Daily Devotional · Ezra 1:1–4
God Moved the Heart of a King
Reflection
The exile was over. Seventy years had passed since the first deportation. Jeremiah had prophesied the length; Isaiah had named the king who would end it — Cyrus — over a century before Cyrus was born. 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. The proclamation was extraordinary: the Lord, the God of heaven, has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up — and may their God be with them. Cyrus did not worship the God of Israel. The Cyrus Cylinder, an archaeological artifact from his reign, shows him crediting multiple gods for his victories — the standard policy of Persia was religious tolerance. But God used his tolerance, his political calculation, and his natural inclinations to accomplish a specific redemptive purpose. This is one of the most vivid illustrations of divine sovereignty in Scripture: the greatest pagan empire in the world, ruled by a man who did not know God, became the instrument of Israel's restoration. God moved his heart. God is not limited to working through believers. He works through kings who don't know His name, through circumstances that seem accidental, through politics that seem purely human. The whole earth is the theater of His activity.
Background
The Cyrus Cylinder (539 BC), now in the British Museum, is one of the most famous artifacts in the ancient world. It records Cyrus's policy of returning exiled peoples to their homelands and restoring their temples — exactly as Ezra 1 describes. While the cylinder does not mention Israel specifically, it confirms the general policy that made the Jewish return possible.
Truth
God's sovereignty is not limited to the domain of the believing. He moves the hearts of leaders who do not know Him to accomplish purposes they would not consciously choose. This is not manipulation — it is sovereignty over the whole of creation, including human will.
Application
What situation in your life seems entirely dependent on the decision of someone who doesn't know God — a boss, a government official, a judge, an employer? Ask God specifically to move their heart. He has done it before; He can do it again.