Monday 27th April
Read Ezra 1:1-4
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfil 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 also 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 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.”’” (NIVUK)
For the record, Cyrus is not a follower of Yahweh. One could be forgiven for being slightly confused at this point. After all, it is not many books of the bible that begin with a foreign king and then quote him at length! Cyrus has just moved into Babylon and taken over their empire, about 70 years after Babylon conquered Jerusalem and exiled most of them.
Whilst unusual to begin with a foreign king, one who currently rules over God’s people, the reason for this becomes clear when one reads his edict. There are not many ways in which this edict could be any more pro-Judah. It acknowledges the universal sovereignty of Yahweh, frees His people to return to the land and begin worshiping Him once more, and commands that the funds be freely provided to bring this about. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the punishment of His people and 70 years in a foreign land this is the definition of ‘good news’!
How do you feel when reading this good news? Is it almost too good to be true? Too coincidental to be believable? Spend time reflecting on the amazing sovereignty and grace of God.
