Transcript EZRA 1 – 2 Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the.

EZRA 1 – 2
Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that
the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be
fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his
kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 2 Thus says
Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the
LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has
commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which
is in Judah. 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. 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.
•These events were the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s
prophecy in Jer 29:12-15
•The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus
•Cyrus was given his position of power by the
providence of God
•Cyrus was charged by God to build His house and
he would do it by sending Jews back to Jerusalem
•The rebuilding of God’s house would be funded
by the Persians that were around Jerusalem
Cyrus Cylinder
“I returned to these sacred cities on the other
side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have
been ruins for a long time, the images which
[used] to live therein and established for them
permanent sanctuaries. I [also] gathered all their
[former] inhabitants and returned [to them] their
habitations” (Pritchard, 208).
Xenophon, a Greek writer who was contemporary
with Cyrus and fought in his army, described the
Persian ruler as psuchen philanthropotaton, i.e.,
as a humane, benevolent, loving soul (8.7.3; cf.
1.2.1).
“Of all the Persian monarchs, he was the one
most distinguished for mildness and clemency;
the one to whom the sufferings of a captive
nation, torn violently from its home and
subjected to seventy years of grievous
oppression, would most forcibly have appealed”
(1873, 194).
"The edicts of the great kings of Persia preserved
in the cuneiform inscriptions ... usually begin with
the acknowledgment that they owe their power
to the god of Ahuramazda (Ormuzd), the creator
of heaven and earth. In this edict, however, Cyrus
expressly calls the God of heaven by His Israelite
name Jahve (Jehovah), and speaks of a
commission from this God to build Him a temple
at Jerusalem. Hence, it is manifest that Cyrus
consciously. entered into the purposes of Jahve
(Jehovah), and sought, as far as he was
concerned, to fulfill them."
“…stirred up the mind of Cyrus, and made him
write throughout all Asia: ‘Thus says Cyrus the
king: Since God Almighty has appointed me to be
king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is
that God which the nation of the Israelites
worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the
prophets, and that I should build him a house at
Jerusalem, in the country of Judea.’
“This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book
which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies;
for this prophet said that God had spoken to him
in a secret vision: ‘My will is, that Cyrus, whom I
have appointed to be king over many and great
nations, send back my people to their own land,
and build my temple.’ This was foretold by Isaiah
one hundred and forty years before the temple
was demolished. Accordingly, when Cyrus read
this, and admired the Divine power, an earnest
desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfill
what was so written…” (Antiquities 11.1.1-2).
Isaiah 45:1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To
Cyrus, whose right hand I have held -- To subdue
nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To
open before him the double doors, So that the gates
will not be shut: 2 'I will go before you And make the
crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the
gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give
you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of
secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD,
Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4
For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I
have even called you by your name; I have named
you, though you have not known Me. 5 I am the
LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides
Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
Isaiah 44:26 Who confirms the word of His
servant, And performs the counsel of His
messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be
inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, 'You shall be
built,' And I will raise up her waste places; 27
Who says to the deep, 'Be dry! And I will dry up
your rivers'; 28 Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My
shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," And to
the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid." '
The Cyrus Cylinder reveals that the Persian
commander took the city of Babylon “without any
battle”; the soldiers “strolled along, their
weapons stowed away” (Pritchard, 207).
Ezra 1:5 Then the heads of the fathers' houses of
Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the
Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved,
arose to go up and build the house of the LORD
which is in Jerusalem. 6 And all those who were
around them encouraged them with articles of
silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and
with precious things, besides all that was
willingly offered. 7 King Cyrus also brought out
the articles of the house of the LORD, which
Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and
put in the temple of his gods;
8 and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by
the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and
counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of
Judah. 9 This is the number of them: thirty gold
platters, one thousand silver platters, twentynine knives, 10 thirty gold basins, four hundred
and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one
thousand other articles. 11 All the articles of gold
and silver were five thousand four hundred. All
these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who
were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.
•The leaders of Israel are given in (Ezra 2:2)
•Those who returned according to families (Ezra
2:3-19)
•The number of those who returned according to
localities (Ezra 2:20-35)
•The number of priests arranged according to
their families (Ezra 2:36-39)
•The number of Levites, likewise arranged
according to their families (Ezra 2:40-42)
•The families of the Nethinim (Ezra 2:43-54)
•The families of "Solomon's servants" (Ezra 2:5557)
•Those who could not show their genealogy (Ezra
2:59-63).