Ezra 1 Devotional

The Word Behind the Decree

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:”Ezra 1:1 (BSB)

Ezra opens with a foreign emperor issuing a decree, but the first verse makes sure we know who is really acting. The LORD moves the heart of Cyrus king of Persia, and he does it to fulfill the word he had spoken through Jeremiah (1:1). That word had promised that when Babylon's seventy years were complete, God would bring his people back (Jeremiah 29:10). A king who did not belong to Israel becomes the means by which God keeps his promise to Israel.

The stirring does not stop at the palace. Everyone whose spirit God has moved prepares to go up and rebuild (1:5), neighbors give silver, gold, and livestock (1:6), and Cyrus brings out the temple articles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off, counted out to Sheshbazzar (1:7-11). What was taken in judgment is handed back in mercy. No ruler sits outside God's reach, and no promise of his lapses because the years have gone by. Whatever powers seem to set the terms of your life, his word still governs them.

To think about: Which of God's promises have you begun to doubt simply because it has been a long time, and how does Ezra 1 speak to that?