Cyrus the Great Heart
2 Chronicles 36:22
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
Ezra 1:1
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
2 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
" 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Anyone of his people among you—may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.
Good transition. The last verse of 2 Chronicles is the same as the first verse of Ezra. A few verses earlier, Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, hardened his heart. Here, the magnificent Cyrus, self-proclaimed king of the world, yielded to God moving in his heart.
I tend to read over the names of these ancient kings and emperors rather quickly, and they become a blurred backdrop to Israel's story. Here is what I learned about Cyrus in a few minutes of research. He is called Cyrus the Great, and he is huge in Persian history. It was when he liberated Babylon that his path crossed the Jews in exile. His appreciation of gods foreign to him was one of his trademarks, as was his policy of ending slavery, rather than enslaving. He is thought by some to have been Zoroastrian, but it is not certain.
What matters here is that God moved his heart, and he became part of Israel's story. He encouraged Jews to go home, and, more than that, rebuild their Temple. Perhaps he didn't see Yahweh as the one true God, since he calls Him the God who lives in Jerusalem.
And so begins the excellent stories of Ezra and Nehemiah. When God wants something done, he looks for listening hearts.
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
Ezra 1:1
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
2 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
" 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Anyone of his people among you—may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.
Good transition. The last verse of 2 Chronicles is the same as the first verse of Ezra. A few verses earlier, Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, hardened his heart. Here, the magnificent Cyrus, self-proclaimed king of the world, yielded to God moving in his heart.
I tend to read over the names of these ancient kings and emperors rather quickly, and they become a blurred backdrop to Israel's story. Here is what I learned about Cyrus in a few minutes of research. He is called Cyrus the Great, and he is huge in Persian history. It was when he liberated Babylon that his path crossed the Jews in exile. His appreciation of gods foreign to him was one of his trademarks, as was his policy of ending slavery, rather than enslaving. He is thought by some to have been Zoroastrian, but it is not certain.
What matters here is that God moved his heart, and he became part of Israel's story. He encouraged Jews to go home, and, more than that, rebuild their Temple. Perhaps he didn't see Yahweh as the one true God, since he calls Him the God who lives in Jerusalem.
And so begins the excellent stories of Ezra and Nehemiah. When God wants something done, he looks for listening hearts.
posted by ruthees @ 1:49 PM
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