Ezra 1:2–3

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.

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?

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, 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).

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.

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).

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.

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.

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."

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

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).

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?