Summary
In Ezra Chapter 1, we see two of the themes that run throughout the Book of Ezra; God is faithful, and God uses people to accomplish his plans.
Ezra Chapter 1 begins in around 538 BC. We know that because Ezra’s reference to the “first year of Cyrus king of Persia” (Ezra 1:1) can be traced back to that time. Many of God’s people are living in exile in what was then Persia, which had just conquered Babylon. Over a hundred years earlier, Jeremiah and Isaiah prophesied that 70 years after the fall of Jerusalem and the exile of the people to Babylon, God would use a man named Cyrus to lead the people back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. (Jeremiah 25:8-11, 29:1-14; Isaiah 44:24-45:7). True to His word, that is exactly what God did.
About seventy years after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Jerusalem and exiled Judah’s best and brightest to Babylon, God uses Cyrus, the king of Persia, to fulfill the prophesy. God places it on Cyrus’s heart to issue a proclamation allowing all Jews who so wish to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. On top of that, so that God’s plan could be fulfilled perfectly, Cyrus proclaims that those who wish to remain should provide financial resources to those returning. Cyrus also provides those returning the articles that Nebuchadnezzar had looted from the first Temple before destroying it. (Daniel 1:2; 2 Kings 24:12-13, 25:13-15).
In Ezra chapters 1 and 2, we see that some of the people respond to God’s faithfulness by deciding to return to Judah to rebuild the Temple. Keep in mind that the journey between Babylon and Jerusalem is about 900 miles, and the people are going to a land that many of them had never seen before and that had been wiped out by King Nebuchadnezzar. But those returning put their faith and trust in God that He would provide for them both during their long journey and when they arrive. Once they arrive, they pool their resources for the rebuilding of the Temple; their place to worship God.
Life Application Points
--God is faithful. He was faithful then; He is faithful now; and He will always be faithful to His people. As it says in Deuteronomy 7:9: "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands."
--God uses people. Despite the fact that Cyrus presents himself as an agent of the Lord, history tells us that Cyrus probably was a pagan. But God still used him to accomplish His plans. If God can use a pagan, He can use you.
--We should continually place our faith and trust in God. As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Our Verse of the Week
"'The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple to Him at Jerusalem in Judah.'" Ezra 1:2
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