Ezra 01.01 “1 Now in the
first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by
the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,
so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:”
The Book of Ezra was written by
Ezra the priest (Kohen), who wanted to encourage the children of Israel to be worshiping in the Temple and to remind them that they ought to fulfill their
covenant with God because He has been merciful to them.
In today's reading, Ezra records
for us Cyrus’ Proclamation (Ezra 01.01-04), the
vessels for the Temple restored (Ezra 01.05-11), and
the list of those who returned from Babylon (Ezra 02.01-70).
The proclamation by Cyrus, King of
Persia to rebuild the Temple of the LORD came because the LORD moved his heart
(“the
LORD stirred up the spirit”) to do it.
The first deportation if the Jews
to Babylon was in 605BC. When Cyrus issued this
proclamation, it was in 538BC, which was sixty-seven years
later. By the time the Jews made the trip and rebuild the altar, the seventy
years foretold by Jeremiah the prophet were almost up (Jeremiah 29.10; Jeremiah 25.11-12)!
This proclamation to rebuild was
stirred by the LORD in fulfillment of what the LORD spoke through Jeremiah.
The LORD is in control of the
hearts of those who are ruling, even those who do not acknowledge Him as LORD
and Saviour.
Proverbs 21.01 “1
The king’s heart is like channels of
water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
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