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       #Post#: 174--------------------------------------------------
       Ezra 1:1-4
   DIR By: clark thompson
       Date: December 2, 2014, 7:26 pm
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       1:1-4
       KJV 1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the
       word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
       the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he
       made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also
       in writing, saying, 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD
       God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and
       he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is
       in Judah. 3 Who is there 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 the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,)
       which is in Jerusalem. 4 And whosoever remaineth 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, beside
       the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
       CLV 1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to conclude the
       word of Yahweh from the mouth of Jeremiah, Yahweh roused the
       spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he caused a notification
       to pass through all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, 2
       Thus speaks Cyrus king of Persia:Yahweh Elohim of the heavens
       has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He Himself has
       committed to me to build for Him a House in Jerusalem, which is
       in Judah. 3 Anyone among you of all His people, may his Elohim
       be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and
       let him rebuild the House of Yahweh Elohim of Israel. He is the
       One, Elohim, Who is in Jerusalem. 4 As for anyone that is
       remaining from all the places where he is sojourning, let the
       men of his place assist him with silver and with gold, with
       goods and beasts, along with the voluntary offering for the
       House of the One, Elohim, Who is in Jerusalem.
       These are my thoughts, please share yours.
       1 This is only one of the times the Lord has a pagan do
       something, it shows that God was in control the whole time and
       He is the one truly in power. At this time Babylon who took
       Israel into captivity had been conquered by Persia who now had
       control of Israel both the land and the people.
       2 So a pagan is going to fund the temple for those he conquered
       to worship God who he does not serve, this can only be done by
       God’s hand. The pagan would build pagan temples to the gods they
       serve but not to God who they do not serve but here it happens.
       This shows God’s will happens no matter what stands in the way.
       3-4 He is also now allowing the Jews to return back to their
       homes to rebuild the temple, this is unheard of, he even goes as
       far as to pay them to rebuild something they want and have need
       for something he himself had no need for but would come at a
       high price.
       #Post#: 211--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ezra 1:1-4
   DIR By: Ezra
       Date: December 4, 2014, 8:48 pm
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       Clark,
       Those are some good thoughts regarding the sovereignty of God in
       human affairs, and particularly in the affairs of Israel.  The
       principal of God's sovereignty is stated in Daniel 4:17,25,32:
       "The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to
       whomsoever He will".
       Daniel had prophesied about the four great empires which would
       have an impact on Israel -- Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome --
       and everything came to pass as predicted. Therefore you might
       want to take a close look within the book of Daniel to tie in
       with these thoughts, as well as the prophecy of Jeremiah.
       The interesting thing to note is that about 70 years before
       Cyrus, pagan Nebuchadnezzar had put His faith in the one true
       and living God (Dan 2:47; 3:28; 4:1-3, 34-37).
       As to king Cyrus of Persia, he again was not a pagan, but had
       put his faith in YHWH God, and therefore obeyed His will (2 Chr
       36: 22,23 repeated in Ezra 1:1-2):
       22Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word
       of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be
       accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
       Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,
       and put it also in writing, saying,
       23Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth
       hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to
       build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there
       among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and
       let him go up.
       For a man to call God "the LORD (YHWH or Yahweh) God" is to
       acknowledge the only one true and living God, whose name is YAH.
       Therefore Cyrus was encouraging the Jews to return to their
       homeland and providing them with the necessary precious metals,
       goods, etc. to fulfil God's will.  Notice the wording in v. 22
       "The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia".  This
       tells us that Cyrus was spiritually alive, and God was able to
       "stir up" his spirit, as God stirs up the spirits of believers
       today.
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