EZRA 1 | King Cyrus the Great

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The Book of Ezra is a remarkable story of restoration and leadership, offering deep lessons for today. It recounts the return of the Jewish people from exile, the rebuilding of the temple, and the spiritual renewal led by Ezra himself. In this daily devotional journey through Ezra, the author reflects on how God works through both His people and even foreign kings to fulfill His plans, reminding us that God’s timing is always perfect. By examining twelve leadership principles drawn from the book, readers are invited to apply these timeless lessons in their personal lives, careers, and spiritual walk. Through reflections and prayers, this study aims to help you discern God’s timing and leadership in your life. To read about Samson and Delilah, read the daily devotional on Judges 16.

Ezra 1 Commentary by Allen J. Huth

Today, we begin the Book of Ezra, one of my favorite books of the Old Testament and the namesake of the ministry called the Ezra Project that sponsors these Day by Day Through the Bible daily devotions. There are ten chapters in the Book of Ezra. Chapters 1–6 record events long before Ezra’s time and the book does not name an author for those chapters. Chapters 7–10 are probably written by Ezra himself. The events in Ezra cover almost a century. 

What Are the Leadership Qualities of Ezra?

I love the Book of Ezra so much I wrote a booklet about it called Twelve Practical Principles of Leadership According to Ezra. If you would like to get this booklet as we study the Book of Ezra, you can visit ezraproject.net and order it on our resource page. The background below on the Book of Ezra comes out of the booklet.

What Is the Book Ezra in the Bible About?

In 586 B.C., the City of Jerusalem was burned. The Jewish temple was destroyed, and Jews were exiled to Babylon. Persian King Cyrus issued an edict in 538 B.C., allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple but not much happened for years. In 522 B.C., Zerubbabel, who was appointed governor, led a large company of Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem. Work on the temple picked up and it was finally completed in 516 B.C., twenty-two years after permission was first granted by King Cyrus. 

To reestablish religion in Jerusalem, God was preparing a man in Babylon, Ezra, whose name means helper. He was a priest and a scribe. He led the second wave of Jewish exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem in 458 B.C., fifty-eight years after the completion of the temple. Nehemiah was the political leader of the day. He led the effort to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ezra the priest was God’s chosen servant to reconnect God’s people to God’s Word. 

Why Is Ezra so Important?

Exiled Jews had been without the Book of the Law, God’s Word, for nearly one hundred and thirty years. Artaxerxes, another king of Persia, issued a decree allowing them to return to Jerusalem. Ezra 7:13 (NKJV) says, I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. When Ezra headed for Jerusalem, he brought the Book of the Law with him. Ezra 7:14 (NKJV) says, For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand”. 

Ezra was chosen by God to bring a nation back to God’s Word. Ezra 7:10 (NKJV) says, For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. To succeed, he had to demonstrate spiritual leadership.

In the Book of Ezra, I found twelve practical principles of leadership the priests followed to lead a nation back to God’s Word. Understanding and practicing those leadership principles will help you in your career, with your family, and in your private life. We will look at these twelve practical principles of leadership throughout the Book of Ezra. Please read or listen to Ezra 1.

To help us through the Book of Ezra, I selected three of my personal Bible readingjournals; one from 1995, one from 2009, and one from 2015. We will also be using the booklet, Twelve Practical Principles of Leadership According to Ezra.

What Does Ezra Say about Cyrus?

We begin with my journal entry from 1995, “When things get destroyed, rebuilding occurs. My work-a-day world has been destroyed. It’s time to rebuild it and my life. I turn to Ezra and Nehemiah for help. God works through non-believers, Cyrus King of Persia, to accomplish His purpose. He also provides with goods, cattle, silver and gold, and freewill offering for His house. God stirs our spirits into action.” That was my journal entry in 1995. I am not absolutely sure what I was referring to about, “my work-a-day world has been destroyed”. Like some of you, I faced challenges in my work-a-day world just like you do, and I turned to Nehemiah and Ezra for help.

In 2009, I wrote, “Cyrus is identified by name by Isaiah one hundred and fifty years before he came to power. His purpose was designed by God. He was a Gentile, not a Jew, yet the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. The Lord knows our name and our purpose before we take our first breath. Our job is to seek His purpose for our lives, find it, then decide to do it. Obey. Most don’t seek it; therefore, they don’t find it, thus they aren’t doing it.”

Who Was Cyrus to God?

In 2015, I wrote, “God uses whom He will. Here He uses a pagan, non-Jewish king, Cyrus of Persia, to reestablish Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. God also stirs the spirits of Jews to go rebuild the temple. God stirs. He moves people to do His will. Over 42,000.”

You probably picked up on it in those journal entries that God moved King Cyrus, a Persian non-Jewish king, to allow the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. He named Cyrus in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1. He not only stirred Cyrus the King of Persia, but He stirred the Jewish people’s hearts to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and rebuild the walls. Verse 5 says, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.” I hope God stirs your heart as we study the Book of Ezra.

The practical application of chapter 1 comes out of Twelve Practical Principles of Leadership According to Ezra. The first leadership principle is to operate in God’s timing, according to verse 1. In the very first verse of the Book of Ezra, God stirred a king’s heart. It was not a man who moved the king; it was God Himself. It is all about God and His timing.

What Is Knowing God’s Timing?

How do you know God’s timing? Sometimes you wait for God. At other times, you are out ahead of Him. It may seem to you He shows up late, but really He is always right on time. How can you operate within God’s perfect timing in your life? Watch for evidence of God’s timing. Look for His stirring around you. As hard as it may be, wait for God Himself to act, then follow. To lead, follow God’s perfect timing. Is it time to follow God’s lead or is it important to wait a little longer for His stirring? What is He stirring in you or those around you?

Leadership principle number one is to operate in God’s timing. Take some time today to contemplate those questions we just went over. Is He stirring you? Is He stirring those around you? Is it time to follow His lead or is it time to wait and be still?

Prayer

Father, we pray in thanks for the Book of Ezra. We look forward to what You are going to teach us through these ten wonderful chapters and these twelve practical principles of leadership in this book. Today, we pray for operating in Your timing. Cyrus was born for a purpose and so are we.

Help us take some time to get with You and discover why You have us sojourning on the face of the earth. What do You want out of our lives? Stir us Lord, according to Your will. Show us Your perfect timing in our own lives. We will give You all the praise and all the glory for it is in Your name we ask it. Amen.

We invite you to watch the “Great News” video on this page and find out more about God’s love for you and how you can receive forgiveness and eternal life – today!

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