Tuesday December 12
Ezra 1:1-11 Cyrus helps exiled to
return
In the first year of King Cyrus of
Persia, in order that the word of the Lord by the mouth
of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up
the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his
kingdom, and also in a written edict declared:
‘Thus says King Cyrus of
Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the
kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem
in Judah. Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with
them!—are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house
of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in
Jerusalem; and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by
the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals,
besides freewill-offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’
The heads of the families of
Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God
had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord
in Jerusalem. All their neighbors aided them with silver vessels, with gold,
with goods, with animals, and with valuable gifts, besides all that was freely
offered. King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and
placed in the house of his gods. King Cyrus of Persia had them released into
the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the
prince of Judah. And this was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver
basins, one thousand; knives, twenty-nine; gold bowls, thirty; other silver
bowls, four hundred and ten; other vessels, one thousand; the total of the gold
and silver vessels was five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought
up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
****
Cyrus II, King
of Persia? Another in a long line of mid-eastern potentates including
Nebuchadnezzar and Darius known in the Bible as abusers of the Jewish people?
Actually, no. Cyrus is set apart, called by the Lord as savior of His chosen
people. Cyrus was indeed a great conqueror, but he was famed for supporting the
social and religious beliefs of his subjects. Like Moses, called to free the
children of Israel from captivity in Egypt, Cyrus is called to free Israel from
captivity in Babylon. Isaiah foretells this in chapter 45. Then the words of
Cyrus are quoted in Chronicles:
Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth
hath the LORD, the God of heaven given me; and He
hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever
there is among you of all His people – the LORD,
his God, be with him – let him go there. — (2 Chronicles 36:23)
A few weeks ago we heard of David chosen as king because the Lord
looked upon his heart, not upon his appearance. God chose Moses to free the
people by looking upon his heart, not upon his faulty speech. He chose Joseph
to feed his people during famine. He chose Elijah to defend his worship against
Jezebel and the worshippers of Baal. Now He calls on Cyrus, most likely a
follower of Zoroaster, religious prophet of the monotheistic worship of Ahura
Mazda, the god of light and all good. He respects the Jews and returns them to
their homeland. He restores to them the goods stolen from the temple of Solomon
and allows the Jews to rebuild and restore the worship of Yaweh.
Isaiah calls Cyrus “the anointed” or the Messiah in chapter 45:1.
He is the only non-Jew to receive this title. God chooses those needed at essential
times and for expedient solutions, Gandhi in India at the time of independence,
Washington for the 13 colonies in their time of need, and Jesus Christ, our
Lord and Savior that we might be redeemed, freed from sin, and by grace, made
worthy of the Glory of God. In this blessed season, we reflect on the glorious
wisdom of Almighty God to bring us His only Son as a child, born in our minds
and hearts, that we might be made free.
Prayer: Blessed Lord Jesus, we await with
bated breath and open hearts to receive you, God’s greatest gift, the gift of
divine Love. Amen
Franklyn
Commisso
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