The glorious kingdom of Babylon had fallen, and the kingdom of the Medes and Persians had taken its place. The captivity of Babylon that was laid upon Judah was now to be broken. The great Nebuchadnezzar had carried away all the people of the land, except a few of the very poorest, to Babylon, "where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years." (2 Chronicles 36:20-21)
One hundred and six years before they were carried to Babylon, Isaiah had not only said that they should be carried away, but had also said that they should return, and that the temple and Jerusalem should be rebuilt. One hundred and seventy-four years before the feast of Belshazzar and the fall of Babylon, Isaiah had written of both, and of Cyrus in his capture of the city. Thus he called Cyrus by name more than a hundred years before he was born. Then it was that the prophet wrote: "That says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, your foundation shall be laid." (Isaiah 44:28) "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; ... He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, says the Lord." (Isaiah 45:1,13)
Although Isaiah had prophesied the captivity, he had not said how long it should be. Jeremiah told that it should be seventy years. In the year 606 BC, the first captivity was made, when among those taken was Daniel. Then, exactly when the seventy years ended--536 BC--Cyrus issues his proclamation for the return of the captives to their own land, to build the temple of the Lord. And this is a copy of the proclamation: "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has the Lord God of heaven given me; and He has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-4)
"The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus." How did the Lord do this? By His angels. In Daniel 10, we read of a time in the third year of Cyrus, when Daniel was greatly concerned about something in connection with the cause of God, and he fasted and mourned and prayed, "three full weeks." (Daniel 10:2)
At the end of the three weeks, as he was by the River Tigris, a glorious angel stood before him and said, "Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand, and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words." (Daniel 10:12)
If, then, Daniel's words were heard the first day, what could have delayed the angel "three full weeks"? He tells: "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days;" (Daniel 10:13) exactly the length of time Daniel had been seeking the knowledge which the angel was to give him. That is, the king of Persia was to have some part in the answer to Daniel's prayers; and the angel had to go to the court of Cyrus, and, by exerting his holy influence there, to bring about the events through which Daniel's prayer could be answered. And when the angel was to leave Daniel, he said, "Now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia." (Daniel 10:20)
Read the 10th chapter of Daniel entire.
Cyrus, however, was not the first king of the Medo-Persian power after the fall of Babylon. In Daniel 5, it is said, "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old." (Daniel 5:30)
And in Daniel 11, the same angel of the 10th chapter says, "Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I stood to confirm and to strengthen him." (Daniel 11:1)
Darius reigned two years, when he died, and Cyrus succeeded to the kingdom; and as the angel stood with Darius the Mede, and with Cyrus in his third year, to influence him so that Daniel's prayer could be answered, it is certain that it was by the influence of His holy angel that the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to let go the captive people of God. "He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:2)
How did Cyrus learn that God had charged him to do this? Daniel was in the court of the kingdom of Babylon during the whole of the captivity; and when Babylon had fallen, and Darius the Mede had taken the kingdom, he says: "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." (Daniel 9:1,2)
Then when Cyrus came to the throne in 536 BC, at the expiration of the seventy years, it is certain that Daniel showed him the word of God by Isaiah saying: "Thus says the Lord to Cyrus whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, ... He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives." (Isaiah 45:1,13)
Thus Cyrus knew that God had charged him to build him a house.
In answer to the proclamation made by Cyrus, there were 42,360 people, besides their servants and their maids that numbered 7,337, and 200 singing men and singing women--49,897 in the whole company--who returned to Jerusalem. Joshua the son of Jozadak was high priest and Zerubbabel was appointed governor. When they reached Jerusalem, they immediately set up "the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon. ... From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid." (Ezra 3:2,6)
Then the chief of the fathers "offered freely for the house of God, to set it upon his place. They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work." (Ezra 2:68-69)
The amount of these gifts was about $500,000, an average of ten dollars for each person--man, woman, child, servant, and maid--in the whole company.--PP Editor's note: multiply these values x33 to get the equivalent 2024 value. But the merit of the service was that they gave it "freely" and of "their ability," and the blessing of the Lord, in abundance, came upon both their gifts and them. "For God loves a cheerful giver," (2 Corinthians 8:12) and, "If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man has, and not according to that he has not." (2 Corinthians 9:7)
We do not wonder that "When the builders laid the foundation of the temple, the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid." (Ezra 3:10-11)
They had given freely of their ability, and they had a right to rejoice. When the first temple was to be built, the people offered willingly. "Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy." (1 Chronicles 29:9)
If there were more, and more cheerful, more willing, giving to the cause of God, there would be more genuine rejoicing in God and in His truth. Try it. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) "God does love a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)--Signs of the Times, February 11, 1886--Notes on the International Lesson, February 21--Ezra 1:1-4; 3:8-13
A.T. Jones