Word. That is why it says: "the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia" (v. 1).
The same phrase returns four verses later, this time about the people themselves.
It is remarkable how God works. First He "stirs up the spirit" of this pagan king, so that he passes a decree inviting the Jews to return to Jerusalem. He then stirs up the spirit of those who went (Ezra 1:5). Whatever men do, a true revival is always a work of God.
Something has changed in how God deals with His people. He now acts through the empire that rules them.
In these books God is no longer seen stepping openly into the affairs of His people. He works, as it were, behind the scenes. At the same time He recognises the new order that He Himself has set up, and He uses the Gentile kings, into whose hands He had put the rule of the earth, to carry out His purposes.
While God stirred Cyrus, an old man in Babylon was praying. One writer names the three men God used, and how each one served.
So to fulfil this promise God used Jeremiah in prophecy, Daniel in prayer, and Cyrus — a man who did not know the Lord — in providence.
What guided Daniel matters, because nothing around him looked hopeful.
He discovers "by books," not by circumstances, that God would visit His people in captivity and open a way for them to return to their land. He has just seen the king of Babylon destroyed and his empire fall. But he does not guess at the meaning of the stirring events around him, or try to draw from them conclusions that favour God's people.
Those who came back were only a small remnant. Their story is left as an example.
The Holy Spirit presents those who returned as showing the marks that a believing remnant should take on in a time of ruin. They are a very healthy example for us — an example that teaches us how we may be witnesses of God in difficult circumstances.
- Word first. Seventy years earlier God spoke through Jeremiah. Ezra 1:1 names that word as the reason anything happens at all.
- Word names. The same word had named Cyrus before his birth, so the rise of an empire was only an instrument in God's hand.
- Word stirs. Cyrus was convinced in his mind, but that was not enough. God stirred his spirit, and then the people's too.
- Word hides. From Ezra on, God is no longer seen acting in the open. He works behind the scenes through the Gentile kings.
- Word answers. Jeremiah prophesied. Daniel prayed, guided by the books and not by the news around him. Cyrus acted without knowing God — one word carried by three men.
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia All the kingdoms of the earth has Jehovah the God of the heavens given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
A Persian emperor, fresh from taking Babylon, issues a decree in the name of Israel's God — the God whose prophet had named him two centuries earlier. The verse raises two questions at once: what did Cyrus actually understand, and why does he call the LORD "the God of heaven" rather than the God of Israel?
One writer sets the prediction and its fulfilment side by side.
Open the book of Ezra, and we go back to the first year of that great king. The prophet Isaiah had mentioned him by name some two centuries before he came to the throne. If we turn to Isaiah 44:28, we read the prediction of what he would do. Ezra 1:2 records his doing what Isaiah foretold.
So the "charge" in the decree points back to a prophecy already in writing.
How powerfully Isaiah's prophecy must have struck a mind so thoughtful! No sceptics were on hand to whisper their doubts. Daniel was there too, to point him to Jeremiah. It was not policy but Jehovah that stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, as He did that of the chief fathers of the Jews. The conqueror of Babylon proclaimed a kind of jubilee to the captives — but with one stated aim: to build Jehovah's house in Jerusalem. Who but an enemy of God's word can doubt that Isaiah 44:28 was his "charge" from Jehovah?
Cyrus uses the title that runs right through this part of Scripture. It marks a change in how God dealt with His people.
God is given the distinct title "the God of the heavens" (Dan. 2:18, 37, 44). It comes again in Ezra 1:2, Ezra 5:12, Ezra 6:9-10, Ezra 7:12, 23, Neh. 1:4-5, Neh. 2:4, and also in 2 Chronicles 36:23. His people had fallen away to idols. In that state it did not suit His nature and majesty to act at their head or among them as "the Lord of all the earth." (Joshua 3:11)
Cyrus was not alone among the Persian kings in using it.
Cyrus, like the kings of Persia who followed him, hated idols. Acknowledging the God of Israel as "the God of the heavens", he insists here that "he is God" (v. 3). In the same way Artaxerxes, king of Persia, later openly declares that the Lord God of Israel is "the God of the heavens" (Ezra 7:21, 23).
Cyrus credits the LORD with giving him his empire. Does that make him a believer?
In Cyrus we do not see the power of faith, but, just as Nebuchadnezzar carried out God's work, so Cyrus is the servant of His mercy to bring the Jew back to the land. In himself he goes further than Nebuchadnezzar. He says (Ezra 1:2, etc.) that the Jehovah-God had given him the kingdoms of the earth, and a charge to build the house at Jerusalem. Whether this confession of God's sovereignty came from a saving faith is another matter. God is able to make the world confess His power and authority... The point is not what Cyrus was in himself, but his work.
A king convinced of his mission could not bring the captives home by himself.
But all this was not enough to bring the captives back. These were convictions of the mind, and they might have nothing to do with a work of conscience or a living faith. Even the assurance of being an instrument chosen to carry out God's designs (v. 2) fell short. God meant to show that it was He Himself and no other who fulfilled His Word. That is why it says: "The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia" (v. 1). He also stirred up the spirit of the chief fathers of Judah and Benjamin and the spirit of the priests and of Levites (v. 5).
The decree does three separate things, and the commission in verse 2 is the first of them.
Three things are announced here. First, the commission Cyrus himself had received about the Lord's house. Second, his royal permission for any of the Jews to return to Jerusalem to build the temple. Third, his invitation to those Jews who would stay in his lands to join those who left, by freewill offerings toward the object they had in view.
That single purpose shaped everything that followed, including what still had to be done afterwards.
In the first instance, God delivered a remnant of His people from captivity and brought them back to the Land, under Zerubbabel, in order to build the house of the Lord (Ezra 1:2-3). But once the house was built, it became necessary to build the walls and set up the gates to guard the sanctity of the house of the Lord.
- Word. Isaiah named Cyrus some two centuries early. Verse 2 records him doing what was foretold, and his "charge" traces back to Isaiah 44:28.
- Title. "God of heaven" is the name used all through Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel. His people had fallen away to idols, so it no longer suited Him to act among them as Lord of all the earth.
- Confession. Cyrus owns that the LORD gave him his kingdoms. Yet the writers leave open whether this was saving faith: what counts here is his work, not the man.
- Stirring. Conviction was not enough. The LORD stirred Cyrus's spirit, and then the spirits of the chief fathers, the priests and the Levites.
- House. The commission, the permission to return, and the freewill offerings all serve one aim: the house of the Lord at Jerusalem.
Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel -- he is God -- which is at Jerusalem.
The seventy years of exile are over. A Persian king's decree opens the road home. But it names no one and commands no one. It leaves the door open to whoever will walk through it.
Cyrus was not a worshipper of Israel's God, yet his edict speaks with unusual confidence about what God had charged him to do. Commentators note how much this pagan ruler was willing to say out loud.
It was no small thing for Cyrus to acknowledge the supreme glory and power of God in this striking way. It was no small thing that he obeyed what God had commanded. It is not surprising that God should have spoken of him as "His anointed."
The proclamation as a whole holds three separate things together, and it is worth keeping them distinct.
Three things are announced here: the commission which Cyrus himself had received about the Lord's house; his royal permission for any of the Jews to return to Jerusalem in order to build the temple; and lastly, his invitation to those Jews who would stay in his territories to have fellowship with those who left, by giving freewill offerings toward the goal they had in view.
The decree singles out nobody. That silence did its own sorting work.
The proclamation did not name any person or persons who were to go to Jerusalem and build the house. Instead it threw the door open for any Jew whose heart stirred him up to go. Such a man had the assurance that he would receive generous help in the project ahead of him. Worded this way, it meant that those who responded would mostly be men of piety, whose hearts were alive to the glory of God and to the place of His Name. The more worldly-minded and selfish would prefer to stay in their comfortable homes, built up during the seventy years of captivity. They would leave the task to others who were ready to face the difficulties and hardships.
It was an invitation, not an order. So it showed what people really loved.
This proclamation became a test of the moral condition of the people of God. On one side, it raised a question. Were their affections so set on their land, their God, and the house of God that in simple faith they were ready to face trials and difficulties, opposition and reproach? Were they ready to answer to the mind of God and carry out His will? Or on the other side, did they prefer to stay in Babylon with its ease and material comforts?
The verse pauses to say whose house this is. That short phrase carries weight, and so does the practical help attached to it.
Notice, he does not give any honour to the idols of Persia, but says of the God of Israel, "he is the God" (v. 3). He also gave instructions to the neighbours of anyone concerned about taking this journey to Jerusalem. They were to "help him with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem" (v. 4). This was not only a matter of setting slaves free, but of enriching them. So Cyrus was rightly representing a God of grace.
The goal here is a building project, and a narrow one. The ruined city walls are not yet on the agenda.
What Cyrus had in view was the building of "the house of the LORD," and he was not concerned with the desolate state of the city. Later, Nehemiah became deeply concerned about the ruined and desolate condition of Jerusalem. He obtained permission from Artaxerxes to restore and build the city. It was a case of God's house first, the city where men dwell second. This is a principle of lasting significance.
The ones who answered were a minority, and their reasons were not practical ones.
Not everyone was ready to go back; only a small remnant was willing. The great majority preferred to stay in Babylon. There was nothing to attract them to Jerusalem — a city of ruins, with the once magnificent temple in ruins. Those who returned loved Jerusalem, the place the LORD had chosen. There, and nowhere else, the people could bring the appointed offerings and sacrifices. They belonged to those who sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept when they remembered Zion. They said, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!" (Ps. 137:5-6).
Writers read the open-ended question of this verse as one that has never been withdrawn.
In a sense, King Cyrus is still alive. The same call still goes out. Who is there among you? Who is there who is not content with Babylon? Who is there who values Jerusalem? Who is there who takes an interest in the house of God?
- Charged — Cyrus did not worship the God of Israel, yet he acknowledged His glory and power and obeyed what God had commanded. God called him "His anointed."
- Opened — The decree names no one and drafts no one. It opens the door to "whoever is among you of all his people."
- Tested — An invitation, not an order, exposes the heart: comfort in Babylon, or the trouble and reproach of going up.
- Built — The stated object is the house of the LORD, not the city walls. God's house comes first; the city where people live comes second.
- Answered — Only a small remnant went up. They loved Jerusalem more than comfort, and the same call still asks who will go.
And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the voluntary offering for the house of God which is at Jerusalem.
Cyrus's decree does not stop with permission to leave; its final clause turns to the people who will stay behind and tells them to fund the ones who go. It names two kinds of gift: supplies for the traveller, and a voluntary gift for the house of God. So who really has a share in this work?
The verse ends a proclamation that moves outward in three stages: the king, the willing, and those who stay. One writer sets out the structure:
Three things are announced here. First, the commission Cyrus himself had received about the Lord's house. Second, his royal permission for any of the Jews to return to Jerusalem to build the temple. Last, his invitation to the Jews who would remain in his lands: they could have fellowship with those who left, by freewill offerings towards the object they had in view.
So the Jew who stays behind — "in whatever place he sojourns" — is not excused. He is invited into the same purpose as the man who travels.
Cyrus lets the captives go, but not empty-handed. He tells their neighbours to send them off with silver, gold, goods and beasts. One writer sees the God behind the king's words:
Notice, he does not give any honour to the idols of Persia, but says of the God of Israel, "He is God" (v. 3). He also told the neighbours of anyone concerned about this journey to Jerusalem to assist him "with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem" (v. 4). This was not only a matter of liberating slaves, but enriching them. So Cyrus rightly represented a God of grace.
Note the distinction the verse itself draws. The silver and beasts help the man; the freewill offering is for the house.
Verse 5 describes those whose spirit God stirred to go up. Verse 4 speaks to everyone else. The two verses fit together as one arrangement:
Those whose spirits were raised up were to go up (v. 5). Others who would not go up themselves are told to support them with material help (v. 4). It is beautiful to read that they did so (v. 6).
And they did give. Far more stayed than went, yet the record keeps their generosity, not their reluctance.
The offer was open to all, yet the response was thin. One writer contrasts the motives of the two groups without excusing either:
But not all were ready to go back; only a small remnant was willing. The great majority preferred to remain in Babylon. There was nothing to attract them to Jerusalem — the city of ruins, with the once magnificent temple in ruins. Those who returned loved Jerusalem, the place the LORD had chosen. Only there could they bring the appointed offerings and sacrifices… And the Jews who remained helped them generously in every way.
The same work of God appears in three very different people: a foreign emperor, the families who travelled, and the neighbours who paid. Nobody organised it:
In this chapter we have all the signs of a genuine work of God. A shared heart and purpose is produced in all concerned. It appears in Cyrus, without whose permission the captives could not have returned. It appears in the leading fathers of Judah and Benjamin, who were needed for the actual work of building. It appears in those who remained, who had fellowship with their brothers through their freewill offerings and so contributed towards the necessary expenses. There were no preliminary meetings to arrange things and reach agreement. The union of heart and purpose was produced only by the action of the Lord on the hearts of all alike. This distinguishes a divine work from a human one, and is the sure proof of a real working of the Spirit of God. Every needed instrument comes forward at the right moment, for the work is of God, and it must be accomplished.
Both the journey and the gift served one object:
To build the house of God, a remnant had been set free from the corruptions of Babylon and brought back to God's land… Those who remained in captivity were urged to help with a "freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem."
- Stirred — the same God who moved Cyrus to write the decree moved the families to travel and the neighbours to give. No meeting arranged it. That agreement marks a work as God's, not man's.
- Freed — release from Babylon came with silver, gold, goods and beasts. The captives were not only set free but enriched. A foreign king's words showed a God of grace.
- Sent — only a small remnant went; the majority stayed. A city of ruins attracts nobody but those who love the place God has chosen.
- Shared — the one who stayed still had a part: he supplied the traveller and added a freewill offering. Fellowship in the work reached further than the road to Jerusalem.
- Built — help for the man and a gift for the house are two different things here. Both served one object: the house of God in Jerusalem.