2 Chronicles 36:20-23
– He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from
the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the
kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its
sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word
of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. In the first
year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to
make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This
is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the
kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem
in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’”
2
Kings 25:28 – He spoke kindly to
him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings
who were with him in Babylon.
Isaiah
45:1-2 – “This is
what the Lord says to his anointed, to
Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to
subdue nations before him and to strip kings of
their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will
not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of
iron.
Jeremiah
25:9 – I will summon all
the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its
inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror
and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.
Application:
- · The judgment of exile did not destroy the people of Israel or the line of David. God’s promise concerning David’s house remains.
- · Cyrus, a foreign emperor, is called “his anointed” just as he is called “my shepherd”, because God has appointed him to carry out a divine commission in his role as king.
- · “Servant” is used not in the sense of “worshiper” but of “vassal” or “agent of judgment”, just as the pagan ruler Cyrus is called the Lord’s “shepherd” and His “anointed”.
All Scripture verses taken from NIV
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