The Lord stirred up the king

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…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. - Ezra 1v1-2

One of the things that some Christians get most upset about is political leaders who are not sympathetic to, or maybe even tolerant of, the way we want to live. American Christians especially seem to have adopted the idea that one of our imperatives should be to try and conform politicians to our way of thinking. We try to use our own wisdom and strategy to get the government on our side.

I think we can forget that God holds the heart of the king in His hands.

Here we find the Jews in captivity in Babylon. Many had assimilated into the Babylonian culture. It appeared that the people’s lives had changed forever and that their fate was sealed. They were hopeless and helpless. Or were they?

We read of a new king, Cyrus, coming to the throne in Babylon. Surely the Jews had no hope in yet another king.

But no one could have reckoned with one thing – the king’s heart is in the Lord’s hands. This included King Cyrus. Decades before Isaiah had declared the word of the Lord - ‘'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.’

That is interesting. Had Cyrus come to know God through the testimony of Daniel and the others? It is hard to know and we are not given much information about that.

The point is that the Jews did not have to call for rallies or protest marches or demonstrations in the Babylon. God was in control. God raises leaders up and brings them down and uses them in His way.

When the Jews left Babylon they did so with the full support of the government. Can’t God still move the hands of governments today?