Message
The First Steps Home
Ezra 1:1-11
Today we are going to make a start on a new sermon series.
The series is called Jexit.
You might ask, “Well what is that?”
Well we know what Brexit is … the attempt of England to leave the European Union.
Jexit is the focus in history when Judah exists Babylon.
Not just an attempt … but an actual event that took place.
As we make our way through the series we will be focussing on the Scriptures, but this series is not like others where we make our way through a particular book.
Instead we are going to consider a time of history in the life of the Judah - namely the history and events which took place after the Persian Empire comes to power and how the people re-establish themselves in the land of Judea.
As we look at this time in history we need to be very precise in our language. Specifically we need to understand that the land the people return to is not called Israel … it is called Judah.
That is all that is left of the promised land.
The people who are going back are not Israelites … they are Judahites – and some Benjaminites.
Which is why still today the people who inhabit the land today are called Jews.
As we make our way through the Scriptures which are related to this time in God’s work with His people we need to be honest and recognise that this is not a part of Scripture that we know so well.
There are some gaps in our knowledge.
So, because there are gaps, and because we need to keep a context in mind, we are going to spend some of the preaching time talking about history and geography.
Looking at the lay of the land and the political landscape worked.
Thinking about chronologies and dates, especially as they relate to the rule of Persian kings.
We will also look at names of people, places, geographical locations, areas of land and the ownership of territories.
But this isn’t just going to be a history and geography lesson … which I am sure is a relief to you all … because the history that we are talking about is God’s history.
When that history is recorded in the Scriptures, specifically the history regarding the way God interacts with his people, it is called “redemptive history”.
So this is not “just history”. This is history of theological importance for us.
One purpose of looking at this series is that we are going to understand that the Old Testament is important – essential – to our Christian growth.
More importantly, lets understand that this is not just me thinking that a series like this is a good idea. The Scripture itself encourages us to see all Scripture as important.
Have a look at 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
In the context Paul talks about a number of historical events in the lives of the Israelites. And then he tells us why it is important to know these things.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. (1 Cor 10:6)
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! (1 Cor 10:11-12)
So OT history is there to keep us on track. It is a call for all of us to learn from our Spiritual ancestors - and especially be aware that we can just as easily fall into the same traps which they fell into.
The reason we do so, ultimately, is that the Bible is one story.
The OT and NT are not two separate stories … they are one story.
God engaging with his people.
Have a look at 2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Do you realise that Paul wrote to Timothy in around 65AD. If Timothy was 20 when Paul wrote, and he may have been older, but Timothy is an infant in 45AD (approximately).
The general consensus is that the books of the New Testament did not start to be written until at least 50AD … that is approximately 5 years after Timothy was born. Half of the NT letters were not written until after 65AD – after Paul wrote to Timothy.
So when Paul says “the Scriptures which make you wise to salvation which you have known from infancy” what is the “Scripture” which Timothy is reading?
At least in the early years it would have to be the Old Testament.
Wouldn’t it.
It is the OT that keep us from setting our hearts on evil.
It is the OT that brings a warning that we don’t fall.
It is the OT that makes us wise in salvation.
It is the OT by which we are taught, rebuked, corrected and trained in righteousness.
It is the OT where we are thoroughly equipped.
We might not be as familiar with Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther and Daniel as historical texts.
We might infrequently read Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
But these are the texts which are just as important to our walk with God as the Gospels, and the letters and the Sermon on the Mount and 1 Corinthians 13.
Because, ultimately, all history is God’s history. And the history which is recorded in the Scriptures is specifically a history that is significant for us … even today.
So that is a bit of an introduction. We call the series “Jexit” with the tagline “Judah Comes Home.”
So let’s start by turning to the book of Ezra 1:1-11 (read).
This is the beginning of the story in terms of Judah coming home.
Cyrus began his rule in 550BC. However when Ezra says “the first year of Cyrus king of Persia” we are talking about October 539BC. That is the moment when Cyrus enters Bablyon and he takes over the capital and the Babylonian empire has fallen.
Now you might be thinking, how can we know about such an exact date.
Well in 747BC the Babylonians began to keep very specific records on events.
When kings come to power, or when they died.
Wars and the result.
Significant events like lunar eclipses and earthquakes.
It is called the Babylonian Chronicle which continues to keep records until 280BC.
For 500 years there is a very systematic dating system which enables a high degree of accuracy in dating events.
We can now look at the date and we can work out the date according to our own calendar and seasons.
The key point here is that this record is very precise … accurate down to months.
So October 539BC. What is going on in the world?
This is the moment when Cyrus brings the Babylonian Empire to an end by conquering the capital city - Babylon.
So, at this time in history there was a massive handover of land.
From the map on the screen you can see the extent of the Babylonian Empire.
(You need to google one … put it up on powerpoint and describe the area)
It was under the rule of this empire that Judah was taken into exile. The land of Judah was under the rule of the Babylonian Empire for the whole time.
Then a change started to occur.
You will notice there the area known as Median empire. The people who lived there were called Medes. In 550BC the Medes and the Persians joined forces and they united under Cyrus. Cyrus was determined to remove the Babylonians who were ruthless. So, in just over 10 years, he changed the whole landscape of the area.
You can see from the map just how large the Empire is.
It covers modern day Turkey, modern day Iraq, the Gulf states – all the way over to India.
It was a huge Empire.
Cyrus was clever
By 539BC the Babylonian Empire was no more and the Persian Empire was now in control.
You can see from these various maps that Jerusalem and Judea just keeps getting swallowed up.
It just gets tossed back and forth.
The Babylonains have a go
The Persians have a go.
Later it will be the Greeks … and then the Romans.
A tiny nation at the mercy of the whims of powerful empires all seeking to be in control.
Well, that is how it could be interpreted. But it shouldn’t be interpreted like that, because something else Let’s go back to Ezra
2 ‘This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
‘“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. Ezra 1:2-3
This is God at work.
See the bold statement of Cyrus. The Lord has made this happen.
But this is exactly what Cyrus believed.
Because Cyrus didn’t just do this for Judah.
He did it for all the nations.
We know this because there is an artefact from the reign of Cyrus - it is called the Cyrus Cylinder. On it Cyrus describes his exploits, and part of the text reads as follows:-
From [Babylon] to Ashur and Susa, Agade, Eshnunna, the cities of Zamban, Meturnu, Der as far as the borders of the Gutians – I returned to these sanctuaries on the other side of the Tigris, sanctuaries founded in ancient times, the images that had been in them there and I made their dwellings permanent. I also gathered all their people and returned to them their habitations. And then at the command of Marduk, the great lord,
(We need to be sure we hear this … ultimately Cyrus worships the great god Marduk. But Cyrus also believes in many gods)
I resettled all the gods of Sumer and Akkad whom Nabonidus had brought into Babylon to the anger of the lord of the gods in their shrines, the places which they enjoy. May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask Marduk and Nabu each day for a long life for me and speak well of me to him.
Cyrus believes that the Babylonians failed because they upset all the gods of the lands.
Instead of leaving the gods alone, the Babylonians angered the gods.
Now Cyrus is taking a different approach. He sends all the nations, all of the temple artefacts, all of the gods back home.
Then as the King of the Empire who did this Cyrus believed that the all the gods were on his side and that all the gods had appointed him to be the new ruler of the empire.
In many senses is was a claim based on pure arrogance.
Yet, Cyrus is actually correct.
To see how it works we need to look at a series of texts from Isaiah.
Isaiah 44:24-28
24 “This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself,
25 who foils the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,
who overthrows the learning of the wise
and turns it into nonsense,
26 who carries out the words of his servants
and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
and I will dry up your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’
I find that amazing.
Cyrus the shepherd raised up by God. It is a powerful image, especially when we remember that God says Ezekiel that He will shepherd his people.
God made this happen
But the image become more powerful
Isaiah 45:1
1 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armour,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
If you know biblical history you know there are only four people who are defined as anointed.
The kings, and priests, and prophets - and also to the Messiah.
Even though Cyrus does acknowledge Yahweh as the might great God, God still anoints Cyrus for the task.
Isaiah 45:13
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,
says the Lord Almighty.”
My righteousness - the one who is the recipient of the grace of God.
The path is straight - that is a promise given to those who trust.
Maybe you are thinking of a verse in Scripture. It is form
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
God makes the part of Cyrus straight … even when there isn’t an acknowledgement of submission. The blessing to the people is the blessing to Isaiah.
Here are some other verses.
Isaiah 45:2,3,14
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and those tall Sabeans—
they will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,
coming over to you in chains.
They will bow down before you
and plead with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other god.’”
That is just a sample read all of Isaiah 45 later of all the promises.
Again read Jeremiah 51.
But here is just a sample Read Jeremiah 51:11-12
11 “Sharpen the arrows,
take up the shields!
The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes,
because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!
Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,
prepare an ambush!
The Lord will carry out his purpose,
his decree against the people of Babylon.
Do you see what the Lord is doing?
Let’s go back to Ezra 1:1
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfil the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing
What was the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah?
Read Jeremiah 25:8-14
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp.11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
Cyrus fulfilled this in the first year.
The Babylonians thought the best way to stop nations from rising up was to move them all over the place and destabilise them. That is why many people from Judea were moved to Babylon.
The Persians believed the best way to stop nations rising up was to allow them to serve in their own land, worship their own gods and have their own culture.
That is why Cyrus was giving them the chance to let them go home.
Think about it.
The Lord moved a whole empire to enable his people to come home.
The Lord turned the political landscape of the region upside-down.
The Lord appointed as His servant a ruler who worships the god Marduk.
The Lord made the path of Cyrus straight and given him a victory swift.
The Lord planted the idea of sending all the nations home.
Why?
Just to make it possible for a group of 50,000 His people – this group of Judahites – to gather their goods together and start walking out of Babylon toward Judea and Jerusalem.
Here is my question.
Do you ever wonder if God cares for you?
Do you sometimes feel small and insignificant?
Do you wonder if you matter?
Do you have a purpose?
Are you part of a plan?
When you read that God loves you, do you wonder if it is really true?
In our lives we get to this point.
We might wonder about these questions at times
And when we do, the way the Lord worked to enable his people to leave Babylon should be a word of great encouragement to us.
They were so insignificant … their return does not get a mention in the Babylonian Chronicle or on the Cyrus Cylinder.
But they were God’s people, and that was all which mattered.
Despite the sinfulness that lead them into captivity.
Despite the fact the temple is destroyed.
Despite the fact that they had to serve for 70 years in a foreign land.
Despite the fact that they knew their homeland was destroyed and that the temple was in ruins.
Despite all this the Lord had made a promise.
They were going to come home.
The Lord is a God who makes promises
And His greatest promise is the impact of Jesus
My encouragement to you today is to look at the promises.
There are so many promises aren’t there.
I’m not even going to try and list them, but we all have ones we hold onto dearly.
What is the promise you need?
Think of it
… a promise of hope.
… a promise of grace.
… a promise of assurance.
… a promise of forgiveness.
Whatever the promise is.
As a result of what we have spoken about today … a lot of history which has only just got us to the point where the people are leaving Babylon … the simple application is trust that Jesus will do what He has promised.
We will all have one.
A promise that we hold.
A word that we need.
An revelation that is carrying us.
Comfort that needs to be given.
A sin that needs to be forgiven.
A lifestyle that needs to be broken.
The Lord can move whole Empires to give His people what they need.
The Lord who moves the Empires is your Lord.
If the Lord can do that then you can be sure that Jesus
… Jesus the Lord of all who has everything under His feet.
… Jesus who is the King of the heavens and the earth.
… Jesus who has defeated the greatest enemy with ease.
Sin and death is defeated.
You can be sure that Jesus will fulfil all His promises so that you can keep looking in faith to your eternal home.
That is the encouragement that we see as Judah begins the journey home.
Prayer
