Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezra 1:3

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

1:1-2:70 ZERUBBABEL’S RETURN

Cyrus had been ruler of Persia for some time before he conquered Babylon in 539 BC. His policy was, when he conquered a nation, to allow any people held captive by that nation to return to their homeland. Therefore, soon after he conquered Babylon (i.e. in his first year as the Jews’ new ruler) he gave permission for the Jews to return to Jerusalem (1:1-4). Jeremiah’s prophecy made seventy years earlier had come true: the Jews were released from Babylon’s power to return to Palestine and rebuild their nation (Jeremiah 25:1,Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 29:10).

Although all had permission to return, many chose to remain in Babylon. They were reasonably well settled and secure in Babylon, and did not want to face the risks and hardships of a new life in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, they assisted those who returned by giving them money and goods. Cyrus also gave some assistance, giving back the temple treasures and handing over a gift of money from the royal treasury to help finance the reconstruction of Jerusalem (5-11; see also 3:7; 6:4).

At first the leader of the returning exiles was Sheshbazzar (see 1:8, 5:14), but for some reason not recorded he was soon replaced by the joint leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua (see 3:2; 5:2; Haggai 1:1; Haggai 2:2). Alternatively, Sheshbazzar may have been another name for Zerubbabel.

The record of those who returned to Jerusalem begins by listing the chief men who were to assist Zerubbabel and Joshua (2:1-2). (The person named Nehemiah in this list is not the person we meet later in the book of Nehemiah.) The total number who returned was about 50,000. Some were classified according to their families (3-19), others according to the towns their families originally came from (20-35). The priests, Levites and temple servants were all listed separately (36-58). Others could not be fitted into any category (59-63). On arrival in Jerusalem, some made offerings of money towards the building of the temple. All the people were then settled in and around Jerusalem (64-70).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

CYRUS' DECREE AUTHORIZING THE RETURN OF ISRAEL TO PALESTINE

"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever is left, in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill-offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem."

"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia" A number of scholars place this date at 538 B.C.,F. C. Cook, Barnes' Commentary Series, Ezra, p. 437. but Darius was ruler of Persia (as Cyrus' deputy) for a couple of years; and Keil's placement of this date at 536 B.C.C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries, Jeremiah, p. 374. is a more accurate discernment, as that was Cyrus' first year of sole sovereignty over Babylon.

"That the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished" This is a reference to Jeremiah 15:12-14 which records that prophet's announcement of the seventy-year duration of the exile. (See our extensive comments on that in the Commentary on Jeremiah, pp. 279-290.)

Oesterley asserts that, "The seventy years is a designation for a long period of time, and is not to be taken in a literal sense."Arthur S. Peake's Commentary, p. 325. However, this comment, in spite of its being echoed by a number of scholars, is simply not true. The captivity began in 606 B.C. and lasted until 536 B.C., a period of exactly seventy years, as Keil has fully explained.C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 374. The point which many scholars overlook is that from the very first day of the accession of Jehoiakim, Israel was no longer an independent nation. That the seventy years was indeed a precise and exact prophecy, and not a mere idiom for "a long time," is proved by the fact that God designed it to give the land its sabbaths, which Israel had totally neglected during the 490 years from the accession of Saul to the Captivity. It required exactly seventy years to accomplish that. This fact is stressed by the sacred author in 2 Chronicles 36:21.

"Cyrus… made a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and put it also in writing" This statement that the proclamation was made both orally and written, "Should not be surprising; it was quite usual in the ancient world for oral messages to be backed up by written documents, as in 2 Kings 19:9-14."Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Ezra, p. 10.

Many critics have challenged the authenticity of Cyrus' edict; but, "Archaeology has demonstrated that Cyrus' concession to Jewish exiles was not an isolated act, but the general policy of a remarkably humane leader of conciliating his new subjects by showing favor to their religions."WFA, p. 303. Some have pointed out that Cyrus' knowledge of the true God Jehovah was by no means perfect and that in a similar way he honored the pagan deity Marduk and the Moon god, Sin. Still, the honors and guidance of his successes which Cyrus mentioned in the particular proclamations mentioned here as pertaining to Jehovah, the God of Israel, are certainly included in those inscriptions found upon the bricks in one of the gates of Babylon, namely, "The great gods have delivered all lands into my hands; the land I have caused to dwell in a peaceful habitation."Sir Frederic Kenyon, The Bible and Archaeology (New York, 1940), p. 141.

The objection may then be raised that Cyrus's knowledge of Jehovah was far from perfect. So what? Did not Isaiah's prophecy indicate that very fact regarding Cyrus? "I have called thee by thy name; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me" (Isaiah 45:4). It was altogether natural, therefore, that the author of Ezra should have stressed Jehovah alone, and not the pagan deities, in his report of the decree.

"All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me" Williamson and others have repeated the inaccurate declaration found frequently in the writings of early 20th-century critics that, "The God of heaven makes its first appearance here as a description of the God of the Bible."Wycliffe Bible Commentary, op. cit., p. 12. There is only one thing wrong with such a comment; it is simply not true! In the eighth century B.C., Jonah told the mariners on their storm-threatened ship that, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the God of heaven who hath made the sea and the dry land" (Jonah 1:9). For any who may doubt the date of Jonah, we have thoroughly explored this in our introduction to that prophecy in Vol. 1 of our Minor Prophets Series. Furthermore, the very first book in the Bible, namely, Genesis, refers to the God of heaven twice (Genesis 24:3; Genesis 24:7)!

The absolute historicity and validity of this great decree of Cyrus is impossible of any intelligent denial. Furthermore, the Biblical narrative of how it came about that Israel was delivered from Babylonian captivity must be accepted as the only logical explanation of it. Unbelievers may scoff at the pertinent prophecies God gave through Jeremiah and Isaiah; but what else could have led to that remarkable deliverance? If God Himself did not indeed "stir up the spirit of Cyrus," as related in Ezra 1:1, then who did? The entire operation that brought Israel back to Palestine, rebuilt Jerusalem, and the Second Temple, and reestablished a nation that had languished in slavery for seventy years - that whole operation, first and last, was an act of Almighty God.

"Let the men of his place help him with silver and gold" It is disputed as to whether or not the helpers here were Israelites only, or if they also included their neighboring Babylonians. There is more than a hint of the Exodus here; for it will be remembered that the Egyptians enriched the children of Israel on the occasion of their leaving Egypt. Something of that same Divine Providence might have been effective upon this occasion also.

One might wish that all Israel had heeded the edict of Cyrus and made their way back to Palestine; but it was not to be. Isaiah's great prophecy of "The Remnant" would be literally fulfilled. Only a relative handful of the captives, considerably less than 50,000, ever made their way back to Judah and Jerusalem. The vast majority had accommodated themselves to the lifestyle, the riches, and the religion of the Babylonians.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Let's turn now to the book of Ezra.

The book of Ezra, the first part was probably written by Ezra but written from the records. Actually at the time that Cyrus gave the decree to build the temple, Ezra wasn't even alive. Ezra doesn't come into the story, into a firsthand account until you get to chapter seven. The first six chapters deal with the first of the repatriation of the nation Israel after the Babylonian captivity.

Now in the first year of Cyrus the 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, that he made a proclamation throughout all of his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus the king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah ( Ezra 1:1-2 ).

Now he mentions here, "In order that the word of the prophecy of Jeremiah might be fulfilled." And as you turn to Jeremiah chapter twenty-five, we find that the Lord hath predicted that they would be in Babylonian captivity for seventy years, Jeremiah 25:11 . "And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it" ( Jeremiah 25:11-13 ).

And then also in Jeremiah chapter twenty-nine, verse ten, "For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, they are thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give you an expected end. And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, I will gather you from all the nations, and from all of the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive" ( Jeremiah 29:10-14 ).

All right, now turn to Daniel chapter nine. "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; in the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by the books the number of years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed to God, and made my confession" ( Daniel 9:1-4 ), and so forth. So that Daniel, knowing the prophecy of Jeremiah that the period of captivity would be seventy years, during this period he began to seek the Lord as to what part the Lord might have him to play in the repatriation of Israel.

Now let's turn to Isaiah chapter forty-four, verse twenty-eight. Now remember, "now in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled." Now in Isaiah 44:28 ,"That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings" ( Isaiah 45:1; Isaiah 45:1 ).

You remember how Belshazzar, it says that his knees smote together the night that he heard that the, he saw the handwriting on the wall, and it says that his knees began to smite one against another. And so here is a prophecy of that experience that Belshazzar had. "I will loose the loins of the kings to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, the hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though you have not known me" ( Isaiah 45:1-4 ).

So here the prophecy of Isaiah was uttered two hundred years before this particular event where we read now, "In the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia." The fellow that, even according to Isaiah the man that God names, that "I've named you even though you haven't known Me." God named him two hundred, hundred and fifty years before he was born God named him and declared that he would be the one that would allow the people to go back and to start rebuilding the temple. So fascinating prophecies, many of you see how much scripture is tied together in really just the first verse here in Ezra as we see the prophecies of Isaiah, the prophecies of Daniel. For Daniel predicted that the Medo-Persian Empire would overthrow the Babylonian empire, and of course, the prophecies of Jeremiah, the seventy years of their captivity in Babylon and then that God would release them from that captivity.

So it's exciting times in Bible history when you come down to the point where God is now fulfilling the things that He promised. When you start seeing the things fall together. When you know that the Lord said, "Seventy years will be your time of captivity." And you can count and you know when seventy years are up, you start getting excited. All right, God's going to start moving, you know, because the seventy years are about up.

When Cyrus is the name of the general that takes over in Babylonian, then you really get excited because you know that God said, "Hey, I've called you by your name and I've surnamed you though you haven't even known Me. And you will do my bidding. You will do my desires in allowing the people to go back from their captivity." So you see things beginning to come together and there's always a lot of anticipation and excitement.

And hey, the day in which we live today is just that kind of a day, because we see things coming together. And it's exciting to see the things happening in the world because all of a sudden we think, "Yeah, that's what the prophet Ezekiel said was going to be. Yeah, that's what the Lord said would happen there in Isaiah. Yes." And you see how God is setting the whole thing together, and we're moving again to a period of history just like it was here in the first chapter of Ezra where God is getting ready to fulfill His promises and His word, and He has set the stage. Things are coming to pass, and there's just an excitement in the air because you know that God's word is being fulfilled around you, and you know what's going to be happening. As God has declared these events, they are going to take place. So we look at the world today and we realize that Russia will soon be making her move into the Middle East.

We know that Russia's going to attack the Middle East, and for us, as Christians, it's really exciting because we know what a threat Russia is to our own security and to our own peace. And to realize that they're going to make this military mistake and blunder and try to take Israel first before she goes against the United States. We know what's going to happen and so we rejoice that God has given to us advance warning, advance notices, so that we will actually believe when we see these things happen.

Jesus said, "I've told you these things before they come to pass, so that when they come to pass, you might believe" ( John 13:19 ). And so it's always exciting to live in those periods of history when God starts to put things together and you know, hey, this is the time that the prophets were speaking about. These are the events God said were going to take place. Wow, this is it. Look at that! And you see the whole thing beginning to just sort of well together and it's just really exciting times.

Now Daniel had predicted that the Medo-Persian Empire was going to overthrow the Babylonian Empire, and Daniel actually became a counselor. He was a counselor in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. However, by the time that Belshazzar his grandson came around, Daniel was sort of in retirement, and when the handwriting came on the wall, they brought Daniel in. And Belshazzar really didn't know him. "Are you that Daniel that helped my grandfather?" And so forth. And Daniel then interpreted the dream for Belshazzar telling him that that night his kingdom was going. That was it. He had had it. His days were numbered and finished. That was all for him. And he had a very short span on the scene.

Daniel was probably at this time close to ninety years old. He probably lived to be a hundred and ten, a hundred and fifteen. He lived to the time that the temple was rebuilt. And he, because it was, as we get tonight, it was Darius who gave the order to start work again. Cyrus gave the order to start, and about fifty thousand of the Jews returned, as we will be reading, and started rebuilding the temple and resettling the land.

Then about, then actually, Cyrus was removed. Another king came in who wrote and stopped the building of the temple. And then Darius came on the throne, and he wrote and started the whole project again about sixteen years later. Now it is the same Darius that was a close friend of Daniel. It was Darius the king who was tricked into making the decree, "If any one prays to any god other than me for thirty days, you know, let him be thrown in the lion's den." And he signed this proclamation and then they came and said, "Hey, there's a guy down here that broke your law and he's got to go on the lion's den." And he said, "Who is it?" "It's Daniel." And of course, he was grieved because he loved Daniel. And he sought all day to try and reverse things, but the law of the Medes and the Persians could not be changed once it had been sealed. And so he encouraged Daniel and said, "Daniel, the God you serve, He is able to deliver you out of the hand of the lions." And Daniel said, "Don't worry; I'm an old tough customer. I'll get by okay."

So they threw Daniel into the lion's den, and of course, the king didn't sleep all night long. He was really troubled over the whole thing. And in the morning he went out early, and I like it; the Scriptures said, "And he cried in a lamentable voice, 'Oh, Daniel,'" however the lamentable voice was. "Is your God able to deliver you?" And he said, "Live forever, king. God sent an angel down and stopped the mouths of the lions, and I'm in good shape." So they brought Daniel out, and then the guys that conspired against Daniel were tossed into the lion's den. And before they could even hit the bottom of the den, they were devoured of the lions.

Now this is the Darius that we will get to in a little while, who gave the order to start building again, even ordered them to pay whatever money they needed to help. So we'll start putting the story together for you as we move along.

So Cyrus the king made a proclamation that whatever people there were of the Israelites who wanted to return could go up to Jerusalem and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, for He is the God which is in Jerusalem.

And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. So there rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, and all of them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem. And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, gold, with goods, with beasts, and precious things, beside all that was willingly offered. Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem, and put in the house of his gods; even those did Cyrus the king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto the prince of Judah. And the number of them: were thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, twenty-nine knives ( Ezra 1:4-9 ),

And so forth.

It was the policy of the Assyrians and of the Babylonians when they conquered people to take them out of their land and to just place them in other lands that they might lose their national identity and they might any fighting spirit. It was the policy of the Persians, they were far more humane than were the Assyrians or the Babylonians, and the Persian's policy was to sort of repatriate the people.

Now it is mentioned here that those of Judah, the Levites and Benjamin; later on we'll find that it also mentions those of Manasseh and those of Ephraim that returned. I make mention of that because there is what is referred to as the ten lost tribes of Israel and those who try to make an identity of the Anglo-Saxon nations with Israel and say that we are a part of the ten lost tribes. The Bible never refers to ten lost tribes. In fact, in the New Testament there are references "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings" ( James 1:1 ). And there were people from the twelve tribes that were living and still identified with those tribes during the times of the New Testament. And so you really don't have lost tribes. That's sort of a misnomer that people have developed saying the ten lost tribes.

Even here there were those from the tribe of Benjamin which was, well, that was a part of Judah and Benjamin were together, but then those of Manasseh, those of Ephraim and the Levites. And of course, you have the tribe of Judah so that even already we have many of the tribes identified. And by the New Testament, Paul the apostle said he was of the tribe of Benjamin, and he knew the tribe from which he came. And of course, there was the Levites and all during the time of Jesus Christ. So there, they may not know their identity today as to which tribe they're from. It isn't necessary. It was only necessary to keep the tribal distinctions until the coming of Jesus Christ.

It had to be that He was of the tribe of Judah, and once He came forth from the tribe of Judah, not necessary to keep tribal distinctions any longer. It was all fulfilled. But God knows where they are. In fact, God is going to seal them, twelve thousand from each tribe, in just a very short time as He gets ready to put the final touches upon the whole earth system before the return of Jesus Christ. God is going to seal twelve thousand from each of the tribes of Israel, 144,000 all together. So God knows exactly who they are, where they are, and all. Even though they themselves may not know what tribe they're from, yet the Lord does know.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Cyrus’ edict 1:1-4

"It is not strange according to the Semitic style to start a book with a waw ["And" or "Now"], especially when the author intended to write a continuation of the history of his people. He connects the history which he wants to write with the already-written history of his people by using the conjunction ’and.’" [Note: Fensham, p. 42. Cf. Exodus 1:1; Joshua 1:1; Judges 1:1; et al.]

One of Cyrus’ first official acts after capturing Babylon was to allow the Jews to return to their land. This took place in his "first year" (Ezra 1:1), that is, as king over all Medo-Persia including Babylonia (i.e., 538 B.C.). The writer of Ezra regarded 539 B.C. as the beginning of Cyrus’ reign probably because when Cyrus defeated Babylonia he gained authority over Palestine that had until then been under Babylonian sovereignty.

About 150 years earlier, Jeremiah had prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 29:10). Cyrus proclaimed his edict 67 years after the first Babylonian deportation from Judah (605 B.C.). Important matters were put in writing in the ancient Near East. [Note: Breneman, p. 68.]

Ezra 1:2 reads as though Cyrus was a believer in Yahweh. However, Isaiah presented him as an unbeliever (Isaiah 45:4-5). Evidently he was a polytheist and worshipped several gods. [Note: See Edwin M. Yamauchi, "The Archaeological Background of Ezra," Bibliotheca Sacra 137:547 (July-September 1980):200.] On the "Cyrus Cylinder," the clay cylinder on which Cyrus recorded his capture of Babylon, the king gave credit to Marduk for his success. He said he hoped the people under his authority would pray for him to Bel and Nebo. [Note: James B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, pp. 206-8. Cf. Amelie Kuhrt, "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid Imperial Policy," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 25 (1983):83-97.] Probably Cyrus gave lip service to all the gods his people worshipped, but the evidence suggests that he did not believe that Yahweh was the only true God.

Apparently Cyrus knew about Isaiah’s prophecies concerning himself (Ezra 1:2; cf. Isaiah 41:2; Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1; Isaiah 45:4-5; Isaiah 45:12-13).

He ". . . read this, and . . . an earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written." [Note: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 11:1:2.]

The "house in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:2) was, of course, the house of Yahweh, the temple. Cyrus not only gave permission for the Jews to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:3), but he encouraged them to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:3). He also urged their neighbors to support this project financially (Ezra 1:4).

"The Holy City and the house of God are both prominent subjects in Ezra-Nehemiah. Jerusalem occurs eighty-six times, and the phrases ’temple,’ ’house of the Lord,’ and ’house of God’ appear fifty-three times." [Note: Yamauchi, "Ezra-Nehemiah," p. 602.]

"Although they are neither great literature nor important historical sources, the Murashu documents do provide a significant glimpse into the social and commercial life of a Babylonian city [i.e., Nippur] under Persian rule, and thus help to augment our knowledge of the onomastic practices, occupations and circumstances of the Diaspora. Like their contemporaries at Elephantine [in Egypt], by the fifth century B.C. the exiles at Nippur had become fully integrated into the economic life of their society, fulfilling the injunctions of Jeremiah 29:5 ff. Perhaps even more thoroughly than the prophet had intended!" [Note: Michael D. Coogan, "Life in the Diaspora," Biblical Archaeologist 37:1 (1974):12.]

"Onomastic" means relating to, connected with, or explaining names.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Who is there among you of all his people?.... The people of God, the Israelites, as well of the ten tribes, as of the two of Judah and Benjamin; for this edict was published throughout all his dominions, where were the one as well as the other:

his God be with him; to incline his heart to go, to protect him in his journey, and succeed and prosper him in what he goes about:

and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, he is the God; the one only living and true God:

which is in Jerusalem; who has been in former times, and is to be worshipped there; though Aben Ezra says, this is to be connected with "the house of the Lord"; as if the sense was, to build the house, that was in Jerusalem, or to be built there; and so our version connects them, putting those words into a parenthesis, "he is God"; but this is contrary to the accents.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,   2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.   3 Who is there among you of all his people? 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 the God,) which is in Jerusalem.   4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

      It will be proper for us here to consider, 1. What was the state of the captive Jews in Babylon. It was upon many accounts very deplorable; they were under the power of those that hated them, had nothing they could call their own; they had no temple, no altar; if they sang psalms, their enemies ridiculed them; and yet they had prophets among them. Ezekiel and Daniel were kept distinct from the heathen. Some of them were preferred at court, others had comfortable settlements in the country, and they were all borne up with hope that, in due time, they should return to their own land again, in expectation of which they preserved among them the distinction of their families, the knowledge of their religion, and an aversion to idolatry. 2. What was the state of the government under which they were. Nebuchadnezzar carried many of them into captivity in the first year of his reign, which was the fourth of Jehoiakim; he reigned forty-five years, his son Evil-merodach twenty-three, and his grandson Belshazzar three years, which make up the seventy years. So Dr. Lightfoot, It is charged upon Nebuchadnezzar that he opened not the house of his prisoners,Isaiah 14:17. And, if he had shown mercy to the poor Jews, Daniel told him it would have been the lengthening of his tranquillity,Daniel 4:27. But the measure of the sins of Babylon was at length full, and then destruction was brought upon them by Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian, which we read of, Daniel 5:31 Darius, being old, left the government to Cyrus, and he was employed as the instrument of the Jews' deliverance, which he gave orders for as soon as ever he was master of the kingdom of Babylon, perhaps in contradiction to Nebuchadnezzar, whose family he had cut off, and because he took a pleasure in undoing what he had done, or in policy, to recommend his newly-acquired dominion as merciful and gentle, or (as some think) in a pious regard to the prophecy of Isaiah, which had been published, and well known, above 150 years before, where he was expressly named as the man that should do this for God, and for whom God would do great things (Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1, c.), and which perhaps was shown to him by those about him. His name (some say) in the Persian language signifies the sun, for he brought light and healing to the church of God, and was an eminent type of Christ the Sun of righteousness. Some was that his name signifies a father, and Christ is the everlasting Father. Now here we are told,

      I. Whence this proclamation took its rise. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus. Note, The hearts of kings are in the hand of the Lord, and, like the rivulets of water, he turneth them which way soever he will. It is said of Cyrus that he knew not God, nor how to serve him but God knew him, and how to serve himself by him, Isaiah 45:4. God governs the world by his influence on the spirits of men, and, whatever good is done at any time, it is God that stirs up the spirit to do it, puts thoughts into the mind, gives to the understanding to form a right judgment, and directs the will which way he pleases. Whatever good offices therefore are, at any time, done for the church of God, he must have the glory of them.

      II. The reference it had to the prophecy of Jeremiah, by whom God had not only promised that they should return, but had fixed the time, which set time to favour Sion had now come. Seventy years were determined (Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 29:10); and he that kept the promise made concerning Israel's deliverance out of Egypt to a day (Exodus 12:41) was doubtless as punctual to this. What Cyrus now did was long since said to be the confirming of the word of God's servants,Isaiah 44:26. Jeremiah, while he lived, was hated and despised; yet thus did Providence honour him long after, that a mighty monarch was influenced to act in pursuance of the word of the Lord by his mouth.

      III. The date of this proclamation. It was in his first year, not the first of his reign over Persia, the kingdom he was born to, but the first of his reign over Babylon, the kingdom he had conquered. Those are much honoured whose spirits are stirred up to begin with God and to serve him in their first years.

      IV. The publication of it, both by word of mouth (he caused a voice to pass throughout all his kingdom, like a jubilee-trumpet, a joyful sabbatical year after many melancholy ones, proclaiming liberty to the captives), and also in black and white: he put it in writing, that it might be the more satisfactory, and might be sent to those distant provinces where the ten tribes were scattered in Assyria and Media, 2 Kings 17:6.

      V. The purport of this proclamation of liberty.

      1. The preamble shows the causes and considerations by which he was influenced, Ezra 1:2; Ezra 1:2. It should seem, his mind was enlightened with the knowledge of Jehovah (for so he calls him), the God of Israel, as the only living and true God, the God of heaven, who is the sovereign Lord and disposer of all the kingdoms of the earth; of him he says Ezra 1:3; Ezra 1:3Ezra 1:3), He is the God, God alone, God above all. Though he had not known God by education, God made him so far to know him now as that he did this service with an eye to him. He professes that he does it, (1.) In gratitude to God for the favours he had bestowed upon him: The God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. This sounds a little vain-glorious, for there were many kingdoms of the earth which he had nothing to do with; but he means that God had given him all that was given to Nebuchadnezzar, whose dominion, Daniel says, was to the end of the earth,Daniel 4:22; Daniel 5:19. Note, God is the fountain of power; the kingdoms of the earth are at his disposal; whatever share any have of them they have from him: and those whom God has entrusted with great power and large possessions should look upon themselves as obliged thereby to do much for him. (2.) In obedience to God. He hat charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem; probably by a dream or vision of the night, confirmed by comparing it with the prophecy of Isaiah, where his doing it was foretold. Israel's disobedience to God's charge, which they were often told of, is aggravated by the obedience of this heathen king.

      2. He gives free leave to all the Jews that were in his dominions to go up to Jerusalem, and to build the temple of the Lord there, Ezra 1:3; Ezra 1:3. His regard to God made him overlook, (1.) The secular interest of his government. It would have been his policy to keep so great a number of serviceable men in his dominions, and seemed impolitic to let them go and take root again in their own land; but piety is the best policy. (2.) The honour of the religion of his country. Why did he not order them to build a temple to the gods of Babylon or Persia? He believed the God of Israel to be the God of heaven, and therefore obliged his Israel to worship him only. Let them walk in the name of the Lord their God.

      3. He subjoins a brief for a collection to bear the charges of such as were poor and not able to bear their own, Ezra 1:4; Ezra 1:4. "Whosoever remaineth, because he has not the means to bear his charges to Jerusalem, let the men of his place help him." Some take it as an order to the king's officers to supply them out of his revenue, as Ezra 6:8; Ezra 6:8. But it may mean a warrant to the captives to ask and receive the alms and charitable contributions of all the king's loving subjects. And we may suppose the Jews had conducted themselves so well among their neighbours that they would be as forward to accommodate them because they loved them as the Egyptians were because they were weary of them. At least many would be kind to them because they saw the government would take it well. Cyrus not only gave his good wishes with those that went (Their God be with them,Ezra 1:3; Ezra 1:3), but took care also to furnish them with such things as they needed. He took it for granted that those among them who were of ability would offer their free-will offerings for the house of God, to promote the rebuilding of it. But, besides that, he would have them supplied out of his kingdom. Well-wishers to the temple should be well-doers for it.