Ezra 1
The book of Daniel tells us of the defeat of Babylon by the Medes and Persians under King Cyrus. One of his first official acts was to restore the Jews to the Promised Land. Cyrus’ statement here makes him sound as if he were a believer in Yahweh, but though he acknowledged the power of Yahweh, there is no evidence that he thought He was the only God. Cyrus was the Lord’s promised deliverer though he was a pagan. He was used by the Lord just as He had promised over a hundred years before. The Lord had warned his people that disobedience would result in exile, but He had also promised that if they repented and returned to Him He would restore them to the Promised Land. This tells us that we can trust that the Lord is always true to His promises. We can rely on Him to take care of us even as we endure tribulation and suffering
The first step in the return was to rebuild the Temple, and this is the reason for the inventory of the vessels that had been taken. Now they would be restored to their rightful place at the true center of Jewish life. But not everyone decided to return to Judah. Many remained in Babylon. These gave donations to the reconstruction project. This would have included some Gentiles as well. The fact that Judah and Benjamin were the only tribes the writer mentions reminds us of God’s justice. They were the only tribes of the 12 that were still intact. For the most part, the northern tribes had been irreparably scattered to the ends of the earth by the Assyrians, years before the destruction of Jerusalem. This was because there was no hope of their returning to the Lord, until, of course, Jesus.
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