![]() Those prophecies which we have just noted help us comprehend the Bible’s statement that Cyrus made his decree “ that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled” (Ezra 1:1). Jeremiah predicted the fall of Babylon, saying that it would fall to the Medes (Jeremiah 51:11,28). The good news, though, the shining light of hope for the future, was that following their seven-decade long stay in unwanted exile in Babylon, Jehovah would bring His people back to their homeland in Judah (Jeremiah 29:1-14 30:1-3). In that letter, God’s weeping messenger told them again that their captivity in Babylon would last for seventy years. Sometime later, Jeremiah wrote a letter to Jews who had been taken as captives to Babylon. At the conclusion of those seventy years, God would turn around and punish Babylon for her sins (Jeremiah 25:1,8-12). One year before Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the king’s dream, the prophet Jeremiah foretold that the nations of the ancient Middle East, including Judah, would be under the dominion of the Babylonians for seventy years. Daniel later identified the Medes and Persians as the ones who would conquer Babylon (Daniel 5:28). The dream symbolized four earthly kingdoms and the Lord’s eternal kingdom. When you consider all of this background information, it really is an amazing thing to observe how everything “came together,” not by chance, but by plan – God’s plan.Īlmost seventy years before Cyrus came to the throne, the prophet Daniel explained a dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Daniel 2:31-45). The background to Cyrus’ decree – In order to appreciate the relevance of the proclamation that Cyrus made, we need to consider some statements and activities which preceded it. What is there to see and learn in all of this? Jehovah certainly had a huge hand in this, as He “ stirred up the spirit of Cyrus” to make his pronouncement (Ezra 1:1). So, the Jews were granted the freedom to return to Judah and Jerusalem. (4) And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. (3) Who is among you of all His people? May 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 God), which is in Jerusalem. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. (2) Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: all the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. In Ezra 1:2-4, we find this record of his proclamation: made a decree by which he allowed the Jews who had been in exile in Babylon to return to their homeland. It was a monumental moment in the history of God’s people when Cyrus, the king of the Medo-Persian Empire, in approximately 536 B.C. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |