Preparing the World Stage


Ezra 1:1–4
1In 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: 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever 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 rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

After 40 days of Lenten / Easter studies, it’s time to dive back into our on-going study of God’s Word by time spent in the book of Ezra. I think that this is perhaps one of the books that receives less attention than others, but it is rich in history and the events chronicled here set the stage for the advent of Jesus Christ. It’s Old Testament History and we need to understand it as best we can.

There are several Old Testament characters that converge together during the same 200-year period, during and after what is known as “The Babylonian Captivity”. You’ll recognize their names: Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, Daniel, and Queen Esther. This is the time in world history where Socrates and Plato take center stage in terms of culture and philosophy. The Greeks and then the Romans emerge as the world power, and 400 years later, Jesus Christ is born as a Baby to die for our sins.
Daniel leads this pack of Old Testament heroes, as he is carried into captivity by the Babylonians in 605bc. As you can see, Ezra arrives on the scene about 150 years later. Queen Esther rules in Persia in 460bc. So you get an idea as to when these lives fall into Biblical history.

Through the Prophet Jeremiah God told the captive Israelites that their time of exile would be 70 years. At the end of those 70 years, Daniel prays to the Lord to remind Him of His promise to return the people to The Promised Land and using Cyrus, King of Persia (whom Daniel served), that’s exactly what happens. God moves Cyrus to fulfill His plans to give Israel back to His people. Not only does He allow the Hebrews to return to Israel, Cyrus grants them riches and resources to help make it happen. God never does anything half-way. This will not be an easy return to The Promised Land. But God’s plans will not be thwarted and in the big scheme of things, God is moving to prepare the world for the arrival of the Savior.

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