In steering the course of history, God always uses men, means, events, and the Scriptures, as He did when He brought Israel back from Babylonian captivity. He will do the same thing when He restores him the second time to his land and to favor with Himself. God never does anything of major importance without revealing the matter to His servants, the prophets (Amos 3:1-8). Isaiah, who first mentioned the Babylonian captivity, lived in the latter half of the eighth century before Christ. To Hezekiah he made the simple revelation that "... the days are coming, when all that is in thy [Hezekiah's] house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah" (Isa. 39:6).

The antecedents of the Babylonian captivity were Israel's continual, perpetual backslidings from God and the nation's drifting into idolatry. Sin always brings retribution. Because Israel persisted in idolatry God had to root him up out of his own land and to cast him into that of a heathen environment in order to teach him the lesson of the futility of idolatry.

At the same time Isaiah, Israel's great statesman, prophet, and poet, foretold that God would use Cyrus in restoring the captives to the land of their fathers. The special prediction dealing with this phase of the subject is found in Isaiah 44:24-45:13. In verse 24 God speaks of Himself as the God of creation; in verse 25, as the God of providence; and in verse 26, as the God of performance. Continuing this same line of thought, Jehovah, this God of creation, of providence, and of performance, speaks concerning Cyrus saying, "He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She, shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid" (vs. 28). The prophet continues delivering a message directly from Jehovah to Cyrus, saying, "Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of Kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: 2 I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; 3 and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. 5 I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me; 6 that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am Jehovah, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things" (Isa. 45:1-7).

Let us remember and keep firmly in mind that Isaiah lived in the latter half of the eighth century before Christ (750-700). In this oracle he assumes that the cities of Judah will be devastated (Isa. 44:26), Jerusalem will be destroyed, and the Temple burned; but he looks into the future--yet he does not say how far--and sees a man by the name of Cyrus, who will act as Jehovah's shepherd, who will issue a decree, and who will ... "perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." Here is a clear definite prediction that Cyrus would issue this twofold decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and of the Temple of God. Whether or not it was revealed to Isaiah who Cyrus was, he does not say; but he here specifically records a message from God to Cyrus, in which He, the Almighty, promises, in going before him, to subdue nations before him and to open up the hidden treasures of darkness in order that he might be paid for his services which he unknowingly, performs for the Almighty.

Another prophecy concerning Cyrus, though his name is not mentioned in the immediate context, is Isaiah 41:1-7: "Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment. 2 Who hath raised up one from the east; whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow. 3 He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet. 4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he. 5 The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come. 6 They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage. 7 So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good: and he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be moved." That this prediction and the one found in verses 25-29 of this chapter refer to Cyrus is admitted by all scholars, for the delineations of all the passages are the same.

From this quotation a person can see the swift, triumphant, and irresistible march of Cyrus against his foes as he dashed from nation, to nation, conquering all and uniting the subjected lands to his rapidly expanding empire. To all contemporary observers it was apparent that Jehovah was subduing the nations under him and delivering over to him their treasures--and, as we see in the prophecy, He was doing this thing in order that Cyrus might at the proper time send the captives back to their homeland. For the Lord declared, "... I [Jehovah] will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts" (Isa. 45:13).

Having promised Cyrus divine aid, unprecedented success, and complete victory, Jehovah informed him that he would thus act in his behalf, "... that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me" (Isa. 45:3,4). According to this prediction God revealed the fact that He would raise up a man and would deliver into his hands wealth, authority, and power that he might rebuild Jerusalem and send the captives back home. All of this God does that this man might restore Israel to his land. Moreover, the Lord declared that He had called this heathen ruler by name. This He did "for Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my chosen ..." He surnamed him Cyrus, this man whom He planned to use in Israel's behalf, in order that the people might know that he was the one chosen of God to deliver them, whenever he would appear upon the historic scene.

Did God thus delegate such unheard-of powers and authority to Cyrus, grant him such overwhelming victories, and bestow such fabulous wealth upon him simply that he might help the Jews? Was his doing good to Israel the end in view? The answer is, most emphatically, "No!" He blessed and prospered Cyrus that he in turn might assist the Jews in returning to their homeland. He sent these blessings upon them that they in turn might fit into His program of blessing the world; for to Cyrus He declared "... I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none else" (Isa. 45:5,6). In this quotation we see that the ultimate object which God had in view was the blessing of all nations.

The thought of the unfolding of God's plan through the centuries, which He gave especially for the eye of Cyrus, must be kept clearly in mind as we pursue our study of this psalm. Who is this mysterious Cyrus, of whom you, Isaiah, are speaking? No answer to this question. The decades pass. A century rolls by. The question remains unanswered. The great Assyrian Empire, with its capital at Nineveh, is the dominant power, overshadowing all others in the East. Each of its kings makes annual incursions into the Westland, ruthlessly conquering peoples, treading nations under foot, and leaving death, destruction, misery, and woe in the wake of his conquest.

Undreamed-of by those living in the glamour of the royal palace at Nineveh, there lies dormant in the heart of a young man the love of his country and his people, who had been smitten down by the cruel sword of the Assyrian aggressors. Though crushed to earth, patriotism often still lingers in the hearts of a subjected people, or in the soul of one lone man. Soon this young man begins to dream of the revival of his lost and buried nation and of its resurging back into life and prominence again. Thus he dreams of a grand and glorious resurrection to independence of his native land, old Babylon. He tells his dreams to others of his countrymen. By so doing, he kindles the flame of nationalism in their breasts. Suddenly there is an insurrection against the tyranny of Assyria, young Nabopolassar causes a coup d'etat. Old Babylon is reborn under the leadership of this brave, heroic man and grows under his wise and beneficent leadership. He is succeeded by his son, Nebuchadnezzar, who receives the scepter from his father's hand and daringly extends his borders until his kingdom becomes the first of the four world empires concerning which God later made revelations through the prophet Daniel. At the time appointed in the counsels of God, He brought Nebuchadnezzar over to the Westland and subjected the little kingdom of Judah to one of the most crushing defeats ever suffered by a conquered people. The flower of the nation was carried into captivity. The land became a province of the Babylonian Empire.

But before this fateful event Jeremiah had foretold the Babylonian Exile, which would last seventy years (Jer., chaps, 25,29).

Babylon held supreme power in the Near East during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, of his successor, Nabonidus, and of Belshazzar--just as Jeremiah foretold. At the expiration of, these seventy years Babylon was overthrown by the overtowering Medo-Persian Empire under the joint leadership of Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. These reigned for two years as co-rexes. Darius the Mede, without the slightest echo of a political nature, passed off the stage, and Cyrus became sole rex.

God works from different directions and brings men, events, and groups into contact one with the other at the proper time for the advancement of His purposes. At the beginning of the Babylonian captivity He had sent Daniel, together with three other outstanding Hebrew youths, to Babylon in the first deportation of captives (Dan. chap 1). These were immediately selected for postgraduate courses in the University of Babylon and graduated with the highest honors--we may believe. God providentially uses men of parts as well as those of honor and integrity--qualified men whom He can trust. Daniel was promoted to a very high position in the diplomatic corps of Babylon, the caste of the Chaldeans, of whom the Book of Daniel speaks. When the Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon, Daniel was promoted to the position of prime minister of the victorious empire. He had the respect and confidence of the officials of the government from Cyrus on down.

At the psychological moment, when the seventy years were coming to a close--as Josephus, the Jewish historian, relates--Cyrus read in the Book of Isaiah the passage which we have examined above. How did Cyrus get the Scroll of Isaiah? We must believe that Daniel and other leading Jews of the time took it to him and had him read the prophecy. They doubtless translated the text and interpreted it to him. Cyrus saw his own name written on the pages of Eternal Truth. He was profoundly impressed with this fact and was moved to do exactly what Isaiah the prophet had foretold approximately two hundred years before this time he would do. He therefore issued the decree, as God had foretold, for the Jews to rebuild their Temple. Ezra, in 1:1-4, gives us this decree: "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, 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of 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. 3 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. 4 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."

While Cyrus in this copy of the decree mentions only the rebuilding of the Temple, we must conclude that he ordered done exactly what God foretold that he would do namely, issue a decree that permitted the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem. This fact becomes apparent when we realize that the Jews, armed with this decree, went back to Jerusalem, repaired the walls, and began building the city. Then the Samaritans opposed them and went so far as to report them to the Persian authorities. In their letter to the Persian monarch these opponents of the Jews wrote, "Be it known unto the king, that the Jews that came up from thee are come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations" (Ezra 4:12). It is clear from this message that the Jews had repaired the walls and were rebuilding the city. Beyond question, therefore, the decree which Cyrus issued relative to the building of the Temple included also the authority for the Jews to rebuild their city. Thus in doing this, Cyrus issued a twofold decree which Isaiah foretold he would authorize.

We must note the fact that Cyrus' decree, which he issued when stirred by the Almighty, required the Jews who would not return to help those who were returning with "... silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill-offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem." Thus those refusing to go had to send financial aid for the building up of the national home though they themselves did not desire to go. God is bringing about the same thing with reference to the Jews who remain here in America and is causing them to send financial aid for the building up of the national home.

We see that God, in bringing the Jews (approximately 50,000 who desired to return) back to their homeland, used men, means, events, and the Scriptures. He works all thing's together for good for those who love Him, even those who are called according to His purpose. The psalmist, in the passage we are studying, therefore was absolutely correct in saying that God brought back to Zion those who returned--those going back under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Joshua the high priest, Ezra the scribe, and Nehemiah the governor.