“Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.“ (Ezra 1:2b-3)
OPEN UP:
There is only one God who needs to be appeased. Faith and belief are pleasing to Him.
People:
King Cyrus
the God who is in Jerusalem
His people
Places:
Jerusalem which is in Judah
– Cyrus decrees that all Jewish survivors of the Babylonian captivity can go back to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple.
Did King Cyrus believe in God?
Only God knows, but Cyrus may have been pantheistic.
At that time, when a new king took power, it was common for him (or his advisors) to write a decree announcing that the gods had appointed him as king.
Cyrus’s decree is inscribed in a clay cylinder using ancient cuneiform writing.
Photo source
Excerpt from the Cyrus Cylinder:
“[The god Marduk]… checked all the countries, seeking for the upright king of his choice. He took under his hand Cyrus… and called him by his name…
I am Cyrus, king of the universe…
I sent back to their places… the gods… and made permanent sanctuaries for them. I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements, and the gods … I returned them unharmed to… the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries… ask for a long life for me…”
Translation source: the British Museum
The following verse has some parallels with the Cyrus Cylinder. (The prophet Isaiah lived before Cyrus — remember that Cyrus means “sun.”)
“Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right hand,
To subdue nations before him…
‘I will give you… treasures… And hidden wealth…
So that you may know that it is I…
who calls you by your name…
though you have not known Me;
That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.” (Isaiah 45:1-6)
Is God ok with acknowledging several gods?
Cyrus’ respect for other nations’ gods seems enlightened, tolerant, and loving.
The Bible says:
– there is only one God.
“…the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.”
(Deuteronomy 4:35 NIV)
– worshipping nonexistent gods is a destructive, unhealthy waste of resources.
“Those who worship hollow gods… walk away from their only true love.”
(Jonah 2:8 MSG)
“[they will] cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes.”
(Jeremiah 11:12 NIV)
“All who make idols… which can profit nothing… are only human beings. … The blacksmith… gets hungry and loses his strength… The carpenter… shapes it… that it may dwell in a shrine. … He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!” … No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, ‘Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals. … Shall I bow down to a block of wood?’ …a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself…”
(Isaiah 44:9-20 NIV)
– fulfilled prophecy is a way God helps people gain confidence that He is real.
“I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come… Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock…”
(Isaiah 44:6-8 NIV)
Why did Cyrus think the god Marduk was leading him to be compassionate? Why do other religions have good in them?
“He has… set eternity in the human heart…”
(Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)
A book titled “Eternity In Their Hearts” suggests that every culture contains fragments of the knowledge of God.
Maybe this is because all people descended from Adam or Noah (who both knew God)…
Maybe it’s because all people were created in the image of God and are designed to know God…
“…people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough… By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives…”
( Romans 1:18-23 MSG)
The author of “Eternity…” also wrote “The Peace Child,” a story about warring cannibalistic tribes who came to understand what Jesus did — by enacting their cultural practice of giving one of their infants to the enemy to secure peace. (This beautiful video briefly tells the story.)
Cyrus was trying to make all the gods happy. But if there is only one God, what makes that God happy?
To believe He exists and believe in the one He has sent:
“…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
(Hebrews 11:6 NIV)
“Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’”
(John 6:28-29 NIV)
I can learn about God through studying the Bible, and the fulfilled historical prophecies give me confidence about its truth.
There is still so much I don’t know…
What does God do about people who have grown up believing in other gods? What if they are busy serving their families — or they don’t read well — and they aren’t able to study other religions in-depth to find the religion that offers the most solid reason to believe?
At the root is a different question:
Can I trust God’s character, that He is compassionate and fair?
I can see through history that when there is a true understanding of what Jesus did, people are set free from injustice, violence, and despair. When God acts — even to mete out justice — compassion is at the core of His motives.
I need to have faith in His plan to bring compassionate justice to every nation.
If today were my last day on earth, I would:
…look for specific ways to be a reflection of God’s compassion.
God,
Please have mercy on the people in the world who are oppressed by violent religions. You have created them in Your image, and Your compassion is hidden in them, piercing their consciences. Bring them to a place where they can think clearly. Provide clues to help them understand what You have done for them. God, have mercy on me for the ways that I don’t understand You, and for the ways I’ve shut myself off to common sense and to belief.
For the sake of Jesus and His incomprehensible love, Amen.
References:
Wikipedia: Cyrus Cylinder
British Museum: Cyrus Cylinder
Don Richardson, “Eternity in Their Hearts.” Bethany House, 2006.
Don Richardson, “Peace Child.” Bethany House, 2005.
Statement by Don Richardson about Islam