EZRA 1

1
EZRA 1 2
2
Ezra 11 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.
3

• These events were the fulfillment of Jeremiahs
  prophecy in Jer 2912-15
• 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 Gods house would be funded by
  the Persians that were around Jerusalem

4
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).
5
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).
6
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).
7
"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."
8
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.
9
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).
10
Isaiah 451 "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,
11
Isaiah 4426 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." '
12
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).
13
Ezra 15 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
14
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, twenty-nine 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.
15

• The leaders of Israel are given in (Ezra 22)
• Those who returned according to families (Ezra
  23-19)
• The number of those who returned according to
  localities (Ezra 220-35)
• The number of priests arranged according to their
  families (Ezra 236-39)
• The number of Levites, likewise arranged
  according to their families (Ezra 240-42)
• The families of the Nethinim (Ezra 243-54)
• The families of "Solomon's servants" (Ezra
  255-57)
• Those who could not show their genealogy (Ezra
  259-63).

16
(No Transcript)