In Ezra, chapter one, verse one, Jeremiah had predicted that the chosen people of God would remain in captivity in the land of Babylon for seventy years before returning to Judah, as in Jeremiah twenty-five, verse eleven through twelve, and chapter twenty-nine, verse ten, respectively. The seventy-year captivity was from the first one to the third year of Jehoiakim in Second Kings twenty-four, verse one, and Daniel one, verse one when the people began to return to their homeland.
The Lord directs the stream of redemption throughout history to its appointed end. In so doing, He sometimes chooses to humble mighty rulers such as Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel four, who sent destructive judgment on rulers such as Pharoah during Exodus in chapter fourteen, Beltshazzer in Babylon in Daniel five, or exalt an international leader as King Cyrus of Persia, in verse two, to fulfill His Word and accomplish His purposes.
By stirring the spirit of Cyrus to be benevolent toward conquered and exiled peoples, God enabled His word of promise through Jeremiah for fulfillment on time. Proverbs declares that a King’s heart is like rivers of water in the hand of God, which He directs wherever He wishes to ensure the ongoing course of redemption and the ultimate conclusion of history, as in Proverbs twenty-one, verse one.
The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus. The hearts of kings are in the hands of the Lord. God governs the world by His influence on the spirits of men. Whatever good they do, God stirs up their inner person to accomplish. It was during the captivity of the Lord’s chosen people that God principally employed them to call the attention of the heathen to Him. Cyrus took it for granted that those among God’s chosen people would offer free will offerings for the house of God. He would also have them supplied out of his kingdom. Well-wishers to the temple should be well-doers for it.